Mass Murder at Virginia Tech
Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 9:55:06 am PDT
Police: 22 Dead After Virginia Tech University Shooting.
BLACKSBURG, Va. — At least 22 are dead after a shooting at Virginia Tech University Monday morning. Campus police said there was only one shooter and he is now dead. They are unsure if the shooter was a student. ...
At least one person was killed at West Ambler Johnston, a residence hall, but several others were injured in that shooting. At least 20 were killed at Norris Hall, an engineering building. The dead shooter puts the death toll so far at 22.
A spokeswoman at Montgomery Regional Hospital said 17 students were being treated there for gunshot wounds, and Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg reports that four people with gunshot wounds were being treated there. Carilion spokeswoman Sharon Honaker said one was in critical condition and three others were stable.
Judith Chambers, a spokeswoman at Montgomery Regional Hospital, said victims are being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries. The conditions vary and some are in surgery, she said.
The school’s Web site earlier said one shooter was in custody and officials searched for a second shooter as “part of routine police procedure,” but during the press conference Monday, police said they believe there was only one shooter.
Local FOX affiliate WFXR-TV in Richmond reported that one shooting occurred between 7:15 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, and another at 10 a.m. at Norris Hall. The school’s Web site confirmed the shooting at opposite ends of the 2,600-acre campus.
Police also said there is no evidence the two shootings at opposite ends of campus were related.
Virginia Tech student Blake Harrison said he was on his way to class near Norris Hall when he saw chaos. “This teacher comes flying out of Norris, he’s bleeding from his arm or his shoulder ... all these students were coming out of Norris trying to take shelter in Randolph [Hall]. All these kids were freaked out,” Harrison said.
The students and faculty were barricading themselves in their classrooms after what one person described as an Asian student wearing a vest opened fire.
The shooter was “wearing a vest covered in clips was just unloading on their door, going from classroom to classroom ... they said it never seemed like it was going to stop and there was just blood all over,” Harrison said.
