At least 22 dead in Virginia Tech shooting

[WillRiker]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 22 people, including the suspected gunman, were killed and many others were wounded at Virginia Tech university on Monday in the deadliest campus shooting incident in U.S. history.

The rampage took place in two separate areas of the huge campus about two hours apart during the morning. Police said they believed a single gunman was responsible.

"This is a tragedy of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech president Charles Steger told reporters.

Virginia Tech campus police chief Wendell Finchum said the suspected gunman was dead and that police were trying to determine whether he killed himself or was shot by officers.

"At this time we believe it's only one gunman," said Finchum.

The death toll was worse than a massacre at the University of Texas in Austin on August 1, 1966, when trained marksman Charles Whitman killed 15 people, including his mother and wife the night before, and wounded 31 others.

The first shooting on Virginia Tech, a state university known for its demanding science and engineering curriculum, was reported to campus police at about 7:15 a.m. (1115 GMT) in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory housing some 900 students. It was followed by more shooting at another campus building, Norris Hall, Steger said.

The wounded were taken to hospitals in the area for treatment, he said.

Virginia Tech, with 26,000 students, is located in the southwest corner of the state, about 240 miles from Washington.

The campus had been closed for one day last August during a search for another gunman, CNN reported.

"It's just shock and anger around here right now," graduate student Elizabeth Stewart told CNN, adding she saw the shootings as "freak incidents" that would not stop her attending Virginia Tech.

"I love my school with all my heart and soul."

The university had already sent out an e-mail canceling classes after the first shooting when students heard more shots, another student, Laura Spaventa, told CNN.

Classes were canceled for Monday and Tuesday and counselors were being brought in talk to the students.

Will only be a matter of time before either movies or music gets the blame for it.

[Irondog]

Now they are saying up to 32 people are dead

[Purple Dragon]

that is awful ,not watching the news i had not heard anything till i read this post..very tragic.

[WillRiker]

I can't figure out what he was doing for 2 hours between the shootings.

Apparently he shot the first group of people in the dorms around 7:30am and then about 2 hours later started shooting the rest in a different part of the campus.

Very strange.

[mommysalomi]

WeeLL it did happen in Virgina

[WillRiker]

Originally Posted by mommysalomi

WeeLL it did happen in Virgina

Being from the UK...that went straight over my head.

Looks like from what they're saying on the news though that he was pissed off at his girlfriend for seeing some other guy and shot them in the dorms first of all, and the police were treating it is a "domestic disturbance", so he could pretty much blend in with everyone else...then it looks like he just "lost it" and took out as many as he could before taking himself out too.

[mommysalomi]

We are watching it right now and they said they are still not sure if the two are connected what are you watching ??? I'm watching MSN and dont know how good they are at reporting I usually watch Fox

[WillRiker]

I was watching Fox earlier and they mentioned that the police had mentioned a "person of interest" but they didn't think that it was another shooter and that it was probably all the work of a "lone gunman"...in their words.

[mommysalomi]

HeHe, I know this is horrible news but, for some reason the lone gunman made me giggle !!

[WillRiker]

I thought the exact same thing when they said it...

I was picturing one of the Lone Gunmen from the X-Files spin off.