Shooting rampage, 32 Killed, over 60 injured

[Lead Head]

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.
Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage - around the time the gunman struck again.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed that the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
"We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," he said.
He defended the university's handling of the tragedy, saying: "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don't have hours to reflect on it."
Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.
The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A student used his cell-phone camera to record the sound of shots echoing through the stone classroom building.
The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.

Full Article - Turnto10 - AP News

[pc_guy]

I just heard about this when I came back from work.
32 Dead,

The only question on my mind is how can 2 hours pass with the gunman still on his rampage. Where was security, police, SWAT????

[Carl Martin]

I'm sure heads will roll over this. (President and head of campus police?) Right now though, this all seems surreal. To anyone here associated with VT, know you're in my thoughts and prayers.

[stinger608]

Heard this about noon mountain time..........God, that is so awful!!!

As Carl Martin mentioned, if anyone here has anything to do with V tech, thoughts and prayers go out!!!

[Quakindude]

I want someone's friggin HEAD for this. This level of massacre is simply without excuse. Police supervisors, school officials, campus police, the damned Governor all need to be fired and then prosecuted for dereliction of duty. There were mistakes and oversights of a grand scale in this situation.

WTF didn't the mass of the classroom attack this friggin asshat?

I'm pissed. This just horrifies me. I know I'm overly emotional about this, but one thing 18 years of military service has taught me is how precious life is. And how very unencumbered of any type of right/wrong ideology the shooter might have had. To point a weapon at someone and make the decision to pull the trigger and kill them is instinctive in combat. Still, that action comes with a price to most Soldiers. To do so in this manner is just evil incarnate.

[Dr. V]

i heard about this from my friend, and the news is flooded.

it looks like a trend, cuz this happened in montreal too with that teenage crazy kid with the AKs and all the guns he was showing in his pics.

[Panda Man]

Originally Posted by ST!X

it looks like a trend, cuz this happened in montreal too with that teenage crazy kid with the AKs and all the guns he was showing in his pics.

Everything on the news is. I've heard about 5 stories from CNN, Foxnews, etc. Apparently this has something to do with video game violence. Of course everything will be political and they will ask lots of BS questions, like Enterprise when the tornado hit the school. "Could this have been prevented?" Actually if we had a few guys in Air Traffic Control at the school they could have directed the tornado away in time so I guess it could have.

Originally Posted by Quakindude

WTF didn't the mass of the classroom attack this friggin asshat?

Granted this guy is heavily armed and they aren't, I imagine that would be the equivalent of Russia in WWII after the not one step backwards doctrine came into play. Mass waves against MG42 nests!

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

I want someone's friggin HEAD for this. This level of massacre is simply without excuse. Police supervisors, school officials, campus police, the damned Governor all need to be fired and then prosecuted for dereliction of duty. There were mistakes and oversights of a grand scale in this situation.

WTF didn't the mass of the classroom attack this friggin asshat?

I'm pissed. This just horrifies me. I know I'm overly emotional about this, but one thing 18 years of military service has taught me is how precious life is. And how very unencumbered of any type of right/wrong ideology the shooter might have had. To point a weapon at someone and make the decision to pull the trigger and kill them is instinctive in combat. Still, that action comes with a price to most Soldiers. To do so in this manner is just evil incarnate.

I'm sure if the person next to you is shot, you'll duck (of course, if your not a military macho). I would have a least thrown something at the dumbass.

[RangerXLT8]

According to DrudgeReport, the shooter had 2 9mm Pistols and lined students up against the wall and started executing people.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by Panda Man

Everything on the news is. I've heard about 5 stories from CNN, Foxnews, etc. Apparently this has something to do with video game violence.

Let's hope not. The computer gaming industry needs another inquisition about the real-life violence their games influence our kids like I need a lobotomy. No doubt Senator Clinton will weigh in on this and add it as ammo to her platform for Presidency.