2008 Woodie Awards
Gunman kills 32 in massacre at Virginia Tech
Stute Staff
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Campus News
- Page 1 of 7 next >
It should have been like any other Monday morning. Students hitting the snooze button on their alarms at 7 a.m. and professors preparing notes for the day's lectures. It should have but it wasn't. At Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, VA the morning of April 16 went from being a regular day to a tragedy in the span of two hours. A lone gunman went on a shooting rampage murdering at final count 31 people before shooting himself in the head. An additional 15 people were reported injured and are being treated at nearby hospitals. The shooting started at the West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall on the idyllic campus, with the first reported shots coming in at 7:15 a.m. Two people, one male and one female, who have been identified as Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark, a biology major Resident Assistant with a near 4.0 GPA at West Ambler Johnston Hall, were killed at the dormitory which can house almost 900 students.
A shooter then moved to multiple classrooms at Norris Hall where shots were fired two hours later. Virginia Tech Chief of Police Wendell Flinchum released a statement at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday confirming one of the shooter's identity. His name was Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior English major originally from South Korea. Police do not have a definite link to the West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall attack and the Norris Hall shooting but ballistics found in both areas matched. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police said, "It's certainly reasonable for us to assume that Cho was the shooter in both places." Seung-Hui had at least two weapons with magazine clips, of which one was a 9mm. He was described as "a loner" and "the Question-Mark Kid". He also had extra clips stored on his jacket.
Emails were sent out to students informing them of the shooting at the dormitory and warning them to stay inside and lock the doors. However many students complained that they were not immediately informed of the danger since the first email was sent out two hours after the shooting coinciding with the time of the second shooting. After increasing complaints from parents and colleagues of the victims, Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine on Wednesday morning ordered a special investigation by former state police superintendant Gerald Massengill, to determine whether Virginia Tech police mishandled the investigation.
A shooter then moved to multiple classrooms at Norris Hall where shots were fired two hours later. Virginia Tech Chief of Police Wendell Flinchum released a statement at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday confirming one of the shooter's identity. His name was Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior English major originally from South Korea. Police do not have a definite link to the West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall attack and the Norris Hall shooting but ballistics found in both areas matched. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police said, "It's certainly reasonable for us to assume that Cho was the shooter in both places." Seung-Hui had at least two weapons with magazine clips, of which one was a 9mm. He was described as "a loner" and "the Question-Mark Kid". He also had extra clips stored on his jacket.
Emails were sent out to students informing them of the shooting at the dormitory and warning them to stay inside and lock the doors. However many students complained that they were not immediately informed of the danger since the first email was sent out two hours after the shooting coinciding with the time of the second shooting. After increasing complaints from parents and colleagues of the victims, Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine on Wednesday morning ordered a special investigation by former state police superintendant Gerald Massengill, to determine whether Virginia Tech police mishandled the investigation.
Be the first to comment on this story