Tragedy at Virginia Tech

[Arios V]

I know that this has nothing to do with religion, but it is a very important thing.

Now I'm sure that all of you have heard/read something about this, but in case you haven't, here's a quick rundown of what happened today at Virginia Tech. Also, this event is now the deadliest/worst shooting in U.S. History.

At about 7:15 a.m. today, a young man went into the West Ambler Johnston co-ed dormitory at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and shot and killed 2 people. Police arrived a few minutes later and began to investigate. About two hours later at 9:15, the gunman appeared at the Norris Building where most of the engineering classes are, chained the doors from the inside and proceeded to go on a rampage. By the end of his spree, 30 more people had been killed and injured 16 before the gunman supposedly killed himself. The final death toll as of now is 33.

The name of the gunman has still yet to be given, although it is suspected he was a VT student. His motive has not yet been identified although rumors are circulating that it may have been a domestic dispute that triggered it or that this person had been planning this. The gunman had also been reported to have been quiet and never said a word during the spree. The police are also looking into the possibility that these shootings are linked to the bomb threats the school received over the past 2 weeks.

The school has caught fire for this attack because of the delayed warning they gave students. It wasn't until 9:26, a full 2 hours after the first shooting and 10 minutes after the second set started, that an E-Mail was sent to people containing info on the attack, but details were sparse and no one really read it. There were also accounts that no other warnings were given over the PA or through the alert system. The reason why the school didn't institute lockdown was due to the fact that the police and administration had assumed that this was only an isolated incident and that the gunman had left. Now you can't really blame the school or police for assuming this was isolated, they had no idea that the shootings would resume 2 hours later, although they should have instituted lockdown and closed the campus.

In closing, this is a horrible tragedy, that will require months of investigation to get to the bottom of. This should also be a catalyst for reform for better security measures.  

[caustic 0_0]

Topics don't have to have anything to do with religion, so it's cool. :]

Yeah, I was hearing about it on campus several times today. (VCU) I know a good number of people from my highschool went there. o.x
They had one murder and then I think it would be pretty much common for anyone to assume it was over. It's hard to think that they'd have something huge happen on the other side of campus. Especially with such a large campus and so many students, who knows that a lock down immediately after one shooting would have been logical or done much. Like I heard in the press conference they'd have commuter students on their way in and all that too. In hind sight you can say that it could have helped I guess. It'll be interesting to see what they change though.

I heard a lady who was with a campus safety organization saying that some places had a text message security program. They can with one message hit student/staff cell phones (I would assume you opt in when you register and let they have your number or something) with an alert to say there was a lockdown, shooting, or what ever safety message they have.

I also got an email today saying some students behind the arts building on my campus had been robbed at gunpoint. They only took like $5 too.  

[Arios V]

c a u s t i c

Topics don't have to have anything to do with religion, so it's cool. :]

Yeah, I was hearing about it on campus several times today. (VCU) I know a good number of people from my highschool went there. o.x
They had one murder and then I think it would be pretty much common for anyone to assume it was over. It's hard to think that they'd have something huge happen on the other side of campus. Especially with such a large campus and so many students, who knows that a lock down immediately after one shooting would have been logical or done much. Like I heard in the press conference they'd have commuter students on their way in and all that too. In hind sight you can say that it could have helped I guess. It'll be interesting to see what they change though.

I heard a lady who was with a campus safety organization saying that some places had a text message security program. They can with one message hit student/staff cell phones (I would assume you opt in when you register and let they have your number or something) with an alert to say there was a lockdown, shooting, or what ever safety message they have.

I also got an email today saying some students behind the arts building on my campus had been robbed at gunpoint. They only took like $5 too.

Yeah, in hindsight, closing down the school would have been a very logical thing to do. It might have saved many lives and might have made it easier to catch this guy, but like they said, commuter students were on their way, so they didn't know.

Ahh, you're a VCU student. Good to meet another Virginia resident. I live up near George Mason, I was actually accepted to VCU, but I'm not going to go just yet. I'm going to get my associates degree then transfer to a different school (Most likely VCU).  

[cup_noodles]

I think a number of lives could have been saved if the school went under immediete lockdown. But we can't blame Virgina Tech for that.
It's utterly horrible that 33 people died there...
Why anyone would just walk into a college and start shooting people is beyond my understanding.

My friend and mentor was in the shooting as far as I know.
Last time they called my teacher (part of the alumini) he was unaccounted for...
I really hope he's ok.

 

[Jessica Malatori]

It is a sad occurrence. What scares me more though, is the fact that there might be copy cat shootings... what if someone walked into an elementary like that?  

[kandi_queen]

Jessica Malatori

It is a sad occurrence. What scares me more though, is the fact that there might be copy cat shootings... what if someone walked into an elementary like that?

That's a good point. My elementary school, and my high school for that matter had absolutely no security whatsoever. You could walk in with pretty much anything there.

I am shocked at this tragedy also. I live in Norfolk, and I've been hearing about it all day long. They were saying on the news that a lot of people are missing. And students don't know if one of their friends are one of the dead, or are in a hospital. I couldn't imagine having to go through that. My heart goes out to everyone who is involved.  

[Arios V]

More details have been revealed on this shooting, here is a small update, in case anyone hasn't been following the news

The identity of the shooter has been confirmed, the shooter has been identified as 23-year old Cho Seung-Hui, a resident of Centreville Va. (Which is only 20 minutes away from my house) and a graduate from Westfield High School (Again, very close to my house). Cho was a resident alien from South Korea who came to the U.S. at age 8 in 1992. The police are currently trying to obtain a warrant to search his dorm room as they have reason to believe they found a note on his body that links him to the bomb threats.

According to counselors and teachers of Cho, they said that his creative writing and plays were very dark and disturbing, so much so that they had often referred him to the school counselor who labeled him "troubled". One of his plays involved a kid becoming so upset with his stepfather that he threw things like chainsaws and hammers at him, and ultimately led to the kid to suffocate the man on a Rice Krispy treat.

Cho was also described as quiet and mostly kept to himself.  

[Arios V]

Jessica Malatori

It is a sad occurrence. What scares me more though, is the fact that there might be copy cat shootings... what if someone walked into an elementary like that?

I think that's what a lot of people are fearing now, a copycat crime. It's not really a question of if one will occur again, it's a question of when and where it will occur. Sorry to scare everyone, but if you really think about it, it's really only a matter of time before something like this happens again. I think now is the time we should start reforming security in schools.  

[Arios V]

I would also like to express my deepest grievances to all of those who died in the shooting and for all the friends and family members who lost people they loved in this horrible tragedy.  

[Jessica Malatori]

Just watch the Media inflate this one now... I hate how they play off of such tragedies...  

[Arios V]

Jessica Malatori

Just watch the Media inflate this one now... I hate how they play off of such tragedies...

I do too, it really will be interesting to see how much the media is going to either inflate it or beat on all those who didn't do anything when they should have, despite the fact that they had no idea about what would unfold.  

[Jessica Malatori]

Arios V

Jessica Malatori

Just watch the Media inflate this one now... I hate how they play off of such tragedies...

I do too, it really will be interesting to see how much the media is going to either inflate it or beat on all those who didn't do anything when they should have, despite the fact that they had no idea about what would unfold.

I admit, I think a little more could have been done. But it's hard to manage such a large campus like that. It's different if it was a smaller school.  

[Arios V]

Jessica Malatori

Arios V

Jessica Malatori

Just watch the Media inflate this one now... I hate how they play off of such tragedies...

I do too, it really will be interesting to see how much the media is going to either inflate it or beat on all those who didn't do anything when they should have, despite the fact that they had no idea about what would unfold.

I admit, I think a little more could have been done. But it's hard to manage such a large campus like that. It's different if it was a smaller school.

Yeah, my high school has roughly 1400 students, and during fire drills and lockdown drills, it's very hard to manage the place and make sure everyone is where they should be. I can only imagine on a campus of 24,000 students, it would be very difficult to manage a full lock down especially with one many students already en route to the school or in places where they may not hear any announcements.  

[Jessica Malatori]

Arios V

Jessica Malatori

Arios V

Jessica Malatori

Just watch the Media inflate this one now... I hate how they play off of such tragedies...

I do too, it really will be interesting to see how much the media is going to either inflate it or beat on all those who didn't do anything when they should have, despite the fact that they had no idea about what would unfold.

I admit, I think a little more could have been done. But it's hard to manage such a large campus like that. It's different if it was a smaller school.

Yeah, my high school has roughly 1400 students, and during fire drills and lockdown drills, it's very hard to manage the place and make sure everyone is where they should be. I can only imagine on a campus of 24,000 students, it would be very difficult to manage a full lock down especially with one many students already en route to the school or in places where they may not hear any announcements.

My HS has over 2500 students. We're all stacked on top of each other... so in a REAL fire drill... we people on the third floor are screwed...

Does anyone else ever get bored during school and try to figure out, in their current situation, how they might tackle and escape the problem of shooter in the school? Or is that just me... I have too much time to think  

[Sanguvixen]

You know...I first heard of it while at school, on Gaia. That is so sad...

One of my friends had to call another friend just to check that her friend's brother was okay...but thankfully he wasn't one of those poor people that died or got seriously hurt.

So far I know the killer was from Korea, had a green card...and killed himself after killing all of those people. That and he went in with two guns and extra ammunition.