From the New York Times website:
At least 22 people were killed today, some of them students, and more were injured during shootings at Virginia Tech, some of them in a classroom on the campus, the police said. The gunman was also shot to death, officials said at a news conference, but details about the incident and about the identity of the gunman were still unfolding.
“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said the university’s president, Charles Steger.
There were two shootings on the campus in Blacksburg, Va., and in each case fatalities with “multiple shooting victims,” he said.
A police official there, Wendell Flinchum, said there were “at least 20 fatalities,” and that some of the victims were shot in the classroom. News of the number of the fatalities sent up an audible gasp in the news conference, said on television reporter in the broadcast.
The shooting was partially captured on a student’s cellphone video camera showing grainy black figures on the street outside of campus buildings. Popping sounds from the gunfire were audible.
“This place is in a state of panic,” said a student who was interviewed on CNN, Shaver Deyerle. “Nobody knew what was going on at first.”
A few details emerged from the news conference. At 7:15 a.m., an emergency 911 call came in to University police department about a shooting at a campus building, West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory for about 900 freshman students. About three hours later it was followed by a second shooting at a classroom in a science and engineering building on the opposite end of campus, Norris Hall. The shooter died there, the police said.
“It didn’t stop for almost two or three minutes,” a junior from Fairfax named Josh told CNN. “It sounded like a handgun or something but it was many, many shots.”
According to a spokesperson at one local hospital, at least 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds, the Associated Press reported. Sharon Honaker, a spokeswoman for Montgomery Regional Hospital told CNN that four students — one critical and three in stable condition — were being treated for wounds.
Images on CNN showed police with assault rifles swarming several buildings, sirens blaring in the background and a voice over a loudspeaker warning people across the campus to take cover in buildings and stay away from windows. Many students could be seen crouching on floors in classrooms and dormitories.
Outside, police were evacuating students and faculty, many of them to local hotels, and witnesses said that some students were seen scrambling out of windows to get to safety. A Montgomery County school official said that all schools throughout the county were being shut down.
The shooting was the second in the past year that forced officials to lock down the campus. In August of 2006, an escaped jail inmate shot and killed a deputy sheriff and an unarmed security guard at a nearby hospital before the police caught him in the woods near the university.
The capture ended a manhunt that led to the cancellation of the first day of classes at Virginia Tech and shut down most businesses and municipal buildings in Blacksburg. The accused gunman, William Morva, is facing capital murder charges.
At least 22 people were killed today, some of them students, and more were injured during shootings at Virginia Tech, some of them in a classroom on the campus, the police said. The gunman was also shot to death, officials said at a news conference, but details about the incident and about the identity of the gunman were still unfolding.
“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said the university’s president, Charles Steger.
There were two shootings on the campus in Blacksburg, Va., and in each case fatalities with “multiple shooting victims,” he said.
A police official there, Wendell Flinchum, said there were “at least 20 fatalities,” and that some of the victims were shot in the classroom. News of the number of the fatalities sent up an audible gasp in the news conference, said on television reporter in the broadcast.
The shooting was partially captured on a student’s cellphone video camera showing grainy black figures on the street outside of campus buildings. Popping sounds from the gunfire were audible.
“This place is in a state of panic,” said a student who was interviewed on CNN, Shaver Deyerle. “Nobody knew what was going on at first.”
A few details emerged from the news conference. At 7:15 a.m., an emergency 911 call came in to University police department about a shooting at a campus building, West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory for about 900 freshman students. About three hours later it was followed by a second shooting at a classroom in a science and engineering building on the opposite end of campus, Norris Hall. The shooter died there, the police said.
“It didn’t stop for almost two or three minutes,” a junior from Fairfax named Josh told CNN. “It sounded like a handgun or something but it was many, many shots.”
According to a spokesperson at one local hospital, at least 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds, the Associated Press reported. Sharon Honaker, a spokeswoman for Montgomery Regional Hospital told CNN that four students — one critical and three in stable condition — were being treated for wounds.
Images on CNN showed police with assault rifles swarming several buildings, sirens blaring in the background and a voice over a loudspeaker warning people across the campus to take cover in buildings and stay away from windows. Many students could be seen crouching on floors in classrooms and dormitories.
Outside, police were evacuating students and faculty, many of them to local hotels, and witnesses said that some students were seen scrambling out of windows to get to safety. A Montgomery County school official said that all schools throughout the county were being shut down.
The shooting was the second in the past year that forced officials to lock down the campus. In August of 2006, an escaped jail inmate shot and killed a deputy sheriff and an unarmed security guard at a nearby hospital before the police caught him in the woods near the university.
The capture ended a manhunt that led to the cancellation of the first day of classes at Virginia Tech and shut down most businesses and municipal buildings in Blacksburg. The accused gunman, William Morva, is facing capital murder charges.
