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	* ] (] ]) – previously the deadliest civilian mass shooting in the United States.		* ] (] ]) – previously the deadliest civilian mass shooting in the United States.
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	==External links==		==External links==

Revision as of 15:06, 17 April 2007

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Virginia Tech massacre
Norris Hall, where 30 of the 32 killings occurred.
Location	Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
Date	April 16, 2007 7:15 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (UTC-4)
Target	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Attack type	School shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, massacre, spree killer
Deaths	33 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	29
Perpetrators	Cho Seung-hui
Motive	Unknown

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school massacre that occurred in two separate shooting incidents on April 16, 2007, at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Government officials, the university, and most news sources have confirmed 32 victims dead as well as the gunman, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The perpetrator of at least 30 of the 32 killings has been identified by authorities as Cho Seung-hui, a South Korean national and 4th year English major at Virginia Tech.

Description of events

The first shooting occurred at around 7:15 a.m. EDT in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students. A woman, Emily J. Hilscher of Woodville, Virginia, and a male resident assistant, Ryan Christopher "Stack" Clark of Augusta, Georgia, were killed. Authorities identified a "person of interest" in the first shooting, who is cooperating with them. According to the Washington Post, this "person of interest" was the boyfriend of the woman in the dorm and was released after cooperating.

About two hours later, shots were reported in a classroom at Norris Hall, an engineering and science building.

A ballistics test shows that the same gun was used in both campus shootings.

The motives of the gunman remain unclear, though the British tabloid Daily Mail reported that the shooter at the dormitory "was said to have quarreled in a dormitory with his girlfriend, whom he believed had been seeing another man. A student advisor was called to . But the shooter produced a gun and killed both his girlfriend and the advisor." However, this theory is contradicted by a report in the Washington Post, which seems to indicate that the assailant was not the boyfriend of the girl, but rather someone else.

An eyewitness told the student newspaper, the Collegiate Times, that a gunman shot about nineteen people attending a German class in Norris Hall including the professor. Only four people emerged unscathed from the German class, with the rest either being killed or wounded. Erin Sheehan, one of the four, said the gunman "peeked in twice, earlier in the lesson, like he was looking for someone, somebody, before he started shooting."

Twenty-seven gunshots can be heard in video footage captured with a cell phone, later broadcast on many news outlets.

Student Nikolas Macko described to BBC News his experience at the center of the shootings. He had been attending a math class and heard gunshots in the hallway. Three people in the classroom barricaded themselves inside the room using a table. At one point, Macko said, the gunman even attempted to break down the door of the classroom and then shot twice into the room; one shot hit a podium and the other went out the window. The shooter reloaded and shot into the door again but the bullet did not penetrate into the room. He stated there were "many, many shots" fired.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

High winds prevented emergency medical services from using helicopters for the evacuations. Victims injured in the event were treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg, and Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem.

Perpetrator

Main article: Cho Seung-hui

File:Ht vatech cho 070417 sp.jpg

Cho Seung-hui

The shooter has been identified as 23-year old Cho Seung-hui, a South Korean living in the US as a resident alien. He was an undergraduate student in his senior year, majoring in English. Law enforcement reported that he killed himself inside Norris Hall by a shot to the head. Officials believe he used a 9 mm Glock 19 and a .22 caliber Walther P-22 handgun. One of the guns was used in both incidents. An official added that Cho was "heavily armed and wearing a vest.". Cho was a student at the school and lived in one of the dormitories. Sources also state that Cho was carrying a "disturbing note."

A student speaking to Times Now said that the first gunshots were heard when classes were in progress. "We heard about thirty gunshots in the morning. The gunman appeared to be Asian and was looking for his girlfriend," the student said. However, a relationship between any of the victims and the shooter has not yet been established.

Sources in University Relations told the student newspaper there may have been two arrests. The arrests have not been confirmed by authorities, nor have names of anyone arrested been released.

According to the official announcement from Virginia Tech, Cho Seung-hui was "South Korean native in the U.S. as a resident alien with a residence established in Centreville, Virginia, was living on campus in Harper Residence Hall".

Victims

It has been suggested that ] be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2007.

This is a partial list and only includes victims who have been specifically named in the media.

First shooting: West Ambler Johnston Hall Dormitory

Ryan C. Clark, 22, a senior from Augusta, Georgia in Biology, English and Psychology. A resident advisor at the West Ambler Johnston Hall Dormitory, Clark was killed in the dormitory as he rushed over to investigate what was going on and came upon the gunman.
Emily J. Hilscher, 18, a freshman from Woodville in Rappahannock County, Virginia.

Second shooting: Norris Hall Engineering Building

Ross Alameddine, a student from Saugus, Massachusetts.
Caitlin Hammaren, a sophomore in International Studies and French.
Matt (Matthew) La Porte, a freshman from Dumont, New Jersey in University Studies.
Jarrett Lane, a senior from Narrows, Virginia in Civil Engineering.
Henry Lee, a freshman from Roanoke, Virginia in Computer Engineering.
Juan Ortiz, a graduate student in Civil Engineering.
Daniel Pérez-Cueva, a student from Peru in International Relations.
Mary Read, a freshman from Annandale, Virginia.
Reema Samaha, a freshman from Centreville, Virginia.
Leslie Sherman, a sophomore in History and International Studies.
Maxine Turner, a senior from Vienna, Virginia in Chemical Engineering.
Christopher Jamie Bishop, an instructor killed while teaching a German class.
Kevin Granata, a professor.
Liviu Librescu, a professor killed while holding off the gunman so his students could escape out the window.
G. V. Loganathan, a professor.
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a French teacher.

Responses

File:Collegiatetimes041707.jpg

Front page of the Collegiate Times in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre.

School response

Virginia Tech canceled classes for the rest of the week and closed Norris Hall for the remainder of the semester, and asked off-campus visitors not to come onto the campus. The school is offering counseling assistance for students and faculty and has scheduled an assembly for Tuesday. Additionally, the Red Cross has dispatched several dozen crisis counselors to Blacksburg to help Virginia Tech students cope with the tragedy that their school has endured.

Virginia Tech President Charles Steger stated at the first news conference that authorities initially believed the first shooting at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory was a domestic dispute and that the gunman had left campus.

Steger indicated in a second press conference later in the afternoon that several thousand students were already on their way to class:

You have to remember that of the 26,000 that we have, only about 9,000 are on campus. When the classes start at 8:00 A.M., thousands of people are in transit. The question is, where do you keep them when it is most safe? We concluded that the incident at the dormitory was domestic in nature. These other events occurred two hours later.

Steger further noted:

It is very difficult, because we are an open society and an open campus. We have 26,000 people here. The best thing that we can do is to have people report anything that they saw that was suspicious. We obviously cannot have an armed guard in front of every classroom every day of the year. …What we try to determine is are they kept out of harm’s way by staying in the dorms or staying in the academic buildings. We send out communications by e-mail, we have an emergency alert system to get the word to our students as quickly as we can. With 11,000 people driving in to campus, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get the word out instantaneously.

Student response

Many Virginia Tech students questioned why the school had not been locked down after the first shooting. Once students knew what was happening, some resorted to using websites such as Facebook to communicate with their family and peers about their condition. The school first informed students via e-mail two hours after the first shooting, warning them of the danger and canceling classes.

Law enforcement response

After the second attack, the Virginia Tech Police, along with the Blacksburg Police Department and the Virginia State Police immediately responded to this event following their active shooter protocols. Local SWAT teams were activated and responded. In addition to the Virginia Tech campus police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation. Bureau spokesman Richard Kolko stated there was no immediate evidence to suggest a terrorist incident, but that the agency is exploring all avenues. The Virginia State Police are also investigating. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) immediately responded to the incident with 10 agents on-scene identifying the weapons and performing forensics.

Government response

Virginia's U.S. Senators John Warner and Jim Webb have both offered their condolences. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is returning early from a trip to Tokyo, Japan. Kaine later declared a "state of emergency" in Virginia, which allows the governor to immediately deploy state personnel, equipment, and other resources to help out in the aftermath of a tragedy.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims. Immediately following the news of the tragedy, White House spokesman said President George W. Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia. "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said. President George W. Bush stated that the nation was "shocked and saddened" by the shooting. He added "schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community." He also pledged assistance to law enforcement and the local community. President Bush and his wife Laura will also attend the convocation at Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy postponed by two days the scheduled April 17 testimony of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales concerning the firings of eight United States prosecutors. In a statement, Gonzales said that the Justice Department would provide support and assistance to the local authorities and victims as long as they were needed.

The Senate approved a resolution on Monday night extending condolences to the victims of the shooting. President Bush ordered the White House flag lowered to half staff, and requested all flags be so lowered until sundown on Sunday, April 22 according to spokeswoman Dana Perino.

International reaction

On April 16, 2007, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was reported to be shocked and saddened at the shootings. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have a pre-planned two-day visit to Virginia on May 3 and May 4, 2007.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair spoke of the "terrible loss of innocent lives", saying, "I would like to express, on behalf of Britain and the British people, our profound sadness at what has happened and to send the American people, and most especially of course the families of the victims, our sympathy and our prayers."

Despite the tense relations between the United States and Iran, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry expressed his nation's deepest condolences over the tragedy.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has extended his sympathies to the victims' families while decrying what he described as a 'negative gun culture' in the United States.

On April 17, the spokesman of the Japanese government, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, expressed the sincerest condolences to the more than 30 people who died.

Gun control debate

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, an American gun control group said that it was easy for an individual to get powerful weapons and called for "common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur". The New York Times ran an editorial calling for more gun control.

Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, the second largest U.S. lobbying group, called on abolishing the gun-free zones, like the Virginia Tech (where carrying a concealed weapon is forbidden), claiming that the best strategy to avoid such incidents is to allow the citizens to defend themselves with firearms. He also claimed that "all the school shootings that have ended abruptly in the last ten years were stopped because a law-abiding citizen—a potential victim—had a gun".

Timeline

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4).

Monday, April 2

A bomb threat to Torgersen Hall is called in anonymously. No evidence has been revealed that would link this threat to the April 16 massacre.

Friday, April 13

Bomb threats are called in to Torgersen, Durham, and Whittemore halls. Police believe this, and the threat on April 2, may have been an attempt by the gunman to test campus security response.

Monday, April 16

7:15 a.m.: A 9-1-1 emergency call to Virginia Tech Police reports a shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall, leaving one person dead and one injured. The second person later died.
8:00 a.m.: Classes begin.
9:00 a.m.—9:30 a.m.(approx.): Shooter opens fire in classroom in Norris Hall, an engineering building.
9:26 a.m.: Emails go out to campus staff and faculty saying there has been a shooting on campus.
9:45 a.m.: Students in the engineering building Norris Hall call police to report more shots have been fired.
9:55 a.m.: A third email announcing: "A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows" is sent to all Virginia Tech email addresses. Loudspeakers broadcast a similar message.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
12:00 p.m.: At a press conference, authorities said there may have been more than 21 people killed and 28 injured.
2:30 p.m.: AP reports at least 31 killed, including gunman.
3:40 p.m.: Virginia Tech confirms 22 dead.
4:01 p.m.: President Bush speaks from the White House regarding the shooting.
4:40 p.m.: The school holds a press conference with updates on the day's events.
4:42 p.m.: Virginia Tech confirms 33 dead including the shooter.
7:30 p.m.: Third press conference. A final confirmation that there have been 31 deaths at Norris Hall, including the gunman, later identified as a South Korean student, Cho Seung-hui. (mp3)

Historical context

The incident is so far the deadliest school shooting incident in the United States, surpassing the 15 deaths of the Columbine High School massacre of 1999 and the 16 deaths of the University of Texas massacre of 1966. It is the second deadliest school-related killing in U.S. history, behind the 1927 Bath School disaster which claimed 45 lives, including 38 school children.

With a death toll of 33, this is the deadliest civilian shooting in United States history, ahead of the Luby's massacre of 1991 in which 24 people were shot and killed.