News Stories

[Vexx]

Unless of course, Kyuusai's talking about the reasoning of the administrators and legislature

As I said elsewhere, this criminal was a slow-motion suicide bomber who created a terrible tragedy. It matters less why or how he did it than
1) being supportive of the victims and their families.
2) teaching people to PAY ATTENTION when someone around them shows the precursors for committing an event. Almost every incident I've ever researched has a cartload of testimony that ends with "He was showing me all this stuff and talking about killing but I didn't think he was serious." (so they didn't inform anyone).

[cheyannew]

We had to make sure our Drummer was OK since he has ties there...
He's OK, but had a friend working in the Norris Building, so it's been a tense afternoon for many; between that and the HUGE winds here, today's been a very pre-apocalyptic kind of day; I'm waiting for the locusts...

[ImClueless]

Well it is nearing finals season. Maybe a disturbed student decided to go out in a blaze of glory rather than contemplate failing grades. Especially if he was a first year since most people always gets some cold water dumped on them in first year.

[Vexx]

I realize you're just using a phrase ... but I'm not seeing the glory (anymore than I see any glory in what a suicide bomber does). That sort of act is just .... impossibly lame and pathetic. I keep reminding myself its no different than what goes on in Iraq or other places of nastiness... but a classroom of students seems to hit more of my neural clusters on that scenario.

[psycho bolt]

I'm still trying to find out why there wasn't police/swat at campus after the 7:15 am shooting.

[ImClueless]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I realize you're just using a phrase ... but I'm not seeing the glory (anymore than I see any glory in what a suicide bomber does). That sort of act is just .... impossibly lame and pathetic. I keep reminding myself its no different than what goes on in Iraq or other places of nastiness... but a classroom of students seems to hit more of my neural clusters on that scenario.

It isn't truly any different from all the other nastiness in the world. Whats different in your perception is that it is happening close to home rather than some emotionally faraway place. It goes beyond the cerebral understanding, rather a gut reaction since you can place yourself or people you know in that situation. And yes I was just using a phrase, maybe "hail of gunfire" would've been less ambiguous.

[psycho bolt]

I found this recorded video on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HNrBd4kKMg

from someones phone near the shooting

its, on cnn too

[bigdave]

WoW just WoW I just heard it from a news article posted like 20 min ago! T__T

Man this is so sad! I feel kinda mad that the school didn't react so quickly o__o
I am going to keep all the victims and their family in my prayers,

[Kyuusai]

Originally Posted by psycho bolt

I'm still trying to find out why there wasn't police/swat at campus after the 7:15 am shooting.

Not only that, but why weren't the classes cancelled right then?

I don't want to point fingers, but I don't doubt that university politics played a part in the handling of the situation.

[AvianWing]

There were police there, but they were near the dormitory where the first shooting occured. If the second and the first incidents were resulted from the same shooter, then the shooter traveled across the campus to the engineering department.

There are definitely failures in the system. Bureacracy, what can we do? The students were notified about the situation through email, and, honestly, who checks email every other minute?

[psycho bolt]

Ok, i was wrong. There was police teams at the scene. Just that they were investigating what just happened. Yep, the school never sounded the alarm. That video I just posted just proves that the police had no idea the shooter was still in campus until it was too late. What a tradegy. I felt that those 20-30 deaths could have been prevented. I wonder what was the shooter was doing between those two hours....

[Cyz]

So many people died because of that shoot out

[Aoie_Emesai]

It's sad that events like this still happens. It's better for that person to drive off a road and tragically die instead of taking 30+ lives with him. What an a**.

ps: no wonder I didn't recognize the gun thread, it was made today.

[Princess_of_Hell]

Fox News said that it was probably a 24 year-old Chinese National on a Student Visa that did it. They also said that the fake bomb threats could have been actually used to test the security of the campus.

[whatever001]

Originally Posted by Princess_of_Hell

Fox News said that it was probably a 24 year-old Chinese National on a Student Visa that did it. They also said that the fake bomb threats could have been actually used to test the security of the campus.

Fox News?
along with chicago sun-times...

will they get in trouble if this claim is not correct?

rumors can hurt more than the brutal truth you know..

[Psychodragon]

I have to say, I am deeply saddened by this. I was a student at UVA, and as most are aware, UVA and VT are rivals. I'm from Maryland, and every so often my Virginian friends would invite their friends from Blacksburg to come visit Charlottesville. Great people, intelligent conversations, fun jokes. They're great folks. From those first impressions, I cared less for the rivalries the schools maintained.

I feel very close to the school, as I still have friends down there (thank goodness they're alright), and it wasn't long ago I was an undergraduate.

Sigh. I've been angry and depressed before, almost to the point I didn't want to live another day. Luckily I had friends and family that helped. I just wondered had the shooter sought some sort of counseling, things would have been a lot different. "Are you alright? What's troubling you? Anything I can do to help?" All it probably required would've been just one listener. It can be speculated that the shooter DID ask, but didn't get the reception he desired.

It's sad to watch the media interview students on campus. They look so distraught. And the reporters continue to hound them with some demanding questions. Leave them alone! They're just kids!!

I didn't think we'd see another one of these since Columbine. And now it has gotten worse.

-PD

[Lebron]

Really a tragic pointless event. I know a few people that go to VA Tech and they're pretty much speechless. I can't even begin to imagine what the victims and survivors families must be going through right now. Such a sad day

[Imaru]

I can testify to the fact that the sirens were sounded on Tech campus. Both my roommate and I heard them yesterday morning when we stepped outside (we live within walking distance of Va. Tech) to walk our dog. There was also a press conference aired on the radio stations here (I'm not sure if it was aired on television or other networks) with the President of V. tech. He stated that the sirens went off not long after the first shooting incident and the emails soon followed. I know that more could've been done to prevent a lot of what happened, but I also think that it was near impossible to stop 25,000+ students from pouring into the campus. Va. Tech is an incredibly large campus and takes up a decent 75% of Blacksburg (the town isn't that big)-I believe that the President of the campus did what he could within his power to control the situation. As for the police...well...ahem.
K92.3 (local popular radio station) had an on-air interview with a victim who was in Norris during the shooting. He stated that the gunman looked as though he were heavily armed and well prepared for what he was doing. What I found intriguing (heroic even) about his story is that he claimed he and two of his classmates stood against him. They formed a human chain to block their doorway from his entering after he had already made a round through their classroom and killed their prof. and other students. When he fought back they resisted until one of them got shot in the leg and narrowly missed being shot again (the door frame was shot instead). Where were the police? They were outside "securing the perimeter" pointing their guns at the building and patiently waiting for him to come out with his hands in the air. Come on. I find it infuriating that the students had to take their lives into their own hands when there were armed policemen (sent there to save them) standing around outside waiting for something drastic to happen. And where the heck was the SWAT team? These students were scared out of their minds and jumping out of second story windows trying to save themselves while they stood around twidling their thumbs. I don't get it.
What's worse is that the gunman took his own life after the massacre. If they had interviened asap they could've taken him alive and sent him into a living hell within the court systems. As for whether or not he was a student-no official report has concluded that. Though, in order to have access to the dorms you need a key card. Either he could've slipped in behind someone or he had one himself (or maybe it wasn't even him-as the two incidents haven't been connected yet). And to comment on what Princes_of_Hell stated: I hadn't thought about the bomb threats in that way. It is odd that they all happened in this succession (there were two this past week).
For those interested-I'm pretty sure there will be a live broadcast of some sort today at Tech during the Memorial ceremony (being held at 2 pm EST). I heard something about the Today Show from a co-worker-but that could've been a rumor. The victims of yesterdays tragedy are in my prayers and I hope that this is the last of such crimes (though something tells me it won't be).

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Princess_of_Hell

Fox News said that it was probably a 24 year-old Chinese National on a Student Visa that did it. They also said that the fake bomb threats could have been actually used to test the security of the campus.

oh what a load of.... you know, of course, the Fox "news" center gets its material from a huge cluster of Magic Eight Balls.
I'm not saying that isn't theoretically possible --- but that just about matches my predicted "wait for it... the loon bin conspiracy speculation... just to amp up the ratings" Perhaps Fox is now getting its newscopy from "24" rather than AP/Reuters just to save time...

My only comment so far is that school security policy is seriously dorked if they think a "homicidal domestic dispute" doesn't rate a significant response -- that's exactly the kind of person who now no longer cares.... the more they repeat that excuse the lamer it sounds...

[Andu]

i have an aquaintance that studies there and also has friends there. I hope they're ok...