51 replies to this topic

[MyNameIsURL]

By CHRISTINE HAUSER and ANAHAD O’CONNOR
April 16, 2007

Emergency responders today carrying the injured out of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

At least 22 people were killed today, some of them students, and about two dozen more injured during shootings at Virginia Tech, some of them in a classroom, the police said. A gunman was also shot to death, officials said.

The attack was the deadliest campus shooting in American history.

"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.

The shootings started early in the morning and as they unfolded, many of the details emerged from witnesses who recorded images on their cellphones or described fellow students jumping out of campus building windows. The university has more than 25,000 full-time students on a campus that is spread out over 2,600 acres.

Up until today, the deadliest campus shooting in United States history was in 1966 at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a clock tower and opened fire, killing 16 people before he was gunned down by police. In the Columbine High attack in 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before killing themselves.

A police official at Virginia Tech, 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 one television reporter in the broadcast.

At least 22 people were injured. At least 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries at Montgomery Regional Hospital, and four of them were in surgery, according to a hospital spokesperson. At Lewis-Gale Medical Center, in Salem, Va., four students and a staff member were treated. Two were in stable condition, and the conditions of the other three were described as "undetermined."

Officials said there could have been more people who were injured and taken to other medical facilities.

President Bush was "horrified" at the news of the shooting, and expressed deep concern for the families of the victims, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. President Bush said he would make federal assets available to the school and to the community.

One student captured partial images, broadcast on CNN, using his cellphone video camera showing grainy dark-clad 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."

He said that the shooting reminded him of the Columbine High School killings.

Today's shooting at Virginia Tech comes in the same week, eight years ago, as the April 20 shooting at Columbine.

The police were slowly evacuating students from campus buildings and all classes have been canceled.

Families were told to reunite with students at the Inn at Virginia Tech, a facility of conference space and hotel rooms. The university community was told to assemble on Tuesday at the Cassell Coliseum to start to deal with the tragedy, a campus statement said.

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 two 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."

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.

Police evacuated 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.

[m3747r0n]

It's 31 now.

[Alk3]

this is fuxxed up. Why cant these whack jobs use there insane shoot-em-up tactics in better scenarios? I mean, why not send these psychos to Iraq. Better yet, to Washington and get rid of GB, you know who...

[MyNameIsURL]

this is fuxxed up. Why cant these whack jobs use there insane shoot-em-up tactics in better scenarios? I mean, why not send these psychos to Iraq. Better yet, to Washington and get rid of GB, you know who...

I rather think Iraq has more than enough psychos running around.

Too bad that guy hadn't chosen to take out his aggressions in a less destructive manner. He probably would have been an invaluable addition to any CounterStrike clan...

[Rightcoast]

The shame is that this is one of the only places in western Virginia with a large mass of completely unarmed people. It's why he was able to burn through 32 people.

Yay for disarmed students!

[MyNameIsURL]

They ought to at least have armed security guards at that school...

[Alk3]

The shame is that this is one of the only places in western Virginia with a large mass of completely unarmed people. It's why he was able to burn through 32 people.

Yay for disarmed students!

FTW. that is some funny shit. lol

[jabzor]

Sounds like it is up to 33 now.

[systems_glitch]

32. The bastard gunman doesn't need to be counted in that.

It's fortunate that enough of the students thought to barricade themselves in rooms to have saved more lives...

It's especially disturbing, that I'd have been in one of those rooms that got shot up during that class change last semester. You never think shit like this will happen to you.

[Linux]

Something is VERY wierd about this. The blackout together with conflicting reports (at first it was reported people had been shot with shotgun, etc) suggests that there is a second shooter. It is known that this guy tested the police response times in the previous weeks via bomb threats, so they are dealing with an above average assailant here, hence the blackout. They don't want to give him any info that can assist him.


Anyway, you know what would be a great prank (especially for you seniors!)? Go to school tomorrow and chain the doors from the inside!!! Then start playing flava flav "911 is a joke" on the PA. Make sure you jam the cellphones with some leet equipment. Then once everybody notices and starts panicking, light off some fireworks !!!11!1


disclaimer: Linux not t be held personally responsible if you are actually retarded enough to pull said prank.

Edited by Linux, 17 April 2007 - 03:51 PM.

[Enkil]

im all the way down here in south america, but they are meant to be doing what i do, they were my age, they should be worrying about exams, getting drunk, getting tested for an std or just listening to music while wondering where the fuck they aer going.

ftw its not funny, there can be sarcasm, even flame my bitchy sentimentalism or whatever. that shit is not meatn to happen, violent societies that horrorize themselves at those uncalled outbursts of violence only when they happen, and let them happen over and over again.

send them to irak, sure, call it a black sheep, blame it on them. they are just the tip of the iceberg, everyone around them is the iceberg.

[/fag]
[tech_lover]
dont really have nothing to say as a tech nerd atm :/

[PurpleJesus]

I know this is a bit sick.... but someone outta hand it to the guy(s) at least this time he/they were pretty good shots...

& I hate it how the news never mentions Bath Michigan when talking about school bang-boom histories.. maybe it's because they can't blame video games....

I was talking to an ex-soldier yesterday... the subject came up on that California bank robbery where the guys had body armor on... We were talking about... the body armor and how the cops couldn't stop them. but I can see their heads.. shoot their heads! He said that what he did in war cause he didn't want to bother bringing back prisoners. I'd haft to agree with him on that... (takes two soldiers to escort a prisoner back... you need everyone on your team with you... break up the team and you have a better chance of getting killed yourself)

What kind of people are they hiring to be cops??? It seems none of them know how to fire a gun... I got a cheap chinese SKS and I can make that thing hit whatever I want out to 150 yards... So it's not a factor of 'better' guns... we need better cops.

//well... what do you expect from a cop... if he has poor penmanship.. you you really think he can shoot a gun straight? (read your next traffic ticket and you'll know what I mean)

[LUCKY_FUCKIN_CHARMS]

well shit it looks like this guy set the bar pretty high with a body count of 33+, looks like im gonna have to strap up and head over to UNLV to see if i can break the record. HAPPY HUNTING!

[dalejrrocks]

http://news.yahoo.co...a_tech_shooting

A loner korean kid.

[Rightcoast]

About that ftw part. I really wasn't being funny at all.

Here is a story about what happens when people arm themselves in accordance with the law.

http://en.wikipedia....of_Law_shooting

When people talk about a liberal press, the fact is many outlets are in fact liberal. The people doing the reporting are liberal in nature, and no person completely unties the bias. the fact it isn't as overt as a Fox News show doesn't mean it isn't there. Most reports of that incident make no mention of there being not one, but two armed students on the scene. They say the suspect was "subdeud" or "tackled"

"Students apparently tackled the gunman" from http://archives.cnn....chool.shooting/

I bet 50 bucks to anyone who reads this that you can not capture a single sound bite on any MSM outlet mentioning the ASL shooting today (no points for columbine or or the tower, sorry). Much less one that mentions he was taken down by a group of armed citizens. Nor will you hear many mentions that a Korean did the VT shooting and a Nigierian did the ASL shooting. At least, it will be hard to catch it if they do say it ... you know, between sound bites about "American gun culture", and "controlling and keeping kids safe". In fact, I'll bet as well read as most of the people here are, you never even HEARD OF THE FUCKING ASL shootings. Not that it was easy to find mind you.

I'll keep myself safe. Thanks.

[Seal]

I bet 50 bucks to anyone who reads this that you can not capture a single sound bite on any MSM outlet mentioning the ASL shooting today (no points for columbine or or the tower, sorry). Much less one that mentions he was taken down by a group of armed citizens. Nor will you hear many mentions that a Korean did the VT shooting and a Nigierian did the ASL shooting. At least, it will be hard to catch it if they do say it ... you know, between sound bites about "American gun culture", and "controlling and keeping kids safe". In fact, I'll bet as well read as most of the people here are, you never even HEARD OF THE FUCKING ASL shootings. Not that it was easy to find mind you.

I'll keep myself safe. Thanks.

No, because only three deaths were involved. Yeah, it seems like alot of people contend that the problem is that there aren't enough guns. If you have more law-abiding citizens with guns, then you have less gun deaths. Meanwhile, I'm of the belief that the less guns you have overall, the less gun deaths there'll be. Guns don't kill people, people do. And when less of those monsters can get a gun to inflict mucho damage, the better off all their potential victims are as well.

[Irongeek]

Problem there Seal is that you can't put the Genie back in the bottle. Outlawing guns in someplaces keep them out of law abiding citizens hands, but it's much harder to keep them out of the hands of someone willing to break the law.


<sick sense of humor>
33 body count, asian students are overachievers.
</sick sense of humor>

Edited by Irongeek, 17 April 2007 - 03:12 PM.

[Seal]

Problem there Seal is that you can't put the Genie back in the bottle. Outlawing guns in someplaces keep them out of law abiding citizens hands, but it's much harder to keep them out of the hands of someone willing to break the law.


<sick sense of humor>
33 body count, asian students are overachievers.
</sick sense of humor>

I actually don't advocate the ban of guns. There are places in which it's necessary, and livelihoods dependent upon this weapon for both sport and for financial reasons. I do think though that the problem has to do with lax controls surrounding guns. Such mechanisms don't take guns out of the hands of those that have the proper licenses, etc. What they do is curtail the seemingly unimpeded flow of guns into the hands of those that shouldn't have them. And it isn't a matter of making it harder for the end-point consumer of getting guns - it's the whole dynamic. What's in between the manufacturing, to the receiving of them in the hands of gangs in Toronto. This attitude that a gun, which in the case of self-defense, reacts after someone else pulled a gun or whatever - is the solution to getting the gun out of the bad guy's hands. I think the solution ought to be purely to work to get the guns out of that bad guy's hands to begin with.

[riscphree]

33 body count

I think it means the police are getting slower and slower response times.

I always did wonder why there were so low body counts in these school shootings. I mean, one class has more people than that.

[systems_glitch]

This guy was a particularly good shot though. Apparently he'd had some sort of training. A friend of mine works for the local rescue squad, and said everyone coming in had multiple gun wounds, not just one or two as if he were shooting blindly into the room.

What I find interesting is that quite a few people didn't immediately identify the noise as gunshots. I guess quite a few people have /never/ been exposed to anything other than pellet and paintball guns.