32 dead, 15 wounded in Virginia Tech massacre
Killing spree marks the deadliest shooting in American history
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: World News
Gun advocates went farther, saying the shootings underscore the need to allow students to arm themselves.
"It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they may not have guns at schools," said Larry Pratt, the executive director of the group Gun Owners of America. "The Virginia Tech shooting shows that killers have no concern about a gun ban when murder is in their hearts," he added in reference to the campus's ban on guns.
Best known for its engineering school and its football program, Virginia Tech has nearly 26,000 full-time students on a 2,600-acre campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 160 miles west of Richmond.
The school is ranked 34th among national public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Its engineering school is ranked 17th and its civil engineering program 11th. The emphasis on engineering is a likely reason that the school is more male-dominated than many campuses; men make up 59 percent of undergraduates.
Steger, the college president, said classes had been canceled through Tuesday. Counseling centers were being opened to help students deal with the shock. A convocation was planned for Tuesday.
"I cannot begin to covey my own personal sense of loss over this senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act," Steger said.
The worst U.S. civilian shooting before Monday happened in 1991, when George Hennard killed 23 people, wounded more than 20, then killed himself in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.
The worst previous college shooting was in 1966, when Charles Whitman killed 16 people with a rifle from the clock tower at the University of Texas in Austin before police shot and killed him.
The worst lower-school shooting occurred almost exactly eight years ago, when two teenagers killed 13 people, then themselves, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999.
"It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they may not have guns at schools," said Larry Pratt, the executive director of the group Gun Owners of America. "The Virginia Tech shooting shows that killers have no concern about a gun ban when murder is in their hearts," he added in reference to the campus's ban on guns.
Best known for its engineering school and its football program, Virginia Tech has nearly 26,000 full-time students on a 2,600-acre campus in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 160 miles west of Richmond.
The school is ranked 34th among national public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Its engineering school is ranked 17th and its civil engineering program 11th. The emphasis on engineering is a likely reason that the school is more male-dominated than many campuses; men make up 59 percent of undergraduates.
Steger, the college president, said classes had been canceled through Tuesday. Counseling centers were being opened to help students deal with the shock. A convocation was planned for Tuesday.
"I cannot begin to covey my own personal sense of loss over this senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act," Steger said.
The worst U.S. civilian shooting before Monday happened in 1991, when George Hennard killed 23 people, wounded more than 20, then killed himself in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.
The worst previous college shooting was in 1966, when Charles Whitman killed 16 people with a rifle from the clock tower at the University of Texas in Austin before police shot and killed him.
The worst lower-school shooting occurred almost exactly eight years ago, when two teenagers killed 13 people, then themselves, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999.
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