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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
BLACKSBURG, Va. (MCT) - The deadliest shooting massacre in American history savaged Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on Monday, as an unidentified gunman killed 32 people and wounded 15 more, then killed himself, his motive and identity unknown as of early evening.
The shootings stunned the sprawling campus in southwest Virginia and shocked the country.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
The shooter started at a coed dormitory, opening fire around 7:15 a.m. and killing a man and woman in a room there. Two hours later he appeared in an engineering classroom building across campus, where he killed 30 more people and then himself, police said.
"It was about four or five shots pretty close together," said Justice Goracke, 21, of Lovettsville, a junior who was near the classroom building at the time.
"When I heard it, it kind of sounded like bullets, but there was construction going on nearby," Goracke said. "Then about 20 seconds later I heard another six shots. Then I knew: This wasn't right."
Students and onlookers across the campus were dazed, asking which of their friends had been shot, and why they were left uninformed and exposed to danger for hours.
"Everybody's in complete shock," said freshman Rachel Wirth, 18, of Charlotte, N.C. "Everybody's wondering if they know anybody who was killed or wounded."
Graduate student Darryl Price, 23, also of Charlotte, described seeing 20 ambulances lined up as he tried to leave the area. "At that point, you fully realize the scale of what just happened."
President Bush was said to be horrified when he heard the news.
"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning," he said Monday afternoon at the White House. "When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community."
The shootings stunned the sprawling campus in southwest Virginia and shocked the country.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
The shooter started at a coed dormitory, opening fire around 7:15 a.m. and killing a man and woman in a room there. Two hours later he appeared in an engineering classroom building across campus, where he killed 30 more people and then himself, police said.
"It was about four or five shots pretty close together," said Justice Goracke, 21, of Lovettsville, a junior who was near the classroom building at the time.
"When I heard it, it kind of sounded like bullets, but there was construction going on nearby," Goracke said. "Then about 20 seconds later I heard another six shots. Then I knew: This wasn't right."
Students and onlookers across the campus were dazed, asking which of their friends had been shot, and why they were left uninformed and exposed to danger for hours.
"Everybody's in complete shock," said freshman Rachel Wirth, 18, of Charlotte, N.C. "Everybody's wondering if they know anybody who was killed or wounded."
Graduate student Darryl Price, 23, also of Charlotte, described seeing 20 ambulances lined up as he tried to leave the area. "At that point, you fully realize the scale of what just happened."
President Bush was said to be horrified when he heard the news.
"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning," he said Monday afternoon at the White House. "When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community."
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