2008 Woodie Awards
Gunman kills 32 at Virginia Tech before committing suicide
Associated Press
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Local, State & World
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BLACKSBURG, Virginia (AP) _ A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dormitory and then in a classroom building across campus two hours later Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.
Students said there were no public-address announcements or other warnings on campus until an e-mail more than two hours after the first shooting of two people. By then, the gunman had struck again, killing 31 others, including himself.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities at first believed that the shooting at the dormitory was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
``We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur,'' he said.
Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student. At least 26 people were injured.
Earlier in the day, the police chief said he believed there was only one gunman, but at an evening news conference, he and the university president said they were still investigating whether the shootings were related.
The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with witnesses reporting students jumping out classroom windows to escape the gunfire. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A police commando unit with flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed the campus.
Police said doors in the classroom building were chained shut from the inside.
``Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary and learning,'' President George W. Bush said Monday afternoon. ``When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom in every American community.'
Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II was ``shocked and saddened'' after hearing of the shootings. She had planned to visit Virginia in May to mark the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement.
Students said there were no public-address announcements or other warnings on campus until an e-mail more than two hours after the first shooting of two people. By then, the gunman had struck again, killing 31 others, including himself.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities at first believed that the shooting at the dormitory was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
``We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur,'' he said.
Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student. At least 26 people were injured.
Earlier in the day, the police chief said he believed there was only one gunman, but at an evening news conference, he and the university president said they were still investigating whether the shootings were related.
The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus, with witnesses reporting students jumping out classroom windows to escape the gunfire. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A police commando unit with flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed the campus.
Police said doors in the classroom building were chained shut from the inside.
``Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary and learning,'' President George W. Bush said Monday afternoon. ``When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom in every American community.'
Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II was ``shocked and saddened'' after hearing of the shootings. She had planned to visit Virginia in May to mark the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement.
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