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Press Association
Monday April 16, 2007 8:03 PM
A gunman opened fire in a dormitory and classroom at a US university on Monday, killing at least 30 people.
The rampage at Virginia Tech University was the deadliest in US history, government officials said. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll in Blacksburg, Virginia, to 31.
It is unclear if the gunman was shot by police or took his own life.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
The name of the gunman was not immediately released, and investigators offered no motive for the attack. It was not clear if the gunman was a student.
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. Police with flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed the campus.
The bloodbath took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7.15am (1215 GMT) at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and continuing about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.
Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dormitory when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.
After the first shots were fired, students were warned to stay indoors and away from the windows. But some students said they thought the precautions had been lifted by the time the second burst of gunfire was heard, and some bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time, two hours after the bloodshed began.
Some of the dead were students. One student was killed in a dorm and the others were killed in the classroom, Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum said.
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2007, All Rights Reserved
Source
Monday April 16, 2007 8:03 PM
A gunman opened fire in a dormitory and classroom at a US university on Monday, killing at least 30 people.
The rampage at Virginia Tech University was the deadliest in US history, government officials said. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll in Blacksburg, Virginia, to 31.
It is unclear if the gunman was shot by police or took his own life.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
The name of the gunman was not immediately released, and investigators offered no motive for the attack. It was not clear if the gunman was a student.
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. Police with flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed the campus.
The bloodbath took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7.15am (1215 GMT) at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and continuing about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.
Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dormitory when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.
After the first shots were fired, students were warned to stay indoors and away from the windows. But some students said they thought the precautions had been lifted by the time the second burst of gunfire was heard, and some bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time, two hours after the bloodshed began.
Some of the dead were students. One student was killed in a dorm and the others were killed in the classroom, Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum said.
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2007, All Rights Reserved
Source