Gunman Was Virginia Tech Student

The gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in America's deadliest mass shooting was a student at the university, authorities said today.

Charles Steger, the Virginia Tech president, told CNN the killer was an Asian male and "one of our own students".

Erin Sheehan, one of four survivors from a German class at Norris hall, where most of the killings took place, had earlier told the Collegiate Times website: "He was just a normal looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout type outfit.

"He wore a tan button-up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something."

Confirmation that the killer was a Virginia Tech student came as the university prepared to hold a memorial service for the 32 victims of the massacre, with authorities struggling to explain their handling of yesterday's events.

The university has already been strongly criticised over the two-hour gap between the first killings and an email alert telling students that a shooting had taken place and warning them to "be cautious".