Virginia Tech "Shocked and Horrified" by Massacre: 33 People Killed

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Early this morning students and faculty at Virginia Tech received a shocking awakening when a mass shooting occurred at the university. At least 33 people are reported dead, with more than 26 injured.

Virginia Tech president Charles Steger shared the following in a statement podcast from the Virginia Tech website: "The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus." Steger added that the campus is closed today, while the Virginia Tech police, state police, and the FBI work together to examine evidence and investigate the crime scene.

The shooting began, according to Steger, at about 7:15 this morning, when an emergency call was made to the campus police department from one of the residence halls, West Ambler Johnston Hall. Two hours later, while the police were still investigating the first crisis, a second call came from a classroom in Norris Hall reporting more shooting.

Several students spoke with reporters. "This teacher comes flying out of Norris, he’s bleeding from his arm or his shoulder…all these students were coming out of Norris trying to take shelter in Randolph. All these kids were freaked out. [They said] the shooter was wearing a vest covered in clips and was just unloading on their door, going from classroom to classroom…they said it never seemed like it was going to stop and there was just blood all over," student Blake Harrison told FOX News reporters.

Campus police chief Wendell Flinchum initially reported to several news sources that there was a single gunman, who was among the 33 fatalities. Flinchum did not know if the shooter had been killed by police or had shot himself.

The university sent a mass email to students telling them to remain indoors, shortly before deciding to evacuate the campus. Some students were upset about how they received the information, saying they did not know a second shooting had occurred and that they thought the lockdown had been lifted. Virginia Tech student Jason Piatt said to CNN, "I’m pretty outraged that someone died in a shooting in a dorm at 7:00 in the morning and the first email about it, no mention of locking down campus, no mention of cancelling classes, they just mention they’re investigating a shooting two hours later at 9:22. That’s pretty ridiculous and meanwhile, while they’re sending out that email, 22 more people got killed."

Other students stated that a police vehicle drove through the streets of the campus with a loudspeaker, telling people to stay inside while they searched for "suspicious activity."

With a student body of 25,000 located on the university’s 2,600 acres, with over 100 buildings on the main campus, an emergency communication to all students is surely logistically challenging.

The school faced other unsettling events earlier this month. Bomb threats were announced on two separate days in April, and classes were cancelled after one of those, on April 13th.

Though the campus will open tomorrow morning at 8:00, classes remain cancelled while the school community attempts to begin the healing process. A convocation will be held tomorrow at noon, and counseling will be available for students and faculty.

With at least 33 people dead, today marks the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. school campus in history, more than doubling the fatalities suffered during the Columbine shooting.

The emotions expressed by Virginia Tech president Charles Steger on the university website capture the devastated response to such an event: "The university was struck today with a tragedy of monumental proportions…I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over [the] senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act."