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This is just awful: A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people and wounding another 21 before he was killed, police said. On the Web site, Tech reported the shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and said there were "multiple victims" at Norris Hall, an engineering building. All entrances to the campus were closed and classes canceled through Tuesday. "There's just a lot of commotion. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on," said student Jason Anthony Smith, 19, who lives in the dormwhere shooting took place. Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville,said the shooting happened on the 4th floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode's resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put. "They had us under lockdown," Kanode said. "They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again." "We're all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what's going on," Kanode said. Madison Van Duyne, a student who was interviewed by telephone on CNN,said, "We are all in lockdown. Most of the students are sitting on thefloors away from the windows just trying to be as safe as possible." It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting. In August 2006, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guardoff campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff's deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus. The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.
Fox is saying the shooting started around 7:15 a.m. at a dorm, where one person was killed. More than an hour later, wearing an ammo vest, the gunman went classroom to classroom in an engineering building shooting at will, killing more than 20 more. Fox has 20 confirmed deaths, AP's reporting 22 dead. How is that no one got a handle on this guy and the buildings locked down between the first killing and the subsequent spree? Was the lockdown lifted in between shootings, as the above quote indicates? Frightening.
Update: Apparently, there's cell phone video of the attack. Heard they showed it on CNN.
The shooting was partially captured on a student’s cellphone videocamera showing grainy black figures on the street outside of campusbuildings. Popping sounds from the gunfire were audible. Update: Understatement of the day: "It was a little nerve-wracking," he said. Update: E.D. Hill and Orlando Salinas are both reporting on Fox, I believe from independent sources, that the shooter was looking for his girlfriend. That could, of course, just be a rumor that's made it to more than one student and back to Fox. Another unconfirmed story is that students were lined up and shot, execution-style. Update: Lovely: The press corps is already asking Dana Perino about gun control. On the other hand: Icertainly wish that someone had been in a position to shoot this guy atthe outset. Update: New reports say anywhere from 29-32 dead. Sadly, I'm sure the total will rise.
The statement from the Va. Tech president. Update: Shootings not random?
The man did not appear to be shooting at random, NBC News’ PeteWilliams reported, quoting federal law enforcement officials. Heappeared to have specifically targeted the two locations, a co-eddormitory and a classroom housing engineering and business classes. Update: CNN tape of Derek O'Dell, a survivor, describing the shooter and scene. "Asian man, in his 20s, maroon hat, black leather jacket."
Update: Both condolences and early gun control campaigns are on display on Facebook:
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