Shooting rampage at Va Tech..

Not sure if any of y'all are following this story, but this is just horrific. 31 confirmed dead including the shooter.

Scary stuff for those of us who work on college campuses.

Not sure if any of y'all are following this story, but this is just horrific. 31 confirmed dead including the shooter.

Scary stuff for those of us who work on college campuses.

This is horrible! JB, It's also scary for those of us with kids living on college campuses.

I am stunned. Just turned on the TV and saw this. Brings back awful memories of the University of Texas sniper.

It is very sad. There are just no words.

I can only imagine how scary for these kids and their parents. It's horrible for everyone. The pictures are awful to see, reminds me of Columbine but worse.

Just four days earlier than Columbine, which was on 4/20. I'm hearing the press refer to it as the worst shooting in the U.S. I guess they threw the history books out of the window.

Just four days earlier than Columbine, which was on 4/20. I'm hearing the press refer to it as the worst shooting in the U.S. I guess they threw the history books out of the window.

To quote CNN: "The killings mark the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, surpassing attacks at Columbine High School in 1999 and at the University of Texas in 1966."

Horrific. Almost beyond comprehension.

The world's gone crazy. My heart goes out to those poor kids, their families, and the Virginia Tech community.

Horrific. Almost beyond comprehension.

I'm listening to the live press conference right now and it truly is horrific. And to think that VA Tech's information system was down or off or whatever. Students were IMing each other across the 2k acre campus to take cover during this 2 hour ordeal.

It is awful. I know we are praying for all these families affected by this.

I read somewhere that the first reported shootings were around 7:30, but classes weren't cancelled. Students were told to just "be careful". Then the larger part of the massacre was later in an engineering building completely across campus where people wouldn't be if there wasn't class happening.

Does anyone know if there was any truth to that? If so it seems like shots fired would be a sufficient reason to cancel classes?

It's real easy to look at the university officials and day "they should have done this or they should have done that." But as a staffer at a major university, it is almost impossible to "lock down" an entire college campus. Initially, they thought the dorm shooting was a domestic incident.

Not defending the Va Tech administration by any means, but just trying to shed some light on their line of thinking. Needless to say, if I had a child enrolled there, I would be on my way to pick him/her up right now.

It's real easy to look at the university officials and day "they should have done this or they should have done that." But as a staffer at a major university, it is almost impossible to "lock down" an entire college campus. Initially, they thought the dorm shooting was a domestic incident.

Not defending the Va Tech administration by any means, but just trying to shed some light on their line of thinking. Needless to say, if I had a child enrolled there, I would be on my way to pick him/her up right now.

Oh, I understand about a lockdown. I went to a 20k+ person school that would have been impossible to shut down. I was just thinking that from the standpoint that there was a person with a gun shooting people in a school dorm that was unaccounted for.

It's just weird to me that it is okay to make students go to class if there is a "domestic incident (with gunfire)" in a dorm. After Columbine I thought there might be a little more sensitivity to the fact that the people might be crazy enough to go somewhere else and start shooting others. I guess I am just saying that cancelling classes for one day would be a reasonable precaution to take. Now, if there is a college football game scheduled, it's a different story as those should never be cancelled..

I read somewhere that the first reported shootings were around 7:30, but classes weren't cancelled. Students were told to just "be careful". Then the larger part of the massacre was later in an engineering building completely across campus where people wouldn't be if there wasn't class happening.

Does anyone know if there was any truth to that? If so it seems like shots fired would be a sufficient reason to cancel classes?

That is what VT representatives said at the press briefing. I wasn't there and cannot make that call about when to shut down classes. The number of people killed in the dorm has not been released. What if only two people were killed in the dorm at 7am. Is that reason to shut down classes for the day? The Campus Police Chief stated that they had reason to believe that the shooter was leaving campus and the state after the dorm shooting. They haven't even confirmed that this second shooting was done by the first shooter. Way too early to start throwing out guesses, and especially to second guess the people who are still investigating.

That is what VT representatives said at the press briefing. I wasn't there and cannot make that call about when to shut down classes. The number of people killed in the dorm has not been released. What if only two people were killed in the dorm at 7am. Is that reason to shut down classes for the day? The Campus Police Chief stated that they had reason to believe that the shooter was leaving campus and the state after the dorm shooting. They haven't even confirmed that this second shooting was done by the first shooter. Way too early to start throwing out guesses, and especially to second guess the people who are still investigating.

First, I have to say yes, one murder with a firearm in a school dorm and no one in handcuffs is a good enough reason to cancel one day out of the entire school year.

I agree that it is not fair to second guess decisions that are made especially while investigating is going on and I appreciate the difficult situation that the officials are in, but that being said. There is NO WAY IN H$!# I would be going to class if there had been people killed on campus and I knew about it. It would be worth me missing a Monday in the middle of April and calling it a Spring Day/long weekend and saying I was having mental anguish.

I guess the other part that bothers me is that I knew someone who could have been in those classrooms if it had been a few years ago as they got there BS in Engineering from VT, and if it had been in the engineering building where I went to college, it could have been me.

If they knew they didn't have a suspect in custody after the first shooting, I would think that reason enough to cancel classes until further notice regardless of what they "thought."

If they knew they didn't have a suspect in custody after the first shooting, I would think that reason enough to cancel classes until further notice regardless of what they "thought."

If that is the case, I guess you could make the same case for one or two students being killed who lived in a house near campus. There is really no difference, is there? The first shooting just happened to be in a dorm on campus instead of an apartment, adjacent to campus.

If that is the case, I guess you could make the same case for one or two students being killed who lived in a house near campus. There is really no difference, is there? The first shooting just happened to be in a dorm on campus instead of an apartment, adjacent to campus.

First, I think it does make a difference that it is a University-owned facility on campus, not nearby campus. But that wasn't the question at hand for the administrators this morning, their's was much more specific. There were a student or students murdered on school property this morning in one of their dorms where kids are sent by their parents with the knowledge that the University is watching their kids. Just with the first shooting numerous people are impacted- everyone in the dorm, everyone that knew the people shot, everyone that has a friend in the dorm. It's like a big spider web.

Second, I don't see the importance of one day of classes in this instance. What would have been the downside if the president of the university would have said a student (or students) have been murdered in one of our dorms and out of respect for that person (or persons) and their families we are going to stop classes for the day and allow our university to work through the issues related to why and how this happened. P.S. We still don't have the shooter. I just think it's the right thing to do.

Oh, I understand about a lockdown. I went to a 20k+ person school that would have been impossible to shut down. I was just thinking that from the standpoint that there was a person with a gun shooting people in a school dorm that was unaccounted for.

It's just weird to me that it is okay to make students go to class if there is a "domestic incident (with gunfire)" in a dorm. After Columbine I thought there might be a little more sensitivity to the fact that the people might be crazy enough to go somewhere else and start shooting others. I guess I am just saying that cancelling classes for one day would be a reasonable precaution to take. Now, if there is a college football game scheduled, it's a different story as those should never be cancelled..

Like you, I don't buy the "well, we thought the shooter had left campus." How in the hell could they possibly know that?

In hindsight, I'm sure they would have closed the university. None of us really understand their line of thinking, but it's real easy to analize the situation after the fact.

Hopefully, there will be lessons learned from this.

Si02,
I disagree. First, if a student is murdered in an apartment complex, adjacent to campus, and rented by only students, you have the same scenerio. I must also disagree that parents send there kids to school for protection by the college. If you are relying upon campus police for protection, good luck. Say your prayers.

My point was that I think there is a point where it does perhaps make a difference. Lets say that people in more than one dorm room were killed, I could see shutting down classes until further investigation. We haven't been told of the facts of this case. Still don't know how many were killed in the dorm. I am simply saying that we quickly jump to conclusions witout having complete knowledge of the situation. I don't think that one murder is cause to shut down a college. Maybe the cops have information from witnesses that the killer in the dorm was killing his girlfriend or boyfriend for cheating on him. The point is, we don't know.

If that is the case, I guess you could make the same case for one or two students being killed who lived in a house near campus. There is really no difference, is there? The first shooting just happened to be in a dorm on campus instead of an apartment, adjacent to campus.

If I were in charge of a university and the welfare of all those under my watch and there were a shooting in or around campus, then yes, classes would be canceled.

This is the same university where an escaped convict was running loose on campus in August of last year after killing 2 and escaping from a hospital 2 miles off campus. They locked the campus down then. I don't see how this incident could have been handled any other way, but it was.

How do you lock down a campus which is open?

Also, this is the same school that had bomb threats last week. Why isn't anyone crying about the school still having classes so suddenly after an unresolved bomb threat?

Like you, I don't buy the "well, we thought the shooter had left campus." How in the hell could they possibly know that?

In hindsight, I'm sure they would have closed the university. None of us really understand their line of thinking, but it's real easy to analize the situation after the fact.

Hopefully, there will be lessons learned from this.

i'm with you jb. i always think it's interesting how people come out of the woodwork with...."well, I woulda..." or "they shoulda..." We've become such a blame blame blame...point the finger...gotta have somebody to blame society.... hindsight is 20 20. the whole situation is very sad.