KILLING SPREE

Yesterday morning, a lunatic let loose his frustrations on the student body at Virginia Tech, and the results are the most devastating massacre by a single person in U.S. history:

Virginia Tech Police Identify Shooter as South Korean Student

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The gunman responsible for at least the second of the two Virginia Tech attacks that claimed 33 lives to become the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history has been identified Cho Seung-Hui, a campus student and native of South Korea, Virginia Tech police said Tuesday.

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said the shooter was a 23-year-old resident alien who was an undergraduate senior English major. He had a residence in Centreville, Va., but was also living on campus in Harper Hall.

The following is a timeline of events surrounding a massacre in which 32 people were killed on the Virginia Tech campus.

7:15 a.m.
Virginia Tech Police Department (VT PD) receives a 911 call to respond to a dormitory room at West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall.Within minutes, Virginia Tech Police and Virginia Tech Rescue Squad respond to find two gunshot victims, a male and a female, inside a dormitory room within the Hall.The residence hall was immediately secured by VT PD and students within the hall were notified and asked to remain in their rooms for their safety. VT PD immediately secured the room for evidence collection and began questioning dorm residents and identifying potential witnesses. In the preliminary stages of the investigation, it was believed the deaths were an isolated incident, domestic in nature.Blacksburg Police Department were also on scene assisting VT PD with establishing a safety perimeter around the residence hall and securing Washington Street.

7:30 a.m.
Investigators were following up on leads concerning a person of interest in relation to the double homicide. Investigators from VT PD and Blacksburg PD were actively following up on various leads.

8:25 a.m.
Virginia Tech Leadership Team, which includes the university president, executive vice president, and provost, assembled to begin assessing the developing situation at the residence hall and determining a means of notifying students of the homicide.

9:00 a.m.
Leadership Team was briefed on the situation by VT PD Chief W.R. Flinchum on the latest developments in the ongoing investigation at the residence hall.

9:26 a.m.
The Virginia Tech community – all faculty and students – were notified by e-mail of the homicide investigation and scene at West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall, and asked to report any suspicious activity to. The Virginia Tech Emergency/Weather Line recordings were also transmitted and a broadcast telephone message was made to campus phones. A press release was drafted and posted on the Virginia Tech Website.

9:45 a.m.
The VT PD received a 911 call of a shooting at Norris Hall, which contains faculty offices, classrooms and laboratories. VT PD and Blacksburg PD immediately responded to Norris Hall. Notice in leadership command center via our police rep of a shooting in Norris.Upon arrival to Norris Hall, the officers found the front doors barricaded. Within a minute the officers breached the doors, which had been chained shut from the inside. Once inside the building, the officers heard gunshots. They followed the succession of gunshots to the second floor. Just as the officers reached the second floor, the gunshots stopped. The officers discovered the gunman, who had taken his own life. There was never any engagement between the responding officers and the gunman.

9:55 a.m.
By the same means as prior notice, Virginia Tech notified campus community of the second murder scene. Other notifications followed via other means.

Source: Virginia Tech

Captain's Quarters has two post up with comments here and here

Curt at Flopping Aces has this post up with many links


Senseless and tragic are some of the words that are used to describe this. As a "civilized" society, these are the times that we are tested. Understanding and prevention come to the fore, and opinions are not in short supply. I pray for the families of the stricken. May they, in time, find some semblance of peace.