A shooting spree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University left 33 people, including the shooter, dead on Monday.According to a report on MSNBC.com, the shooting at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Va., began at approximately 7:15 a.m. eastern time.
The report from MSNBC, quoting law enforcement authorities, said that the first shots were fired in the residence hall West Ambler Johnston, which houses 895 students.
The gunman killed two people in the residence hall. He then walked to Norris Hall, a building used for mostly engineering classes.
Authorities said on MSNBC that Norris Hall and the West Ambler Johnston dormitory are on opposite ends of Virginia Tech’s 2,600-acre campus.
USA Today said the gunman went from classroom to classroom in Norris Hall firing at students and faculty.
According to MSNBC, the gunman used chains to secure the doors of a classroom in Norris Hall at about 9:15 a.m., preventing students and faculty from fleeing and keeping police out. After doing so, he shot as many as 46 other people.
An eyewitness told USA Today that the doors in Norris Hall had chains and padlocks around them from the inside.
Students told USA Today that they received an e-mail alert at 9:26 a.m. about the shooting at West Ambler Johnston dorm. They said they received a second warning via e-mail at 9:50 a.m. with a more severe and specific warning: “A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows.”
Authorities told MSNBC they believe the shooter shot himself to death.
Hospital reports on MSNBC indicated that at least 15 people were injured in the shooting, either from bullet wounds or from jumping out of fourth-floor windows in Norris Hall to escape.
The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Mississippi State President Robert “Doc” Foglesong said that his reaction was one of sadness and loss.
“Without any doubt, when you lose students, faculty members or staff, you feel like you’ve lost part of your extended family,” Foglesong said.
“Clearly, the families that are suffering the most from this are in our prayers. Our prayers are with the administration because I’m sure they sense a tremendous community loss,” he said.
Bill Kibler, vice president for student affairs, said the shooting was unbelievable.
“It’s the biggest tragedy of this kind in the history of higher education. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them,” Kibler said.
Both Foglesong and Kibler said that a mass e-mail was sent out to the entire Mississippi campus Monday afternoon.
Foglesong said the e-mail included safety reminders, including numbers for campus police and escorts.
Foglesong also said that residence hall assistants organized meetings for their residents Monday evening to discuss any concerns and to remind students to take safety precautions.
Both Foglesong and Kibler said that Mississippi State is adequately prepared to handle emergency situations like the one at Virginia Tech, should they ever occur.
“We think we’re well-prepared to respond to tragedies that might occur on our campus,” Kibler said.
Fogelsong said that the university has an emergency response plan in place and that the university has held emergency response drills over the past four months.
“You can never write an exact scenario for life. I would have never expected this to happen on a college campus,” Fogelsong said.
Freshman animal and dairy science major Sarah Moore said she found out about the shooting this morning before heading to class.
Initially, she said she just read a report about the first shooting in the dorm with only two causalities.
“This morning, I wasn’t surprised [about it], but this afternoon when I found out it was the largest mass shooting in U.S. history and it happened on a college campus, that makes me nervous. It could happen to anyone,” Moore said.
Freshman art and psychology major Jean Jackson said news of the shooting shocked her.
“It shocks me to know that someone just blasted 32 people and we don’t even know why. It blows my mind, it’s just crazy,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that the shooting did not make her more concerned about the campus safety, but she said she hopes there are no copycat crimes.
Sarah Nurse, a freshman psychology major, said that she still feels safe on campus.
“I’ve never really been threatened, but it makes you more aware of your surroundings and the people around you,” Nurse said.