Virginia Tech Shooting, At Least 32 Dead and 21 Wounded

BLACKSBURG (VA). Thirty-two people are currently known to be dead, with another twenty-one wounded in shootings that took place today - - April 16, 2007 - - on the campus of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Although details are still coming in, it has been reported that the shooter wounded and killed students in two different areas at opposite ends of the campus.

According to student reports, the first shooting apparently took place around 7:15 a.m. in the morning in West Ambler Johnston, which is one of the university's co-ed dorms. One student is known to have been killed in that dorm and several others were wounded. Additional reports indicate that some students jumped from dorm windows in order to escape the shooter. Most of them sustained nothing more than broken bones, cuts, and bruises.

Almost two hours later, more gunshots were heard inside of Norris Hall, one of engineering buildings on campus. Virginia Polytechnic and State University - - more commonly called Virginia Tech - - is well known for its outstanding engineering program. There are conflicting reports regarding exactly what happened within the classrooms of that building.

Some reports say the shooter of Norris Hall was heavily armed with belts of ammunition and that he was supposedly shooting people randomly both in the hallway and inside classrooms. However, other reports say that some students were actually pulled out of classrooms, lined up against a wall, and shot. Neither of those reports has yet been confirmed.

The campus was put on immediate lockdown after the Norris shootings. Several classes of students were ushered down to lower levels of the building. Others were simply told to get under their tables and stay away from the windows. In all instances, wherever possible, classrooms were cloaked in darkness in an attempt to provide additional protection.