In the aftermath of the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, Virginia Tech students and authorities are searching for information and answers.
On Monday morning, a gunman opened fire in two buildings at Virginia Tech, killing 32 before taking his own life.
As of late Monday evening, several people were still being treated in nearby hospitals, and authorities estimated the total number of wounded to be at least 15.
“I want to (express) my horror and disbelief and … profound sorrow. I am at a loss for words,” said Virginia Tech President Charles Steger. “It’s a real tragedy.”
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said his department had a preliminary identification of the shooter, but was not releasing his name or confirming whether he was a student.
Authorities said the man entered West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory on campus that houses nearly 900 students, just after 7 a.m., where he killed one man and one woman before leaving.
Flinchum said police had reason to believe the dorm shooting was part of a “domestic dispute.”
About two hours later, the gunman returned to campus and killed 30 people in Norris Hall, an engineering building, before killing himself.
The man opened fire in at least two classrooms where students were in the middle of class, and students and faculty were among the dead, Flinchum said.
Many students reported barricading classroom doors and taking cover under desks after hearing shots fired in the building.
“We forced ourselves against the door so he couldn’t come in again because the door would not lock,” student Erin Sheehan told CNN, adding that the shooter then began firing through the door.
Other students said they jumped out of windows to avoid the gunman, resulting in broken bones and some serious injuries. Students and faculty began carrying out the wounded before ambulances arrived on the scene.
Flinchum said the gunman had apparently chained some doors in Norris Hall shut from the inside.
Video footage taken by a student on his cell phone and broadcast by CNN appears to show police using explosives to force open the doors of the building.
During the video, gunshots within the building are audible.
Police had identified a “person of interest” in connection with the dorm shooting, and were interviewing him when they received word of the second shooting, Flinchum said.
He added that this man was not a student, but did know one of the victims of the dorm shooting.
“I’m not saying there is someone out there, and I’m not saying there is someone who is not,” Flinchum said.
The man was not taken into custody.
Steger said after hearing of the dorm shooting, the university immediately closed West Ambler Johnston.
But the rest of the campus was not locked down until several hours later, after the shooting in Norris Hall had already started.
Flinchum said the university did not immediately lock down the rest of campus because officials believed the gunman had left the area.
“We had some reason to believe he had left campus,” Flinchum said, citing evidence from witnesses. “You can second-guess all day. We acted on the best information we had at the time.”
He added that police were still investigating whether the two shootings were related, though no additional suspects had been taken into custody and he said police were not actively searching for other possible shooters.
But the university faced tough criticism for failing to notify students and lock down the campus sooner.
“I think the university has blood on their hands because of their lack of action after the first incident,” said student Billy Bason, who lives in West Ambler Johnston.
University officials sent out 36,000 e-mails notifying the campus community of the incidents, and activated a resident adviser phone bank to get the word out to on-campus residents, Steger said.
He added that because the shootings happened in the morning when many students, faculty and staff were in the middle of their commutes to campus, notifying the community and securing the campus was especially difficult.
“You’ve got 14,000 people en route,” he said. “Where do you lock them down?”
Robert Bowman, managing editor at the Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech’s student newspaper, said students first received an e-mail regarding the incidents at about 9:15 a.m., and some students were “skeptical” about the time delay.
The e-mail contained minimal information about the first shooting, and encouraged students to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.
Bowman said police remained at every entrance to the campus throughout the afternoon, and it was difficult for non-students to enter the area.
Though classes were cancelled until Wednesday, Bowman said some parts of campus, including dining halls, were back up and running.
“The campus has been a little intense all day,” he said. “Everybody’s still looking for information.”
Steger said the university is still working to identify victims and notify families, and would likely not release a list of names until sometime today.
Police recovered two weapons from the scene, and Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s attorney general, said in an interview with CNN that police were performing ballistics tests on the weapons.
“It appears from the (video) tape … it was some sort of automatic or semi-automatic weapon,” McDonnell said.
UC President Robert Dynes and UCLA Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams both released statements regarding the incidents.
Abrams said in his statement that UCLA currently has procedures in place to deal with situations like shootings.
“Multiple campus committees work regularly on workplace violence issues. And police officer training includes scenarios involving shootings,” he said in the statement. “In addition, UCLA has an emergency response team and protocols in place to notify the campus community in the event of any circumstances requiring emergency action, such as the closing of the campus.”
But Dynes said all University of California campuses would be reviewing their security procedures in light of the shootings at Virginia Tech.
“At this time, there are a great many questions about the details of what occurred at Virginia Tech and about what sparked this outburst of most extreme violence,” he said in the statement. “As we learn more about the specific circumstances of the Virginia Tech shootings, we will apply those lessons as well.”
During a nationally-televised address Monday afternoon, President Bush said he would make federal resources available to Virginia Tech authorities if needed.
“Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning,” he said. “When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community.”
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine told CNN that Virginia Tech has already “been through a lot” this year.
On the first day of classes this school year, an escaped convict from a local jail shot two Virginia Tech police officers on the campus.
And on Friday, the school received a bomb threat. Police are investigating a possible connection between that threat and Monday’s shootings.
“My heart went out to the community,” Kaine said. “This community has been through a lot … they’ve been through a difficult time this year already.”
A convocation is set for 2 p.m. EDT today at Virginia Tech to help community members cope with the tragedy.
Students had already begun holding candlelight vigils Monday evening, and more are scheduled for tonight.
“Shock is a wild understatement, and we’re trying to do everything we can for the families,” Steger said. “We have to think very carefully about the process of healing and bringing this community back together.”
With reports from Bruin wire services.