Luna
16-04-2007, 22:02
A gunman has gone on the rampage at the campus of Virginia Tech university in Virginia, US, killing at least 31 people and injuring another 10.
Police say there were two separate shooting incidents - at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a student dormitory, and Norris Hall, an engineering building.
Police say they believe there was one gunman and that he is dead.
After the deadliest shooting at a US school, President George W Bush said the US was "shocked and saddened".
"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community," he added.
The state university in the town of Blacksburg is home to 26,000 students.
The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the classroom
Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum said that emergency services had received a call at 0715 (1215 GMT) alerting them to a multiple shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall.
He said that two hours later there was a second report of shooting, this time at Norris Hall.
Eyewitnesses locked down inside the university buildings have been using the internet to try to glean information about what is happening and many have emailed the BBC News website.
Nikolas Macko was in a mathematics class in Norris Hall when they heard a series of loud bangs in the hallway which prompted a female student sitting near the door to move to close it.
WORST US SCHOOLS SHOOTINGS
1 August 1966 - Sniper Charles Whitman kills 14 people and injures dozens at University of Texas
20 April 1999 - Two teenagers at Columbine High School, Colorado, kill 13 before killing themselves
21 March 2005 - A teenager on an Indian reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, kills nine
"She peeked out into the hallway, and saw the shooter, so she immediately closed the door. Three other students moved a table that was in front of the room - it seats approximately 40 students at capacity - and barricaded it against the door.
"A few seconds later, the shooter tried to open the door, but my classmates kept it well shut, as they held the table against it from floor level.
"The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the class room and the other continued out the window. At this point he reloaded, shot the door again - this shot did not penetrate - and moved on to the other classrooms," Mr Macko added.
A fleet of ambulances has ferried the injured to nearby hospitals. However, rescue efforts were reportedly hampered by high winds which meant that medical helicopters could not be used.
President 'horrified'
"Some of the victims were shot in a classroom," Mr Flinchum said.
He said that police believed there had been just one shooter involved and that he was now dead at Norris Hall.
They are now investigating whether he was shot by security forces or killed himself.
Mr Flinchum said it was unclear if the assailant was a student, but a number of the victims were.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said, adding that the university was in the process of informing the next of kin of those killed.
In 1966, the day after killing his wife and mother, gunman Charles Whitman opened fire from a tower on the campus of the University of Texas killing 14 people and injuring 31 others.
In 1999 two teenagers at Columbine High School in Colorado killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.
Police say there were two separate shooting incidents - at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a student dormitory, and Norris Hall, an engineering building.
Police say they believe there was one gunman and that he is dead.
After the deadliest shooting at a US school, President George W Bush said the US was "shocked and saddened".
"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community," he added.
The state university in the town of Blacksburg is home to 26,000 students.
The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the classroom
Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum said that emergency services had received a call at 0715 (1215 GMT) alerting them to a multiple shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall.
He said that two hours later there was a second report of shooting, this time at Norris Hall.
Eyewitnesses locked down inside the university buildings have been using the internet to try to glean information about what is happening and many have emailed the BBC News website.
Nikolas Macko was in a mathematics class in Norris Hall when they heard a series of loud bangs in the hallway which prompted a female student sitting near the door to move to close it.
WORST US SCHOOLS SHOOTINGS
1 August 1966 - Sniper Charles Whitman kills 14 people and injures dozens at University of Texas
20 April 1999 - Two teenagers at Columbine High School, Colorado, kill 13 before killing themselves
21 March 2005 - A teenager on an Indian reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, kills nine
"She peeked out into the hallway, and saw the shooter, so she immediately closed the door. Three other students moved a table that was in front of the room - it seats approximately 40 students at capacity - and barricaded it against the door.
"A few seconds later, the shooter tried to open the door, but my classmates kept it well shut, as they held the table against it from floor level.
"The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the class room and the other continued out the window. At this point he reloaded, shot the door again - this shot did not penetrate - and moved on to the other classrooms," Mr Macko added.
A fleet of ambulances has ferried the injured to nearby hospitals. However, rescue efforts were reportedly hampered by high winds which meant that medical helicopters could not be used.
President 'horrified'
"Some of the victims were shot in a classroom," Mr Flinchum said.
He said that police believed there had been just one shooter involved and that he was now dead at Norris Hall.
They are now investigating whether he was shot by security forces or killed himself.
Mr Flinchum said it was unclear if the assailant was a student, but a number of the victims were.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said, adding that the university was in the process of informing the next of kin of those killed.
In 1966, the day after killing his wife and mother, gunman Charles Whitman opened fire from a tower on the campus of the University of Texas killing 14 people and injuring 31 others.
In 1999 two teenagers at Columbine High School in Colorado killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.