Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News
Virginia Tech Shooting: In Blacksburg and at Penn, students react
Virginia Tech shooting leaves school's campus in 'state of shock;' Penn students still feel safe
Ashwin Shandilya
When Virginia Tech sophomore Ashley Roe left school yesterday, the campus, normally bustling with 26,000 students, was "a ghost town."
"There was a line of police cars, and they were talking to people trying to enter the campus," she said.
Yesterday morning, in the deadliest gun massacre in U.S. history, a gunman opened fire in a dorm and classrooms at Virginia Tech, killing 32 before taking his own life.
And as the death toll furtively climbed the charts over the course of the day, Penn students, slowly learning about the tragedy 300 miles south, reacted with a mix of shock, nerves and sympathy.
College freshman Zachary Bodnar was in the Student Financial Services office when "an employee came and turned on the TV and said, 'Check out what's happening.'"
"They said that 22 people had been killed, and the death count kept going up," he said.
Many Penn students said they didn't understand the severity of the incident when they initially heard about it.
"At first, the story seemed like one of those that people just read and pass over," College senior Seth Shapiro said. "But as the day progressed and the magnitude of the incident unfolded, I realized that this was something very serious."
Still, he said, "I feel safe."
But at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Va., as swarms of policemen were brought in to help the situation, the atmosphere, students there say, was "frightening and tense" - anything but safe.
Virginia Tech freshman Alex Jackson said he was woken up by the sound of police sirens and the emergency broadcast system yesterday morning.
"A hundred feet from my dorm door were police officers with M-16s," Jackson said. "I first called my parents and let them know I was okay."
Roe said students were trying to contact friends after the shooting.
"We're hearing from people who's in the hospital and who's been killed," she said. "I know a couple of girls in the hospital, and some of my friends know an RA who was shot and killed."
"There was a line of police cars, and they were talking to people trying to enter the campus," she said.
Yesterday morning, in the deadliest gun massacre in U.S. history, a gunman opened fire in a dorm and classrooms at Virginia Tech, killing 32 before taking his own life.
And as the death toll furtively climbed the charts over the course of the day, Penn students, slowly learning about the tragedy 300 miles south, reacted with a mix of shock, nerves and sympathy.
College freshman Zachary Bodnar was in the Student Financial Services office when "an employee came and turned on the TV and said, 'Check out what's happening.'"
"They said that 22 people had been killed, and the death count kept going up," he said.
Many Penn students said they didn't understand the severity of the incident when they initially heard about it.
"At first, the story seemed like one of those that people just read and pass over," College senior Seth Shapiro said. "But as the day progressed and the magnitude of the incident unfolded, I realized that this was something very serious."
Still, he said, "I feel safe."
But at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Va., as swarms of policemen were brought in to help the situation, the atmosphere, students there say, was "frightening and tense" - anything but safe.
Virginia Tech freshman Alex Jackson said he was woken up by the sound of police sirens and the emergency broadcast system yesterday morning.
"A hundred feet from my dorm door were police officers with M-16s," Jackson said. "I first called my parents and let them know I was okay."
Roe said students were trying to contact friends after the shooting.
"We're hearing from people who's in the hospital and who's been killed," she said. "I know a couple of girls in the hospital, and some of my friends know an RA who was shot and killed."
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kjifr
posted 4/17/07 @ 8:31 PM EST
What was the motivation ? It all seems so senseless . It wasn't like the university colluded with law enforcement to hurt him and his family , was it ?
Now THAT would be a reason . (Continued…)
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