Gunman Kills 32 at Virginia Tech In Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History
BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16 -- An outburst of gunfire at a Virginia Tech dormitory, followed two hours later by a ruthless string of attacks at a classroom building, killed 32 students, faculty and staff and left about 30 others injured yesterday in the deadliest shooting rampage in the nation's history.
The shooter, whose name was not released last night, wore bluejeans, a blue jacket and a vest holding ammunition, witnesses said. He carried a 9mm semiautomatic and a .22-caliber handgun, both with the serial numbers obliterated, federal law enforcement officials said. Witnesses described the shooter as a young man of Asian descent -- a silent killer who was calm and showed no expression as he pursued and shot his victims. He killed himself as police closed in.
He had left two dead at the dormitory and 30 more at a science and engineering building, where he executed people taking and teaching classes after chaining some doors shut behind him. At one point, he shot at a custodian who was helping a victim. Witnesses described scenes of chaos and grief, with students jumping from second-story windows to escape gunfire and others blocking their classroom doors to keep the gunman away.
Even before anyone knew who the gunman was or why he did what he did, the campus community in Southwest Virginia began questioning whether most of the deaths could have been prevented. They wondered why the campus was not shut down after the first shooting.
"I'm really at a loss for words to explain or to understand the carnage that has visited our campus," said Charles W. Steger, president of Virginia Tech, one of the state's largest and most prestigious universities.
From the archive, 14 March 1996: Sixteen children killed in Dunblane massacre
The small Scottish town of Dunblane was wracked with grief and horror last night as details emerged of the killer who had lived in their midst until yesterday, when he shot dead 16 small children and a teacher in three minutes of carnage in a primary school gym. Thomas Hamilton, aged 43, a disgraced former Scout master whose behaviour had attracted the attention of the police, turned one of his four guns on himself after killing or injuring all but one of a class of 29 five and six year-olds at Dunblane primary school, near Stirling. Last night three of the 12 children at hospital in Stirling, Falkirk and Glasgow were on the critical list. As the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition registered their shock and distress at the worst multiple murder this country has seen, there were immediate calls for greater security in schools and tightening of the laws on gun ownership, last addressed after the Hungerford massacre in August 1987. No obvious motive had emerged yesterday, but the many people who had encountered Hamilton drew a picture of a man who was obsessed with small boys and embittered by rejection. He became a Scout leader in 1973, aged 20, but was asked to leave the following year because of complaints about his behaviour at camp. He tried many times to get back in to the organisation.
1999: Students 'kill dozens' at Denver school
A shooting spree by two American high school students is feared to have left up to 25 people dead and injured at least 15 others.
The students, wearing balaclavas and trench coats, rampaged through Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado, firing automatic weapons and throwing homemade bombs.
The bodies of the two suspects, who had apparently shot themselves, were later found in the library. Explosive devices are said to have been found on or near the suspects' bodies.
They have been named as Eric Harris, 18, and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold. The pair are said to have belonged to a group known as the "trench coat mafia" who boasted about owning guns and were alienated from the other children. One girl told police she was in the library when one of the boys burst in and began firing shots. "He said he would kill everyone who had been mean to him and his friends over the last year," she said. Other witnesses said the gunmen were targeting students from ethnic minorities and popular athletes. As FBI agents and specialist firearms teams made their way through the carnage, a bomb set on a time device exploded. At least 12 other bombs were found throughout the school, said police.
The second article is from another high school massacre, in which 16 children were killed. By reading this article we were able to get a better understanding of what would
