Va. Tech lock down lifted; gunman believed dead - WTOP.com
RICHMOND, Va. - A search is under way for a gunman who shot and killed a Virginia Tech police officer and one other person on the campus Thursday.
The university has locked down the campus and is telling students and faculty to stay indoors.
It was the first gunfire on campus since 33 people were killed in 2007 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The deaths came on the same day university officials were in Washington appealing a fine that federal officials gave them over the school's response five years ago.
Various alerts were sent out to students and the university is sending updates about every 30 minutes, regardless of whether they have any new information, school spokesman Mark Owczarski said.
"We deployed them all, and we deployed them immediately to get the word out," he said.
School officials said the campus police officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop.
Witnesses to that shooting told police the shooter fled on foot and headed toward a parking lot on campus.
At that second parking lot, police found a second person, who was dead. A weapon was also recovered at the second location.
The campus was swarming Thursday with heavily armed officers walking around campus. Caravans of SWAT vehicles and other police cars with emergency lights flashing patrolled nearby. Students hunkered down in buildings.
"A lot of people, especially toward the beginning were scared," said Jared Brumfield, a 19-year-old freshman from Culpeper, Va., who was locked in the Squires Student Center since around 1:30 p.m.
"A lot of people are loosening up now. I guess we're just waiting it out, waiting for it to be over."
Virginia State Police are leading a multi-agency search of the area.
"The campus community should continue to shelter in place and visitors should not come to campus," the school said.
No classes were in session at the time of the shooting.
Final exams were due to start Friday. Exams scheduled for Friday have been postponed, officials say.
The school is asking Virginia Tech parents to call the Tech Hotline: 540-231-3787. They have asked parents not to go to the school.
"It's crazy that someone would go and do something like that with all the stuff that happened in 2007," said Corey Smith, a 19-year-old sophomore from Mechanicsville, Va..
Smith was headed to a dining hall near the site of one of the shootings, but stayed inside after seeing the alerts from the school.
"It's just weird to think about why someone would do something like this when the school's had so many problems."
Harry White, 20, a junior physics major, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he was in line for a sandwich at a Subway restaurant in a campus building when he received the text message alert about the shooting.
White said he didn't panic, thinking instead about a false alarm about a possible gunman that caused the campus to be locked down in August. He used an indoor walkway to go to a computer lab in an adjacent building, where he checked news reports.
"I decided to just check to see how serious it was. I saw it's actually someone shooting someone, not something false, something that looks like a gun," White said.
White said the campus was quieter than usual because classes ended Wednesday and students are preparing for the start of exams. He said he didn't see anyone outside from the windows of the computer lab after he received the alert. But he also didn't detect any signs of panic.
Blacksburg Transit has suspended service.
The campuswide alert at 12:36 said: "Gun shots reported- Coliseum Parking lot. Stay Inside. Secure doors. Emergency personnel responding. Call 911 for help."
The suspect is described as white male wearing gray sweat pants, gray hat with neon green brim, maroon hoodie and backpack.
A message left with the university wasn't immediately returned. Campus police referred all questions to the university.
UPDATE: Law enforcement officials tell AP that the Virginia Tech gunman is believed to be dead.
Virginia Tech has lifted its secure in place alert.
