1
20
9
-
Document
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Kristin Fields
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Kristin Fields
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2007-04-27
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Here I am only going to share the events of my day on April 16, 2007. It feels better tell the story, it's seems more real, more raw, but that also means that it's something that I can accept as tangible and can move on from.
My friend and I always eat breakfast together on Monday, Wednsday, and Friday mornings before our 8 o'clock Foundation Design Lab. Mon. April 16th, I got up at 6:15am, as usual, took my shower and got my stuff together for class. We met outside of D2 at 7:15am.
The first shooting was called in at about 7:15am.
Mandy lives in West AJ on the 7th floor.
She took the elevator down and walked over, never knowing what was really behind the elevator doors as she passed the 4th floor.
As we gazed through the glass windows facing AJ and Washington Street, eating our breakfast, we noted and first ambulance, followed later by another. Mandy explained by saying how very many accidental injuries happen at the gyms all the time, neither of us knowing the destination or the calling.
We arrived at Cowgill Hall, fourth floor studios at around 8am or 8:15am. My study is right next to the windows overlooking the commuter parking lots;, Mandy's has a perfect view of the backside of Burrass, as well as the GBJ Student Center to the right and Hancock and Norris on the left of the plaza.
The first e-mails were sent at about 9:15am and after checking my e-mail I called my mother, not just to reassure her but also to reassure my grandparents once the found out and began barraging my mother with phone calls. As I was talking we noticed a police officer sprinting to the other side of Cowgill, many of us followed to the other side of the fourth floor to see what the fuse was about. rounding the corner of the short, wide hallway, we were shocked to find half of the studios and the custodians already studing the movements of the officers intently from the fourth floor windows. I joined their ranks, along with Mandy. We watched as the SWATT team ran to the door on our side of Norris; I called my boyfriend, having just been let out of an engineering class in Hancock, directly behind Norris and beside Cowgill. At first I saw a few people, normal people running around on the plaza, and I was unsure of whether or not he could run to Cowgill to join us, then the we heard the shots.
Stay where you are, someone will find you.
Only of few of the shots rang loud and clear, and we watched with hushed anticipation as the man with the camera phone took video of the officers and recorded the ominous noises.
Get out of there!
The SWATT team went into Norris.
The man finally left and no more civilians were in sight, besides a funny little asain man with his lunch box, thinking that it was like any other ordinary day. An officer behind a tree quickly shooed him away.
And then people began running out of the building.
It was clear they were in shock and terror, their movements quick and with an almost robotic jerk to each motion, each backward glance, each forward, away, rush. We saw two groups retreat from the building before we were sent back from the windows until the professors were given some idea of what to do with us. We were not well informed being on the fourth floor. But momentarily, not five minutes after we were sent away, we were told to immediately retreat to the 1st floor, room 100, a room with only two entrances and exits, and no wiindows; it is entirely self contained within the core of the building.
We all began hurridly calling our friends and loved ones, knowing this was more serious than we had orginially assumed. After a half an hour, my boyfriend had been moved to a conference room in Randolph, connected to Hancock, where they watched the news, waiting for any tiny scrap of information, and we in Cowgill were all sent to the undergroung depths of Burchard Hall, beneath the plaza, where we were kept in side rooms away from the glass pyramids above, but protected by the automatically locking doors on the stairwells. It must be understood that Cowgill is undergoing renovations in the coming year or years to revamp some security issues, such as the fact that our front door refuses to automatically lock with the rest of campus. Therefore, we were safer in Burchard than in Cowgill.
From then on we played the waiting game, with two liasons with the outside world, showing up two or three times over the next hours to give us the grim news of the rising death count.
Finally we were released close to noon, much of time had slipped away from us in our safehold, trying to either flood our senses with news, or shut it out. We were told that we could only leave if we went away from campus, then we were told students were allowed back, but Mandy, Rachel, and I were sure that that didn't include them. Rachel is from my studio and also lives in AJ. We met up with Bryan, my boyfriend, and crossed to Burrass, where his aunt was able to gather us together and take us to Bryan's appartment off campus, behind the Kroger.
She was parked on the Drillfield.
I still can't stand that silence, it resonates through my memory as the sound of death, the final sound. It was unbearable, and the police were so solemn.
Once at Bryan's, the four of us begain a frenzied phone tag with our loved ones and listened to their worries between snatches of the news cast as all the information was slowly trickling in, and the count slowly rose.
I remember when there were 2
8
21
22
33, counting the shooter of course.
And now we wait for the names.
My mother came by to check on us, but I told her I needed to stay there, close to campus and my student family, I needed them. I didn't want to be on campus, but I NEEDED to stay near it, them.
Rachel and some of her friends from AJ went to her uncles.
We stayed at Bryan's to wait out the night.
We had already cried for our dancing sister Reema and a friend of a friend, Ryan.
We continued to grieve as Bryan's Professor, Dr. Loganathan was revealed, and then four of his five Measurements Teaching Assistants. Mandy and I's former French teacher, Madame Couture, classmates, Ross and Rachel, the second floor Residential Advisor of my building, Peddrew-Yates' Caitlin, a mere aquantance, Austin, and a hometown boy, Jarret.
These were the people we knew
These are the people we know
These are our hokie brothers and sisters, and we will never forget 4-16-07
Language
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eng
Title
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My day
april 16
memory
student
-
https://april16archive.org/files/original/P1010013_9a3cb78bb9.JPG
null
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2007-04-30
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2007-04-30 09:09:41
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Billy Glynn
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Billy Glynn
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2007-04-30
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This is the back of the academic buildings after the press conference. I counted well over 20 ambulances on the walk back to the radio station.
Language
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eng
Title
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Parking Lot
ambulances
april 16
-
https://april16archive.org/files/original/P1010005_d5fc9f0f02.JPG
null
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2007-04-30
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Capture Date
2007-04-30 09:07:15
Still Image
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Billy Glynn
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Billy Glynn
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2007-04-30
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Being in student media, three representatives went to the first press conference to find out what was going on. At this point we thought it was still only one shooting. Larry Hinkler saying that there were over 20 fatalities was by and large the worst moment of my life.
Language
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eng
Title
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Press Conference
april 16
flinchum
press conference
steger
-
https://april16archive.org/files/original/P1010003_dcc29bd8de.JPG
null
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2007-04-30
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2007-04-30 08:59:47
Still Image
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Billy Glynn
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Billy Glynn
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2007-04-30
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After I got the email about the first shooting, I came to campus to get in to the radio station. I was walking by the power plant and saw 15-20 ambulances behind McBryde/Norris. I had no idea about the second shooting at this point, but the timing indicates that this was taken right as people were being taken out of the building.
Language
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eng
Title
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Back of Norris
ambulances
april 16
-
Document
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Brent Jesiek
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null
Date
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2007-05-01
Description
An account of the resource
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:26:24 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Shooting on campus.
A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating.
The university community is urged to be cautious and are asked to contact Virginia Tech Police if you observe anything suspicious or with information on the case. Contact Virginia Tech Police at 231-6411
Stay attuned to the www.vt.edu. We will post as soon as we have more information.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:50:07 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: PLease stay put
A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:16:40 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: All Classes Canceled; Stay where you are
Virginia Tech has canceled all classes. Those on campus are asked to remain where there are, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Persons off campus are asked not to come to campus.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:52:45 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Second Shooting Reported; Police have one gunman in custody
In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall.
Police and EMS are on the scene.
Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.
All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice.
All entrances to campus are closed.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:15:57 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Counseling support available
Counseling is available in the Bowman Room in the Merriman Center (part of the athletic complex) for employees who seek assistance following today's events.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:41:44 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Statement by President Charles W. Steger
Shooting at Virginia Tech / Statement by President Charles W. Steger
The university was struck today with a tragedy of monumental proportions. There were two shootings on campus. In each case, there were fatalities. The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus. I want to extend my deepest, sincerest and most profound sympathies to the families of these victims which include students There are 22 confirmed deaths.
We currently are in the process of notifying families of victims. The Virginia Tech Police are being assisted by numerous other jurisdictions. Crime scenes are being investigated by the FBI, University Police, and State Police. We continue to work to identify the victims impacted by this tragedy. I cannot begin to covey my own personal sense of loss over this senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act The university will immediately set up counseling centers. So far centers have been identified in Ambler Johnson and the Cook Counseling Center to work with our campus community and families.
Here are some of the facts we know:
At about 7:15 a.m. this morning a 911 call came to the University Police Department concerning an event in West Amber Johnston Hall. There were multiple shooting victims. While in the process of investigating, about two hours later the university received reports of a shooting in Norris Hall. The police immediately responded. Victims have been transported to various hospitals in the immediate area in the region to receive emergency treatment.
We will proceed to contact the families of victims as identities are available.
All classes are cancelled and the university is closed for the remainder for the today. The university will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. but classes will be cancelled on Tuesday. The police are currently staging the release of people from campus buildings.
Families wishing to reunite with the students are suggested to meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech. We are making plans for a convocation tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon at Cassell Coliseum for the university community to come together to begin to deal with the tragedy.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:31:29 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Campus Update on VT Shootings
Virginia Tech remains closed on Monday, April 16, 2007. Vehicular entrances to campus are severely restricted to essential personnel only. Additional security remains on campus as the investigation continues.
Counseling assistance for students in available at West Ambler Johnston and McComas Hall until 9 p.m. tonight. Students are encouraged to utilize these services. Counseling for faculty and staff is available at the Bowman Room in the Merriman Center (athletic complex). Student may also be together at the Old Dominion Ballroom at Squires Student Center.
The university will also close on Tuesday, April 17. Essential personal are to report for work. Classes will be canceled.
A public gathering will be held Tuesday, April 17 at Cassell Coliseum at 2 p.m. (a time change from the originally scheduled 10 a.m. gathering).
All students are urged to contact their parents as soon as possible to let them know individuals are safe.
Students, faculty, and staff who may have any information related to the incident at West Amber Johnston Hall and Norris Hall are encouraged to go to the Blacksburg Police Department to make statements, or call 540-231-TIPP (8477), or 231-6411
Parents with concerns are asked to call the Dean of Students Office at 540-231-3787.
Individuals injured in the two shootings have been taken to area hospitals.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:00:00 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Planned Faculty / Staff Evacuation
Faculty and staff located on the Burruss Hall side of the Drillfield are asked to leave their office and go home immediately.
Faculty and staff located on the War Memorial / Eggleston Hall side of the Drillfield are asked to leave their offices and go home at 12:30 p.m.
--
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:00:01 -0400
From: Unirel@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: University closed today; classes canceled Tuesday
Virginia Tech has closed today Monday, April 16, 2007. On Tuesday, April 17, classes will be canceled. The university will remain open for administrative operations.
There will be an additional university statement presented today at noon.
All students, faculty, and staff are required to stay where they are until police execute a planned evacuation. A phased closing will be in effect today; further information will be forthcoming as soon as police secure the campus.
Tomorrow, there will be a university convocation/ceremony at noon at Cassell Coliseum. The Inn at Virginia Tech has been designated as the site for parents to gather and obtain information.
Language
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eng
Title
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E-mail messages from Unirel@vt.edu - April 16, 2007
april 16
email
messages
unirel
university relations
-
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Brent Jesiek
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Brent Jesiek
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2007-04-25
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Originally posted April 16, 2007, 9:03 PM on bluegnu.livejournal.com
<a href="http://bluegnu.livejournal.com/16802.html">http://bluegnu.livejournal.com/16802.html</a>
The day started normal enough - slogged to campus and got to my office around 8:15 AM, and spent the next hour and a half prepping for the class I was scheduled to teach at 10:10 AM. I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about teaching, as the cold I had been fighting off over the weekend was still hanging on. Around 9:30 AM I got an e-mail indicating that there had been a shooting on campus earlier in the morning. The first message urged caution, and a second message sent around 9:50 AM indicated: "A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows."
However, I didn't get the second message before leaving my building (Major Williams Hall) to head over to class. I collected my stuff, dawdled around a bit, tried to compose myself to teach, and finally left the building just before 10 AM. As I exited my building I encountered a student who was coming in - I let him pass through the door first, and didn't pay much attention to the anxious look on his face. Students often look anxious. But now I have a better sense for why. As I walked the very short distance to Torgersen Hall, I immediately noticed large numbers of students standing around outside and a fair number of police officers on Stanger Street. At first I thought that perhaps Torgersen had been evacuated, especially after bomb threats had closed the building twice in just over a week.
But then I looked across the clearing toward Holden Hall (located directly next to Norris Hall) and saw a line of students running out of a building. It was clear that some sort of evacuation was underway, and as I walked I found myself unsure of whether to head back to my office or try to meet up with some of my students in our appointed classroom. I decided on the latter, and found roughly twenty students hanging out in the room. We chatted on and off for the next little while, especially as new tidbits of information came through over cell phones and the Internet. After 10 AM the building was entirely locked down, and one of the building managers came through to make sure that the one outside door in our room was secure. Students from other classes slowly trickled in, and at some time after 11 AM one student offered to use his account to display a live CNN feed on the room's large A/V system (this was a large lecture hall with something like 300 seats). Somehow the time passed along, with some students occasionally stepping out for food or bathroom breaks, others watching movies on their laptops, and still others relentlessly looking for information online.
When the word came around noon that the campus was being evacuated in stages - and that those in our building were free to leave so long as they moved away from central campus - the details we had were quite sketchy. Most reports had confirmed one fatality and as many as seven or eight injuries. Another CNN report was indicating that as many as 17 had been injured.
I wished well to a few students and headed back to my office to retrieve my laptop and my lunch. By this time I felt reasonably safe, as it seemed the worst had passed and the mayhem around the building had abated. I followed a small trail of faculty, staffers, and students as they made their way toward the Schulz parking lot, where I found my truck and started home. Just on the other side of Main Street I heard a report on the local college station, WUVT, that as many as 20 had been confirmed dead, at least according to a press conference. I was skeptical, shocked, and dazed, and after getting home found that this grim report was indeed true. Little did we know that the total number of fatalities would climb to 33 by the end of the day.
At this point, I am not aware of any close friends or colleagues who were in Norris Hall at the time of the shooting. But I have since learned that one faculty member, whose office I regularly walk by, was likely among the victims. I didn't know him, but it really is profoundly sad to think that I had seen him working away in his office just a few days prior. Tomorrow we will likely find out whether any of the students in our ~120 student class were among the victims. And then, of course, there may be victims among the many former students who I have had the privilege of working with. We are already starting to brace for when we must next set foot in the classroom and dealing with this tragedy. The remainder of the semester will not be easy here.
I know not what lies ahead, but hope that this community can come together and find some way forward, out of this mess. For those outside of the community, please be thinking of us. We need all of the positive energy you can spare.
--
UPDATE for April 16 Archive (4/25/07)
After the names and biographies of the deceased were released, I realized that I did know the German instructor. Jamie Bishop's office is two floors down from mine, and I first met him a year or two ago when we were both working in Torgersen Hall. In fact, we had many mutual colleagues over there. I didn't know him well, but I remember him as a kind and friendly individual. Learning that Jamie was among the victims made this tragedy that much more personal for me. My heart goes out to his family and friends.
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Title
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VT Tragedy - My Account
april 16
blog
instructor
memory
monday
teaching
torgersen
-
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Kimberly Clemons
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Kimberly Clemons
Date
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2007-05-01
Description
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Tragedy enters our world
so much when it is least expected
How do we endure
The heartache after the catastrophe has occurred
We cling to our loved ones
If we are the blessed ones to survive
Yet we still are questioning
And are seeking to understand why we are left and why not me
Whether the catastrophe is far away in a big city
Or close to home in a place we would never imagine
The fact remains the world is changing
The world is not as it once was and it never will be again
We can sit and stare at news coverage seeing the events unfold
Over and over again yet the dark cloud looms
The solace and reality remain in our minds
Our nation has yet again suffered setback that again we must prevail
Let us not forget our freedom, Old Glory,
the infamous red, white, & blue
While we have been robbed, ripped and reminded of tragedy
Let us yet again remember our renewed fight for America
Kimberly B. Clemons
April 17, 2007
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Title
A name given to the resource
Tragedy Enters Our World
april 16
tragedy
virginia tech
-
https://april16archive.org/files/original/ambulances April 16 2007 -B_24a04bea7a.jpg
null
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Date
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2007-05-28
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2007-05-28 10:06:39
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Chad Newswander
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Nancy Love
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2007-05-28
Description
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The scene really told the story of what we were feeling at that moment, a blend of knowing something really bad had happened and that people we knew were going to be put into those ambulances but not knowing who they are....anticipation, fear, anguish, sadness....all of those emotions were wrapped into this photo. I didn't realize the impact it would have.
Photo courtesy of Nancy G. Love
Language
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eng
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Photo courtesy of Nancy G. Love (nlove@vt.edu)
Title
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Ambulances
ambulances
april 16
emt
-
Document
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Brent Jesiek
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Bob Recotta
Date
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2007-06-01
Description
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by BOB RECOTTA
Published: Monday, April 16, 2007 10:42 PM CDT
<a href="mailto:rrecotta@the-leader.com">rrecotta@the-leader.com</a>
BLACKSBURG, VA. | Sara Marchese was studying alone in her dorm room lounge when the quiet Monday morning was shattered by an announcement over the Virginia Tech public address system.
"There was 10 minutes straight of sirens," said Marchese, who is in her freshman year at Virginia Tech after graduating from Corning East High School. "Everyone in the hall was on their cell phones. We got an e-mail about the shooting. That's when we flipped on the news."
Shortly after the first alarm sounded, an emergency message came over the campus' PA system.
"They said it was a state of emergency, with the message repeating," Marchese said. "They told us to stay inside and keep away from windows. It was the first time the PA system had ever been used."
Peter Marchese, Sara' father, received the news about the campus shooting from a message his daughter left on his answering machine.
"Even on the answering machine, you heard the loud speakers going off," Peter Marchese said. "Since then, she's been in communication every 15 to 20 minutes."
Sara Marchese said the mood at the college changed as the body count rose.
"I was locked in with me and two good friends," she said. "When the count went from one to 20, everyone's jaws dropped."
Marchese said, during the lockdown, she and her friends kept a close watch on the television news. When the three-hour lockdown ended, the atmosphere around the campus had changed.
"We just went down to lunch," Marchese said. "Everyone's really down. Everyone's in shock. It was weird going in dining halls and seeing heavily armed police officers. The news was playing in the dining hall. That's not going to put a good mood in anybody."
Peter Marchese was surprised such violence could explode at someplace like Virginia Tech.
"When we went down to visit, it was a nice, quiet, quaint town a lot like Corning," Peter Marchese said. "This could happen to anybody."
Classes at Virginia Tech have been canceled today. Marchese said she might come home for a couple days, but the violent incident hasn't changed her view of the campus.
"I feel so safe here walking around," Sara Marchese said. "The place I work is a half-mile away. When I get off work at 10 or 11 p.m., I feel safe walking at night. That's why this was really shocking. It was just a fluke."
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Original Source: Corning Leader Daily
<a href="http://www.the-leader.com/articles/2007/04/17/news/local02.txt">http://www.the-leader.com/articles/2007/04/17/news/local02.txt</a>
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East grad: Peaceful morning shattered
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april 16
corning
new york
student