Young Writers Society

Wow... Just... wow. The world is always that much more scary when you have to read about/watch about these things in the news/on the news. I could cry.

31 dead in VA Tech shooting
By Sue Lindsey
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 04/16/2007 02:07:27 PM MDT

Blacksburg, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech today, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in the deadliest massacre in U.S. history. The gunman was killed, bringing to death toll to 31, but it was unclear if he was shot by police or took his own life.

"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."...

Read more here: http://origin.denverpost.com/sportscolu ... ci_5678667

It's horrible. If you turn on one of the 24/7 news channels, They'll probably be talking about it... My dad says they've been talking about it all day.

Terrible. And schools are where you're supposed to be safe?

EDIT: I heard that it was something to do with the gunman and his ex-girlfriend. He shot her, and then her new boyfriend, apparently. Just ridiculous. Such a tragic thing for such a pointless reason.

Thanks, Claudette. I hadn't heard that it was 30...just that he killed students. Or maybe I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, thanks for telling me.

Yes, very sad. I hope the families will somehow be able to cope with this tragedy.

I suppose it's probably the deadliest school shooting to date. It's a shame these things are still happening.

It's scary to think about this kind of thing happening on our campuses here. I hope everything gets settled soon and that everything is handled the best it can be.

How horrible...I pray that the families of the deceased can make it through this and that some young idiot doesn't think that the idea is cool and decides to emulate it...
Thanks for putting it up, Claudette.

I just can't believe these things, sometimes....

I'm in Journalism class at school right now, and one of the guys just found that on the Web.

There are no words for how horrible this is.

EDIT: I will never understand why someone would think it would be cool to emulate Columbine.

It's up to 33 now.

That is scary. I have a serious need to shut my dorm door 24/7 currently.

I can't believe it was two different shootings and the college did nothing about it. They could have prevented the second shooting.

And they are cancelling classes....for tomorrow. Congratualtions, 33 of your friends were just killed in the worst shooting rampage in U.S. history and you get one day off and then you have to return to the death scene.

Welcome to non-sensitive college life.

I'm sure those that were directly affected may take some extra time off, but for the rest of the campus, it's probably best just to move on.

Yeah... It raised to 33, because there were 2 in the first shooting, then 31 (including the shooter) in the second.

We're still unaware as to whether there were two shooters, if they were related, etc.

Vigina Tech website. They have more info there, and stuff about the press release.

It's just... horrible.

My school started putting up precautions after the Amish school shooting, and there was another incident that was specifically in our state. I feel safe at school, but in all reality, anything could happen, anywhere. C'est la vie, sadly...

Viginia Tech News. I'm not sure if this is the same as above, but they have an audio clip of the press release.

The worst thing about this, I think, is that most of it could have been prevented. I mean why didn't they put the school into lockdown immediately after the first killing occured? I heard it was almost two hours after that the other shooting happened. At least thirty lives could have been saved. I first heard about it at school and was terrified because a girl i'm very close to is currently going there. Luckily she wasn't hurt, but it's still very scary. I just can't imagine being in that situation.

I have friends there too. It's not very far from my house. I'm awaiting return calls. *sits anxiously* Ranting saves my sanity.

The reason they didn't lock down (which I heard in the press release) was because they thought it had been an isolated event.

In all reality, we don't know enough information yet. I'm sure we'll be hearing about this for months.

My dad just told me about this - he's watching television downstairs. ... It makes you wonder, seriously, why people have to do this to each other, and without clear or just motivation.

The families of the victims will be in my thoughts as well.

How these shootings keep happening in the US is horrific.

Guns should be banned. Although, I suppose that's not the real problem. There are other countries with similar gun laws that don't experience the same problems, and banning guns doesn't stop gun crime. I wonder what the real root of all this is.