Where were you on Monday morning when you found out about the shootings? What were your initial thoughts? Here’s ours.
On Monday morning a little before 9:00 am, I headed out early to Trader Joe’s for groceries. I treated myself to a free coffee and casually browsed the almost empty store strolling through the isles, a luxury for those who are familiar with the store. At 9:56 am as I was waiting at the stoplight Matt called me to let me know there had been a shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech. At that point we weren’t aware of additional details. Thoughts ran through my head…it’s probably domestic, maybe a staff member…assuming it was a bizarre isolated case.
I got home and had to ask again…
10:22 am Laura: Did you say 2 people were shot?
10:22 am Laura: at VT?
10:22 am Matt: 2 dead
Then Matt was fed some information from a friend. He had received the following messages from a friend who was listening to a scanner.
[10:02] : sounds like the shooter may be on third floor norris
[10:03] : they are trying to get rescue squad on to second floor
[10:06] : screaming
[10:06] : request for master key
[10:06] : radio cut out
[10:09] : shooter is down
[10:23] : norris is a massacre
[10:23] : now they are trying to figure out if more than one gunman
Over the next few hours, I watched the news, while Matt continued getting updated reports from our friend. We were all glued to the internet as well.
11:48 am Matt: he is hearing much much worse than 1 dead 9 wounded
11:51 am Matt: reports of entire classrooms shot up
11:52 am Matt: from him: you don’t jump out of a 3rd story window on a rumor
11:58 am Laura: How the F**K are they going to evacuate the campus?
11:59 am Laura: hospital spokesman: 17 people VT students treated for gunshot wounds.
11:59 am Matt: that’s more consistent with what he has said
12:00 pm Matt: let me know what the news conf says
12:01 pm Laura: I will.
12:06 pm Matt: areas being evacuated
12:18 pm Laura: MSNBC is talking to a kid shot in Norris.
12:19 pm Laura: He said the shooter came in and fired a round of shots. He said the shooter was Asian and in his 20s.
12:19 pm Laura: Shooter is dead.
12:19 pm Laura: Possibly as many as 20 fatalities.
12:20 pm: Confirmed one shooter, he is dead.
12:20 pm Laura: At LEAST 20 fatalities.
12:20 pm Laura: The kid said the shooter randomly shot, left and tried to come back, but students held the door closed.
12:21 pm Laura: 20 dead.
12:21 pm Laura: VT officials say 20 killed.
12:21 pm Matt: 
12:21 pm Laura: 28 people being treated for injuries.
12:26 pm Matt: 20 fatalities, 28 injuries
12:28 pm Matt: how does any organization have the right people on staff to quickly deal with the aftermath of a situation like this. I hope they’re bringing someone with experience in to help them through the next week, months
12:30 pm Laura: Oh, I am sure they will.
12:30 pm Laura: I mean, who expects this would happen.
12:31 pm Matt: my co-worker pointed out that most schools probably have a plan for these things, since it’s been happening for so long
12:32 pm Laura: I mean, there’s a lot they can put into place for most things: suicides, rape, alcohol abuse, but how do you have a program in place for a crazy?
12:32 pm Matt: yep
12:33 pm Laura: And a crazy STUDENT. Not a crazy escaped inmate.
12:33 pm Matt: right
12:45 pm Laura: At least 22 dead.
12:45 pm Matt: yah
1:00 pm Laura White House commented on shootings
1:20 pm Laura: Worst shooting on history on a United States campus.
1:32 pm Laura: I just can’t believe this happened at Tech.
1:32 pm Matt: it could happen anywhere
1:32 pm Laura: I know, but of ALL the college campuses in the US.
1:32 pm Matt: yah
1:35 pm Laura: Wonder if this will have an effect on concealed carry permits.
1:35 pm Matt: VT is furthest along at outright ban of CCW on its campus.
1:35 pm Matt: They will probably use this to further this.
1:36 pm Matt: However, CCW permit holders are the most law abiding gun owners there are.
1:36 pm Laura: I’m in shock.
1:42 pm Laura: How are they going to hold class in that classroom in Norris from now on?
1:42 pm Matt: unknown
1:48 pm Laura: Columbine happened 4/20/99.
1:48 pm Laura: Today is 4/16.
1:51 pm Laura: Some f**khead on MSNBC is using his time on air for his own personal agenda. His stepson was shot at Columbine, and he’s just going on and on about how people at Columbine have gone scot free.
2:03 pm Matt: “Worst shooting on history”
2:13 pm Laura: They are saying that if the numbers rise it will be the worst mass shooting in US history.
2:13 pm Laura: Right now it is the worst shooting on a campus in U.S. history.
2:13 pm Matt:
2:13 pm Matt: and they had the escaped convict thing in August 06
2:13 pm Matt: and all these bomb hoaxes this year and last
2:14 pm Laura: Well, this dwarfs all of those incidents.
2:14 pm Matt: obviously
2:14 pm Laura: The escaped convict thing was, well, wacky.
2:14 pm Laura: Bomb hoaxes are, well, regular.
2:14 pm Matt: not what happened last year
2:14 pm Matt: people constructing things to look like bombs and placing them on campus?
2:15 pm Laura: But, nobody associates bomb scares with Virginia Tech.
2:15 pm Matt: right
2:15 pm Laura: The escaped convict thing, maybe.
2:15 pm Laura: Can you imagine? From now on when we say, we are VT alums, they are ALWAYS going to associate this with the school.
2:16 pm Matt: yep
2:16 pm Laura: And, I thought the Michael Vick association was awful.
2:16 pm Matt: heh
2:16 pm Matt: stop feeling sorry for yourself
2:16 pm Laura: I am so sad for these families and the university.
2:16 pm Laura: That’s who I am really sad for.
2:16 pm Matt: yep
2:16 pm Laura: But, I am just thinking of ramifications for the University.
2:17 pm Laura: How many parents are going to yank their kids from the school? Are admissions going to suffer? Will incoming freshman choose another school instead?
2:18 pm Laura: They are saying the gunman chained the doors.
2:18 pm Matt: co-worker’s wife said “he’s not going to VT”
2:18 pm Matt: co-worker’s response was that it could happen anywhere.
2:18 pm Matt: I wonder what came of the reports that it was more than one gunman
2:18 pm Laura: Yeah.
2:20 pm Laura: She probably doesn’t know that as far as large campuses go, VT is one of the safest schools around.
2:20 pm Laura: This is so going to taint how people feel.
2:23 pm Laura: But, I think that people are going to have knee jerk reactions for years and years.
2:23 pm Matt: yep
2:23 pm Matt: it would be interesting to read about what happened with austin after the bell tower thing there
2:23 pm Matt: if it makes admissions less competitive that’s fine… more VA students will get in
2:24 pm Laura: I imagine you will always have a large Southwest Virginia group there. This won’t affect their enrollment.
2:24 pm Laura: Bush is speaking at 4:15
2:26 pm Laura: Government officials, death toll 31
2:27 pm Laura: Worst deadliest shooting in US history.
2:39 pm Laura: They are talking to another student on the phone right now.
2:39 pm Laura: He’s basically reporting the same thing.
2:43 pm Matt: on msnbc’s picture, that guy who’s being hauled out by cops, his leg is turniquetted
2:43:49 PM Matt: http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/070416/n_vatach_rescue1.ss_h.jpg
2:44:05 PM Laura: Yes.
I was at work with no internet access. I heard two cubicle neighbors say something about a shooting at a campus, but I couldn’t make out where. I had been sending phone text messages to my friend who works at Ohio State all morning (hey, I didn’t have anything to do but read stuff I’d read 3 times already) and she wrote me back, “shooting at va tech. 20 dead.”
I started calmly freaking out — holy cow, that’s close to home, what if my dear sweet niece was there for some reason or what about her friends from high school? I went over to my neighbor’s cube and asked if I could read the scant details from CNN over her shoulder. One of them was talking about the escaped inmate, I corrected her that that happened in the summer. Something was said about bomb threats, I said that was fairly common. I think that was around lunchtime.
My imagination went wacko between then and by the time I got home to catch the news and read stuff online. Then I had to call my niece, who was okay, but folks she knew hadn’t heard from one of their friends (turned out to be Reema). I just had to tell her I loved her. She’s not at Tech, but it could happen anywhere.
Then I was sickened by the politicizing of it all.