Unimaginable Horror

Unimaginable Horror

Last night a wind descended on Southwest Virginia, a dark gale. Last night I began reading Harry Potter, The Half-Blood Prince. On the opening pages, Fudge informs the Prime Minister that dementors are on the loose. Little did I know that that fiction would become a reality in the place I love most.

The details are not all in yet, but the fact is that 33 people were killed at my beloved university, Virginia Tech, today. My tears still haven’t stopped flowing. So many thoughts. So many questions? Why here? Why those people? Why now? Rumors abound, but no confirmation has come from authorities. Several facts and substantial rumors have percolated out. The shooter chained the doors in Norris Hall before the executions. The shooter targeted people in Norris Hall trying to root out…well I won’t state that here before it’s confirmed.

My son attends Virginia Tech, and when I first heard the news, I had a sinking feeling that he may somehow be in the middle of it all. It turns out that he had a passing glance at the violence.

Here’s what he wrote to me just minutes after the Norris Hall shooting, before he knew anyone was killed…

Mom and Dad,

Just to let you all know, I'm sure you will hear about it, but there have been shootings all over the place this morning. I didn't know anything about these until I was walking back from Robertson's class at about 9:42 this morning and I heard about 15 shots in quick succession from a handgun (a small one since there were 15 rounds) coming from the area around the back of Burress/McBryde. Anyway, I was beside McBryde, still on upper quad watching. No one reacted at first and then I started to hear sirens.

Periodically there were 1 or 2 shots and then the police started flying up. We are talking SWAT vans and unmarked cars doing 50-60 mph around the drillfield and up the sidewalks. It was intense. They all got down behind their doors and stuff like in the movies. It was insane. I just got back to the room and found all of these messages in my inbox, one of which said this at 9:50 am (While I was watching the shooting):

"A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice.

Stay away from all windows"

Good stuff... the year starts off with a shooting and ends with one. What started the whole thing apparently was a shooting in AJ this morning.

Anyway, I'll call you all tonight to fill you in on FEX and all of that. I am fine though, just a little excitement.

Later, after more was known but before the full scope of the tragedy was apparent, he sent this email…

According to the CNN Press release 22 are dead including the gunman. I can't believe it. The campus is closed all day, classes still cancelled tomorrow. I just can't believe it... the police response time was under 30 seconds, and I saw them get there that fast. They did everything right, it just shows what one determined person can do with a gun. The campus is secure right now and there was only one gunman. I have tried getting through to you all on the phones but I can't get service (the phones are clogged with traffic) and can't check my voicemail. I'll try calling mom since I know where she is. In any case, I am fine and everyone I know is also okay (although Alyson lives in West AJ but is in Seattle right now and Ben, the guy Callan worked with, lives in AJ). I'll be in touch

Sam

That response by the police was amazing. I’ve heard reports that SWAT teams streamed across the campus drillfield at full speed. My son was clear that they were on scene within 30 (later he said 45 seconds) seconds of the first wave of shooting at Norris Hall. The eerie cell phone coverage of the shooting that's been replayed over and over on CNN makes me cry. My son later told me that after the shooting, he and his buddy looked at each other and questioned what they had heard. Then a police officer directed them to immediately take cover.

My emotions are all mixed right now. Why didn’t authorities do something to prevent this horrible tragedy? I’m sure authorities did everything they could based on what they knew and what they knew they could do. There is much yet to learn, but many innocent students lost their lives today in a senseless action that will forever be etched into the history of my university.

My heart reaches out to those injured and killed and my heart breaks for my university. It will never be the same.