Thursday, April 19, 2007

Gunman opens fire at Virginia Tech, killing 32

A gunman opened fire in Virginia Tech campus on Monday morning. The shooting rampage was registered in the dormitory and in the academic building. According to the preliminary reports, 33 people were killed, including the gunman, and 28 were injured, REGNUM-KNews reported.

Investigators gave no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released. It is known that was a young man of Asian appearance having a lot of ammunition with him. Law enforcement officials told ABC News they believed there was a single gunman who fired at least two 9mm semi-automatic pistols. They said he might have been wearing a bulletproof vest, and that he killed himself on the back of his head after opening fire on his victims.

The law enforcement officials undertaking the investigation are to establish why the university's heads did not close the area down and handle the emergency after the first burst of gunfire. The gunman first shot down two students in the dormitory and two hours later opened fire outside in the other part of the campus, which led to a real tragedy, and the toll rose greatly.

U. S. officials called Monday tragedy in Virginia the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. U. S. senators and the House of Representatives stopped their sessions to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy in a minute's silence, Ekho Moskvy radio reported.

President Bush said from the White House the Americans were "shocked and indeed horrified" with Virginia tragedy and offered to render assistance of the presidential executive office to all the injured. "Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary in learning," the U. S. president said. "When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community."

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