Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog 

V26R....I'm a novice, doesn't that make it more violent?

Heavy winds up there in Virginia prevented the use of helicopters...wonder if that doomed some students...shame.

my sister in mamaroneck ny said here basement was flooded and the couch that i sleep on when i go visit was floating around the room.

Saved,
Well it isn't pretty as we see
Think the LL Low will follow the UL one around before moving out, Hopefully without picking up
any more moisture from the Gulf Stream and dumping it in my backyard!

V26R Thanks for the tip. Here are a couple of photos from my place. The bad news - the siding is a bit torn up. The good news - the improvised plant shelter came through quite nicely. There is still hope for my strawberries. Hooray for PVC!


Wind Damage

Strawberries

Thanks V26R.

sfranz...congrats on the strawberries rescue. The memories will make them tastier.

Yep its sad...32 now dead, students and faculty.

Don't like to think about American violence. American weather is less so.

Monday Bloody Monday..in Virginia..sad,sad,sad...

Now confirmed 31 dead!!

The worse shooting in modern history...

What a sad day.Unbelievable.

From what iam reading it looks like the suspect chained the doors during his rampage.

Forget about weather today:

this is so typical of this country's inability to think about two things at once.

everyone focuses on 9-11 and ignores weather disasters until katrina...

then everyone hyper-focuses on Katrina,

etc.

there are many things at once that require our attention as a country. is this shooting less important than Katrina because it killed less people? It still needs our attention.

That being said, my thoughts go out to anyone touched by that shooting. A storm, no matter how damaging, at least brings life giving rain, and is a part of an amazing natural system. This shooting is just pointless and sickening. Sorry for my rant.

Don't apologize INYO. You are right on. Death is death! Grieving is grieving, whether it is for a loved one that died in the storm or in the shooting or for a life as one knew it, due to storm damage or anything else.

I agree INYO! We have many things that need our attention in a days time! And yes right now people should at least send out some prayers for thoses affected by the shootings! And truly pointless and revolting!

I was in the doctors office when I heard about it. My heart & prayers goes out to all them Parents and children on campus. What is this world coming to. My son just moved to Virginia and I called him cause he works on the campus doing plumbing work that scared the living crap out of me.

Disturbing video of gunfire audio caught on tape...cops yelling in background...

link

On the news it said no even a year ago it was August of 2006 that a prisoner got loose and he ended up at Virginia Tech College and he killed a janitor and a sheriff. But they caught him but they ended killing him.

I thank God your son is safe, catastropheadjuster. Good thing you were in the Doctor's office.
Thanks for the video link, misterperfect.

As soon as i heard about it I called my son cause I live in Alabama and he just moved to Virginia about a month ago. I just started crying not just about my son but all them other children. You just don't know what to think about what's going on these days and what's going thru peoples heads. I mean when you see someone broke down you really want to stop and help but you don't know if it's a trap or what. I remember years ago my parents would always stop and help people out. It's just awful that you really can't do that no more it's really ashame. I'm sorry you'll about me just babling on. This just breaks my heart.

From the European side of the Atlantic please accept our heartfelt condolences over the tragic events at Virginia Tech. It is headline news here also. What drove this person to do this is only known by him. I have already read some students were angry that this went on for two hours. Before placing blame on anyone, like the police force, please understand there are many factors unknown to us at this time about what went on. People are speaking emotionally now and this is usually not based on known facts. At this time just extend your prayers to those affected.

My Lord above, what a frightful day. First the weather now this? As a Graduate student myself I cant imagine something like that happeneing on my campus. What a nightmare!

Catastropheadjuster, if I were in your shoes, I would have gone to pieces. We are all babbling on about it. You just have more justification.

My son was shot 4 times, the first time in the head, a few years ago. His girlfriend's ex-boyfriend came to wipe them all out, including the kids. If it weren't for my son's quick thinking, they would all be dead. Only by the Grace of God, did my son survive. The bullet to his head, grazed his scull. Had he turned his head a fraction......I am so thankful that you didn't have to go through that.

airman 45

Thanks for your kind comments. I just got off the phone with my own mother who was checking in to be sure I weathered the storm OK. My own thoughts and prayers will be with those families in Virginia at this tragic moment and with those who will have to rebuild their lives after the storm.

anger was his first choice

Officials: Gunman dead after bloody campus rampage
POSTED: 4:39 p.m. EDT, April 16, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Virginia attorney general says 32 dead, including gunman
• Four hospitals report 29 wounded
• Attacks mark deadliest school shooting in U.S. history
• Student describes situation as "mayhem"; says 2 students jumped from window

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(CNN) -- A lone gunman is dead after officials said he killed at least 31 people Monday during shootings in a dorm and a building housing classrooms at Virginia Tech, making it the deadliest school attack in U.S. history.

Officials said the shooting incidents occurred two hours apart.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell confirmed the death toll and said, "That's the best information that I've got from the law enforcement officers who are on the scene."

It was not clear if the gunman was killed by police or if he took his own life.

"Some victims were shot in a classroom," university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said. (Watch the police chief explain where bodies were found )

Spokespersons for hospitals in Roanoke, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Salem told CNN they were treating 29 people from the shootings.

Sharon Honaker with Carilion New River Medical Center in Christiansburg said one of the four gunshot victims being treated there was in critical condition.

Scott Hill, a spokesman for Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, where 17 wounded students were taken, said he wasn't expecting any more victims.

"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," said university President Charles Steger. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified." (Map of Blacksburg)

The killings mark the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, surpassing attacks at Columbine High School in 1999 and at the University of Texas in 1966.

One person was killed and others were wounded at multiple locations inside a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., Flinchum said. Two hours later, another shooting at Norris Hall -- the engineering science and mechanics building -- resulted in multiple casualties, the university reported. (Campus map)

The first reported shooting occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a coed dormitory that houses 895 students. The dormitory, one of the largest residence halls on the 2,600-acre campus, is located near the drill field and stadium.

Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos."

The reporter said there were "lots of students running around, going crazy, and the police officers were trying to settle everyone down and keep everything under control," according to Steele. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene )

Kristyn Heiser said she was in class about 9:30 a.m. when she and her classmates saw about six gun-wielding police officers run by a window.

"We were like, 'What's going on?' Because this definitely is a quaint town where stuff doesn't really happen. It's pretty boring here," said Heiser during a phone interview as she sat on her classroom floor.

Another student, Tiffany Otey, said she and her classmates initially thought the gunshots were construction noise until they heard screaming and police officers with bulletproof vests and machine guns entered her classroom.

"They were telling us to put our hands above our head and if we didn't cooperate and put our hands above our heads they would shoot," Otey said. "I guess they were afraid, like us, like the shooter was going to be among one of us."

Student reports 'mayhem'
Student Matt Waldron said he did not hear the gunshots because he was listening to music, but he heard police sirens and saw officers hiding behind trees with their guns drawn.

"They told us to get out of there so we ran across the drill field as quick as we could," he said.

Waldron described the scene on campus as "mayhem." (Watch a student's recording of police responding to loud bangs )

"It was kind of scary," he said. "These two kids I guess had panicked and jumped out of the top-story window and the one kid broke his ankle and the other girl was not in good shape just lying on the ground."

Madison Van Duyne said she and her classmates in a media writing class were on "lockdown" in their classrooms. They were huddled in the middle of the classroom, writing stories about the shootings and posting them online.

The university is updating its more than 26,000 students through e-mails, and an Internet webcam is broadcasting live pictures of the campus.

The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the 100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported.

Last August, the first day of classes was cut short by a manhunt after an escaped prisoner was accused of killing a security guard at a Blacksburg hospital and a sheriff's deputy.

After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, police at the university said. (Watch a student describe living through a "college Columbine" )

"Virginia Tech has canceled all classes. Those on campus are asked to remain where they are, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Persons off campus are asked not to come to campus," a statement on the university Web site said.

The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. ET Tuesday. Classes also have been canceled Tuesday. In Washington, the House and Senate observed moments of silence for the victims and President Bush said the nation was "shocked and saddened" by news of the tragedy

"Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones," he said. "We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today."

Before Monday, the deadliest school shootings came in 1966 and 1999.

In the former, Charles Joseph Whitman, a 25-year-old ex-Marine, killed 13 people on the University of Texas campus. He was killed by police.

In 1999, 17-year-old Dylan Klebold and 18-year-old Eric Harris -- armed with guns and pipe bombs -- killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 33.

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Students complained that there were no public-address announcements or other warnings on campus after the first burst of gunfire. They said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage — around the time the gunman struck again.

"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."

It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was shot by police or took his own life. Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive.

The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.

Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.

Some students bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time.

"What happened today this was ridiculous," student Jason Piatt told CNN. "While they send out that e-mail, 20 more people got killed."

Students and Laura Wedin, a student programs manager at Virginia Tech, said the first notification they got of the shootings came in an e-mail at 9:26 a.m., more than two hours after the first shooting.

The e-mail had few details. It said: "A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating." The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.

Student Maurice Hiller said he went to a 9 a.m. class two buildings away from the engineering building, and no warnings were coming over the outdoor public address system on campus at the time.

Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they did not want to pre-empt an announcement by higher-ranking authorities, put the death toll at 31.

At least 26 people were being treated at three area hospitals for gunshot wounds and other injuries, authorities said. Their exact conditions were not disclosed, but at least one was sent to a trauma center and six were in surgery, authorities said.

Up until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard plowed his pickup truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

The massacre Monday took place almost eight years to the day after the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo. On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Previously, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower and opened fire with a rifle from the 28th-floor observation deck. He killed 16 people before he was shot to death by police.

Founded in 1872, Virginia Tech is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, about 160 miles west of Richmond. With more than 25,000 full-time students, it has the state's largest full-time student population. The school is best known for its engineering school and its powerhouse Hokies football team.

The rampage took place on a brisk spring day, with snow flurries swirling around the campus. The campus is centered around the Drill Field, a grassy field where military cadets — who now represent a fraction of the student body — once practiced. The dorm and the classroom building are on opposites sides of the Drill Field.

A gasp could be heard at a campus news conference when Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum said at least 20 people had been killed. Previously, only one person was thought to have been killed.

Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began marking and recovering the large number of shell casings and will trace the weapon used, authorities said.

A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.

"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said

After the shootings, all entrances to the campus were closed, and classes were canceled through Tuesday. The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children. It also made counselors available and planned an assembly for Tuesday at the basketball arena.

After the shooting began, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode's resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks by authorities but said they have not determined a link to the shootings.

It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

Last August, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff's deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus. The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.

That cell phone video they just played on CNN is one of the worst things I have ever witnessed.

This storm has killed 11 people so far.



Rains washed out more than 75 roads in New Hampshire, where 200 National Guard troops helped evacuate four towns and reinforce cresting rivers with sandbags.

What a awfull day for you people!! A heavy storm, killing people - a shooting, killing far more people...
Here it is also frontnews.
My thoughts und prayers are with the people who have to experience such terrible things.
savedbygod - that is an absolut awfull experience, having your child shot at! Hope I never have to go through something like that!