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Could some of the university killings been averted?
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Posted by: forwardone
April 16, 2007 — In the wake of this morning's tragedy at Virginia Tech, some students are questioning some of the school's actions — why the college's administration did not cancel classes after the first shooting and why it took over two hours to inform students via email about the shootings.
The unidentified gunman shot and killed two students at 7:15 a.m. at the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory and took as long as two hours before killing at least 30 other students sometime after 9 a.m. at Norris Hall, an academic building across campus.
Because classes don't start until 8 a.m., some students felt that cancelling classes would have helped avert further tragedy by alerting students of the need to leave campus or to find a secure place.
At 10:04, students were told to stay indoors and away from windows. Classes were not cancelled until 10:20.
"I do feel strongly that they should have cancelled classes — if you have a shooting on campus, you should cancel classes right away," Bradford Wiles, a 33-year-old graduate student at VT who was not on campus this morning, told ABCNews.com. "For two hours, they said the gunman had been subdued and let the campus believe that it was safe."
Another student posted a message on Facebook under the username Greg Hair:
"They could have prevented most of this…shooting at 730 in WAJ, classes don't start til 8, why couldn't they cancel classes for the day … SOMEONE WAS SHOT AND IT TURNS OUT THEY DIED … I THINK THATS GROUNDS TO CANCEL CLASS RATHER THAN SENDING OUT AN EMAIL THAT SAYS USE CAUTION AND REPORT ANYTHING TO POLICE. They could have save almost 20 lives and 20 injuries if they just decided to cancel class right away."
In an e-mail to ABCNews.com, Greg Hair added to his sentiments, "Apparently, they didnt think he was a 'suicidal maniac' so they didn't feel the need to cancel classes."
At 9:26, more than two hours after the first incident, students received an e-mail informing them of the first shooting and urging them to take caution and contact campus police if they observed any suspicious activity.
That is when Alexandra Mengel, a 19-year-old freshman, first received the campus e-mail. She was getting ready for her 10:10 a.m. Communications Skills class at McBride Hall, right next door to Norris Hall. Leaving the building, she was quickly escorted by Blacksburg police officers to take cover with about 20 other students at West Ambler Johnston Hall.
"I have no idea why they didn't cancel classes," says Mengel. "If I had known of the urgency, I would have been more cautious. You would think that when a killer is on the loose, that there would have been more warning." Some students who received the e-mails didn't realize the gravity of the situation.
"I got the e-mails, but my impression was it was [a] prank or nothing serious, hadn't heard anyone was apprehended or actual bombs were found," says Josh Wargo, an engineering student at the school.
ABC News
Posted by: forwardone
On the news yesterday the comment was made that Virginia is one of the easiest states to pick up weapons legally.
The reporter went to a man`s house, who was a firearms seller, who did it as a legitimate living selling his wares in the kitchen. The weapons are normally stored under lock and key in his upstairs.
The reporter could have bought a pistol, ($500), or an M16 Assault rifle for $1,100. How crazy is that? 
According to what I`ve read about 10 kids each day are killed because of gun `accidents,` things like getting hold of their parents guns, and either shooting themselves, or killing someone else. Many are too young to fully comprehend what they are doing. Americans have `the right to bear arms` but people also have a right to life. Those who lobby for the gun laws not to be tightened often have a vested interest (commercial) in keeping it that way.
I thought it was interesting yesterday when someone on a local radio statio in Virginia was interviewed, the producer I think it was, and asked why, although they had phone-ins on the shootings itself, they wouldn`t touch the subject of stricter gun laws.
The answer was that they daren`t! As soon as it`s mentioned, and it has been in the past, some gun nutter will phone around all his circle of gun lovers who will purposely all phone in at once to block the lines.
Hmm, so, freedom of the individual to carry weapons, but they don`t believe in freedom of speech to go along with it. 