The deadliest shooting in United States history took place yesterday on a college campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Apparently, the Virginia Tech campus had received two bomb threats in the past two weeks and were planning a 9:00am meeting to discuss ways to better alert students during an emergency. The meeting was canceled when a shooting occurred around 7:15 in one of the dorms. Two people were killed and the building was evacuated, but the shooter probably filed out along with everyone else. There is a great deal of controversy now because the first email about the incident was not sent out until 9:26. The email did not tell students to remain in their dorms because officials assumed the gunman had probably fled the area. At 9:45, however, the gunman entered a building across campus and randomly opened fire on classrooms. Thirty-two were killed and at least twenty were injured. Many feel that more definite action and better alerts could have prevented such devastation.

If administrators believed the gunman was gone, they were probably simply trying to avoid creating unneccessary panic. They were taking a big risk, however, in not being 100% certain. A large number of students would not have received a warning email, even if it had been sent immediately following. Personally, I was always too far behind in the mornings to even think about checking my email. Since the first shooting occurred in a dormitory, it's hard to say that students would have been safer in residence rather than on campus. I feel that perhaps an alert should have been sent out sooner, and the campus should have been locked down to secure safety. With no idea who the gunman was, even if classrooms had locked down at 8:00, the "all clear" could have been given way before the second attack. It still could have (and probably would have) happened. Even if the gunman had been apprehended on his way across campus, administrators would have assumed he was just another student walking to class. He might have been prevented from killing in that particular building, but would more than likely have unleashed his angst somewhere else. It's hard to say what should have been done because hindsight is always twenty-twenty. An intercom system would have been nice. I think the situation could have been handled better, but I stop short of saying further killings could have been prevented. No one ever anticipates having to deal with something like that, and I'm sure officials will be asking themselves "what if" for the rest of their lives. The gunman has still not been identified, but is believed to be among the dead.

It's incredibly sad whenever anything like this happens, and I'm beginning to wonder what it is about the month of April that sends people over the edge. The Branch Davidians, Columbine, and Virginia Tech...all within three days of each other. When looking at the deadliest shootings in U.S. history, they all take place between April and October. More than one took place in August, so perhaps it's the heat. Something about the change in weather triggers...madness? It was very hard to process when I drove by GC&SU yesterday. I glanced at the beautiful, springy campus and couldn't imagine gunfire ripping through the serenity. It's hard to believe that something so terrible can happen on such a beautiful day.