Geraldo Rivera (FOX News) says local LE say the Facebook.com page mentioned earlier is NOT that of massacre gunman. They say the person shown on the page is not the person who was found dead (by suicide) in Norris Hall on the Virginia Tech campus.
Megyn Kelly (FOX News) used information from Facebook to try and track down information on the individual from the college students' social networking website. Her staff actually went out and tried to find the person shown on Facebook.com. They were unable to find him at two addresses in the Blacksburg, VA area. However, they gained no leads that this person was the gunman.
In fact, Wayne Chiang, owner of the Facebook webpage has gone public to "clear my [his] name". Chiang realizes his Facebook page is suspicious, but insists he is not a person of interest, nor the gunman. "It was five for five. I was Asian, I lived in (the dorm), I go to V Tech, I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I collect guns," says Chiang, who initially contacted ABC affiliate KNXV. Law enforcement officials confirm that Mr. Chiang is NOT a suspect, nor do they think he is related to the crimes that took place yesterday morning at VTech.
NOTE: Law enforcement and others are still working to find out whether or not the two crime scenes from yesterday morning are related. VTech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum has implied that there may be evidence that TWO different situations are at play -- and that the two shooting scenes were not perpetrated by the same individual.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Virginia Tech: Campus Massacre Update
Monday, April 16, 2007
Chinese National Named VTech Massacre Killer
Update: 11:45 p.m. (Revised)
The gunman apparently brought the chains used to lock doors in Norris Hall on campus with him. He was a 20-something, six foot tall, Chinese man toting a 9mm handgun with at least one high capacity clip, along with a .22 caliber pistol. It is also now known that the shooter brought additional ammunition with him -- as noted by multiple student witnesses.
At least two people (Chief Flinchum and a Sun Times reporter) now say they have the name of this person, but will not yet release it to the public. The man, who was reportedly NOT a VTech student, was in the US on an F1 visa (aka student visa).
Federal authorities are saying that they still cannot definitively tie the West AJ murders to the Norris Hall massacre. I'm starting to believe, more and more, that the two scenes are unrelated. However, the facts are easy enough to establish. a) Did the murdered girl in West AJ know the Chinese man at Norris Hall? b) Who did witnesses see in the dorm? c) Who is the person of interest the Blacksburg police talked to this morning? d) Can he be quickly linked to either the Chinese gunman at Norris or the young woman at West Ambler Johnston?
FOX News is reporting that the Chinese man has a page on Facebook.com. On his profile, there are pictures of him holding several weapons. We are NOT sure the Facebook.com person is the SAME PERSON who massacred 30+ people today. However, if the profile does show the shooter, the situation is even more disturbing.
Murder at VT's West Ambler Johnston Dorm
Update: 10:28 p.m.
The female student killed at West AJ was shot in the back of the head -- reportedly by her estranged boyfriend.
Students are saying there was an early morning argument between the female student and her boyfriend. It's not clear whether the boyfriend had been in the room all night, or had arrived early this morning. The as yet unidentified female student's Resident Advisor (RA) entered her room in an attempt to mediate and hopefully calm the situation. Within minutes, the young lady lay dead in the floor of her dorm room. Her RA Ryan "Stack" Clark was shot in the neck. He later died.
The Blacksburg Police Department was lead to believe that the killer was a "greasy haired" guy who was driving an old pickup truck with farm plates.
Some media outlets are saying that the perpetrator murdered his girlfriend, then hid out for almost two hours before heading over to first Randolph Hall, and then Norris Hall -- going on a shooting rampage in the latter. {I don't buy that idea, at all.}
Question - Were there TWO shooters?
1) An angry boyfriend killing his girlfriend & her RA at the West Ambler Johnston dorm
2) Chinese national, who was likely not a VT student, committing massacre in Norris Hall
Virginia Tech Massacre: Gunman's Identity Coming to Light
Update: 9:45 p.m. (Revised)
The 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on August 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai, the source said.His name has not yet been released, but more information is coming to light as the hours pass.
Before opening fire in Norris Hall, he first went to Randolph Hall. At this point, there are no reports that he harmed anyone there. The gunman murdered dozens of students before turning the gun on himself. Local law enforcement say that a .22 caliber pistol and a 9mm handgun were recovered at the scene.
No identification was found on the gunman's body, police said. Eyewitnesses described him as an Asian male about 6 feet tall. He apparently shot himself in the head after the killings; part of his face was missing when his body was found.
VICTIM STATUS: Most of the victims have been identified. Many of the bodies of those who died in Norris Hall have been removed from the building. Death notifications are being handled right now.
My question -- Why has the gunman's vehicle not been located yet?
The College Columbine: Virginia Tech's "Person of Interest"
Update: 8:07 p.m.
The highlights of the 7:30pm ET press briefing are:
- Virginia Tech Campus Police Chief Wendell Flinchum has preliminary ID of gunman, but are not releasing the name.
- Recovered two weapons, but won't release the details
- ATF is comparing ballistics from West AJ and Norris Hall
- Person of interest ID'd after shooting at West Ambler Johnston. That person is not in custody. He is not known to police, according to Chief Flinchum.
- The first "person of interest" is still a person of interest -- "because he knows one of the victims" found dead in the dorm room.
- The "person of interest" is NOT a VT student
- The gunman found dead in Norris Hall is NOT the "person of interest" questioned in the West AJ dorm shooting.
- Murder /suicide has been ruled out at the incident in the dorm
- Chief Flinchum states that the Blacksburg Police Dept. located the "person of interest" in the dorm shooting -- and conducted an interview with him about the same time as the shootings were taking place in Norris Hall
- From the above statements, we can conclude that the police think that the shootings in West AJ are NOT related to the shootings in Norris Hall
Virginia Tech Massacre: The Investigation
Update: 6:00 p.m.
CollegiateMedia reports: Erin Sheehan was one of four people able to walk out of her 9:05 German class in room 207 Norris Hall. "It's a small class, about 25 people," she said. "And I would say no more than 2 people didn't show up, were absent. And of those of us that were in there today, only four of us walked out of that room, but two of us had been injured during the shooting," Sheehan said.I'm sure Virginia Tech police, along with FBI, ATF and other agencies, are investigating every aspect of the campus massacre that occurred earlier today.
"It seemed so strange," Sheehan said. "Because he peaked in twice, earlier in the lesson, like he was looking for someone, somebody, before he started shooting. But then we all heard something like drilling in the walls, and someone thought they sounded like bullets. That's when we blockaded the door to stop anyone from coming in."
"He was just a normal looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout type outfit. He wore a tan button up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something."
"I saw bullets hit people's body," Sheehan said. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out, I don't know maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom. The rest were dead or injured." She described.
- One thing they should be looking for is the gunman's car. Since it has been reported that he entered Norris Hall with two long guns and two handguns, it's more than obvious he didn't walk to campus. He had to have driven a private vehicle. Where is it and what kind of evidence does it hold?
- Since at least one of the first two victims were likely known to the gunman, police should be tracing back friends and romantic acquaintances of the female resident of the West AJ dorm.
- There is also certainly a definite link between the person living in West Ambler Johnston dorm and classrooms 205/206 on the second floor of Norris Hall.
- Another idea is that the shooter may have been a student. If so, he may have been known to some of the people who were shot in Norris Hall. Hopefully, some of them will be able to identify him by name.
- Of course, the weapons should be traceable back to where it was sold -- and possibly to the owner. By the way he was dressed and armed, it can be concluded that he intended to murder many people -- and possibly shoot it out with law enforcement.
- LE needs to look into last week's bomb threats -- to see if they are related to what happened earlier today.
Regarding the West AJ crime scene: Before assuming that both this incident and the Norris Hall scene were perpetrated by the same person, think about this scenario... A disgruntled boyfriend goes upstairs to the 4th floor of the West AJ dorm. He kills his girlfriend, then commits suicide. In that circumstance, the two incidents would most likely not be related at all.
Virginia Tech Massacre: News Conference Details
Update: 5:16 p.m.
Officials are holding their second major news conference of the day -- in relation to the murder of 32 students and faculty on the Virginia Tech University campus in Blacksburg, VA.
Here are the highlights:
- VT.edu is pretty much overwhelmed and not available.
- Virginia Tech has arranged for counseling for faculty, staff and students.
- Charles Steger, university president, spoke with President Bush within the last hour. He has also spoken with the Governor twice.
- 31 deaths inside Norris Hall -- including gunman
- 15 other victims injured or wounded
- 2 confirmed dead in West Ambler Johnston -- in addition to 31 @ Norris Hall (one female victim / one male victim)
- West AJ was closed immediately, but the rest of campus was not locked down because police thought incident was isolated and that shooter had left the dorm
- Gunman carried NO identification, so law enforcement have not identified him
- Students must have "swipe card" in order to enter dorms during early morning hours
- Anticipate being able to release list of those who were killed or injured by tomorrow
- Don't know if shooter was a student or not
- One gunman deceased, but police DON'T know if two incidents were related
- Second incident happened while police were investigating first incident.
- Norris Hall gunman committed suicide
- Suspect first shooting was domestic in nature -- both victims were found in a single West AJ dorm room (one female victim / one male victim)
- NO shootout between officers & gunman (despite video showing multiple law enforcement officers firing weapons towards campus buildings)
- Some Norris Hall doors were chained shut (from the inside) -- probably by gunman
- No one is in custody -- but active investigation is ongoing as to whether or not there are two gunmen
- Another news conference will be held tonight at around 7:00pm ET
Virginia Tech: Eye Witness Accounts Starting to Pour In
Update: 4:00 p.m.
Major news outlets are reporting that President Bush will address the nation live at approx. 4:15pm ET this afternoon.
Virginia Tech University public relations say their next press conference will be held around 4:30pm ET today. NewzReviews will continue to update this story throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Update: 3:34 p.m.
Junior David Jenkins told FOX News "From what I heard, he chained up some of the doors so people couldn't get in and he basically was just going to every classroom trying to get in, and just started shooting inside classrooms."
One of his friends was in a Norris classroom targeted by the gunman, Jenkins said. "He was very fortunate," Jenkins said. "He said every single person in the room was shot, killed and was in the ground. He laid on the ground with everyone … he played dead and he was OK."
Update: 3:17 p.m.
One student, Derek O'dell, who was shot in the bicep was later interviewed by MSNBC. Odell says that 10-15 students were shot in his classroom on the 2nd floor of Norris Hall. Odell also thinks his professor may have been shot.
The gunman did not say anything. He just started shooting the students without warning. In fact, he tried to re-enter the classroom after moving on once, but the students had already barricaded the door. The gunman started shooting through the door -- in an effort to get back into the classroom. Shortly thereafter, the shooter left the area -- but Odell doesn't know what happened at that point.
VT Norris Hall Gunman: Asian Male in His 20's Wearing Maroon Cap & Black Leather Jacket
Brian Cross, a VT student, was just interviewed live on WSLS-TV. Here are the highlights of his statements:
- The gunman, who is described as an Asian male in his 20's wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket, was on the second floor of Norris Hall. Cross was on 3rd floor of Norris Hall taking a test.
- Students initially thought shooting sounds were construction noises (which is going on next door).
- A female student finished her test and was walking down to the second floor. She saw a student jump down the stairwell from a higher floor -- screaming about gunshots. The female student said she also saw smoke from gunshots.
- Everyone in classroom heard girl screaming and more gunshots.
- The SWAT team arrived soon after. They called for "Rescue squad - floor two". SWAT escorted students out of building.
Update: 2:40 p.m.
Ten ATF agents are on the Virginia Tech campus assisting with weapons identification. They are collecting shell casings and running some preliminary tests on scene. Once the weapon has been identified, they will begin an "urgent trace" to determine its origins — where it came from, to whom it was registered, and its history of ownership. All material will be sent to the ATF's national crime lab in Maryland.
The AP is revising their death toll from 32 to 31. NewzReviews certainly hopes the death toll numbers are errors of urgency -- and the actual number is MUCH lower.
Official Death Toll in Virginia Tech Massacre Is Now 32 Dead
Update: 2:25 p.m.
Eye witnesses are telling news organizations that a professor who was shot in the face died at the scene in Norris Hall. Others report that the shooter had an automatic long gun, a shotgun and two 9mm handguns -- one of which he used on himself during a gunfight with police.
Witnesses say they heard between 40 and 50 shots as they scurried from the engineering building. The shooter was wearing a vest covered in clips was just unloading on their door, going from classroom to classroom … they said it never seemed like it was going to stop and there was just blood all over.
Other people (including reporters) are already speculating on a connection between last week's bomb threats and this morning's massacre. The first was directed at Torgersen Hall, a classroom and laboratory building, while the second was directed at multiple engineering buildings.
Update: 2:00 p.m.
The death toll now OFFICIALLY stands at 32 people dead as a result of what is thought to be a lone gunman going on a rampage at Virginia Tech. Add the number of dead to the reports of 29 who were wounded, and the total of people injured or killed is more than 60.
Robert Bowman, Managing Editor of The Collegiate Times (CT), says that the prevalent rumor on campus is that the (reported) Asian gunman killed himself when confronted by law enforcement officers at Norris Hall. BTW, the Asian man being shown on news outlets (face down and handcuffed), is NOT the gunman. He is a reporter for CT.
Another rumor going around campus is that the shooter was looking for his girlfriend -- quite possibly at her dorm (West AJ) and later at class in Norris Hall.
The twenty-two dead are as follows:
- One dead from shooting on 4th floor of West AJ dorm. Another person was shot in the dorm, but was not killed.
- Twenty dead from classroom numbers 205 & 206 at Norris Hall.
- The gunman is reportedly dead, as well.
At Least 20 Dead in Norris Hall on VT Campus
Update: 12:25 p.m.
The local police chief (Chief Wendell Flinchum) is being interviewed on TV as I type. He just stated that there are at least 20 fatalities from two separate shootings at Virginia Tech this morning.
He also says that the suspected shooter is dead -- but did not know whether police killed him or he committed suicide. {There are conflicting reports regarding the suspect being in custody or dead.}
Here are the details, as I have heard them -- UPDATED -- from University President, Charles Steger, and the police chief:
- 7:40am - 911 call came into campus police from West AJ dorm (one dead on 4th floor)
- Two hours later (as investigation was going on in West AJ), reports came in regarding shootings in Norris Hall (20 dead)
- At least twenty-two dead (according to VT website)
- At least twenty-one wounded
- Two different shootings (two locations & two different times)
- Campus police, county police, state police and FBI are all on-site
Victims have been taken to Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (RMH) and Montgomery Regional Hospital. Virginia Tech is offering counseling to employees who want assistance after today's events. The counseling is available in the Bowman Room in the Merriman Center.
Update: 12:13 p.m.
FOXNews is reporting that 17 students are currently being treated for gunshot and/or other wounds at Montgomery Regional Hospital.
Eye witnesses are saying that a heavily-armed, "Asian-looking man", wearing a thick vest, entered Norris Hall this morning -- and started shooting indiscriminately into classrooms. One fatality has been reported, but a hospital spokeswoman (Judith Chambers) says that some of the wounded being treated are in serious condition. Multiple victims are undergoing surgery for their wounds.
We also know that at least one instructor is among the wounded.
Virginia Tech Scene of Deadliest University Shooting in US History
A student who was making his way to classes on the Virginia Tech campus witnessed police grab a male who appeared to have been shot in the abdomen, place him in a police car and whisk him away from the scene. It was NOT clear to the student whether the person taken away was a victim or the shooter.
Reportedly, FBI agents are now on the scene as well.
Update: 11:21am - VT website
Sources on campus are reporting that there were two shooting incidents on campus — one that occurred between 7:15 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston Dorm (aka West AJ; near West End Market and Dietrick Dining Center), and another at 10 a.m. (believed to have taken place at Norris Hall). Officials told the AP there are seven to eight additional casualties. According to the VT website, "There will be an additional university statement presented today at noon."
There are VERY few OFFICIAL details at this time. We will know more when university authorities release their statement around noon today.
Update: 11:06 a.m.The Associated Press is reporting there at least one person dead as a result of multiple shootings on the Virginia Tech campus this morning. Wounded have been removed from buildings. Tech student Steve Hanson was working in a lab in Norris Hall at 10:15 a.m. when he hears what he thought was loud banging from construction. Hanson was soon scrambling out of the building and he said he saw one person who was shot in the arm. At Pritchard Hall, a dormitory near one of the shooting sites, students were being pulled into the buildings and told to stay away from windows and off the phone.
One death and one injury have been confirmed. Due to serious wind, helicopters cannot be used to transfer the injured. According to the police scanner, ambulances are being used to transport the victims to Montgomery Regional Hospital.
Updated: 10:17 a.m.
Multiple shootings have occurred at Virginia Tech this morning involving multiple victims. The second shooting happened in Norris Hall, the engineering building near Burruss Hall. Police are on the scene and rescue workers have set up a temporary treatment facility. The campus is on lock down. All classes and activities have been cancelled for the day.
Montgomery County public schools are all on lock down. In Blacksburg, no one is being allowed in any school building without approval by the school administrators, said Superintendent Tiffany Anderson.
The university has posted a notice of the incident on its Web site and is urging the university community to be cautious and contact Virginia Tech police at 231-6411 if they notice anything suspicious.
Last August, the VT campus was closed when an escaped jail inmate killed a hospital guard and a sheriff's deputy involved in a massive manhunt. The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.
with new information as it become available.
