Massacre At Virginia Tech: Last Update for Tonight

Update: 2:31 a.m.

Photo: Chicago Sun Times

FOX News is reporting live that search warrants have been executed on the "room" of the 24 yr old Chinese national (the shooting suspect). That suspect remains unnamed at this point.
Additionally, MSNBC is currently reporting that one of the weapons was a .22 caliber and the other was a 44 Magnum, not a 9mm handgun, as widely stated. I guess we'll have to wait to see which is correct.

BTW, NBC has already started the blame game -- by interviewing some dweeb on "Massacre at Virgina Tech" -- airing as I type. Whodathunkit?!?

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.

Confirmed details of the 48 dead and wounded:

• 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 Scene of Deadliest University Shooting in US History

Update: 11:45 a.m.
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

In addition to an earlier shooting today, in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shootings with multiple victims in Norris Hall. Police and EMS are on the scene. Police have one shooter in custody (according to the AP & The Collegiate Times) and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.
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.

Update: 10:36 a.m.
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.

The Roanoke Times
FOXNews.com
The Collegiate Times
WSLS.com
ABC News
LiveLeak.com

The Roanoke Times (and the Previews, Newz and Reviews blog) will update
with new information as it become available.