# Shooting at Virginia Tech **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338 "2007-04-16T15:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/61 "2007-04-16T17:59:34Z")
**Lord Il Palazzo** , thanks for the update. Glad you are safe. My deepest sympathy goes out to you and your classmates. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/62 "2007-04-16T18:01:14Z")
[QUOTE=treis] It’s unbelievable that one person managed to shoot 50 or so people. [/QUOTE] Has anyone heard what kind of gun was used? It sounded bigger than a .22 peashooter. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/63 "2007-04-16T18:02:11Z")
I know we keep hearing one shooter for 2 events but it’s still early and I can’t help thinking that there are 2 shooters (remember one was said to be in custody) and that perhaps they are unrelated, just an awful coincidence. At least it’s the only way I can grasp there wasn’t a bigger lockdown after the first shooting if they didn’t think there was a need to close up campus while they looked for a gunman. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/64 "2007-04-16T18:02:25Z")
\*\*Lord Il Palazzo \*\*, glad to hear you’re okay, and I hope that all your friends there are okay as well. Get yourself a strong drink and try to forget about this for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/65 "2007-04-16T18:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Has anyone heard what kind of gun was used? It sounded bigger than a .22 peashooter. [/QUOTE] He had two 9mm pistols, according to MSNBC. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/66 "2007-04-16T18:03:39Z")
It sounds like it was the same shooter for both incidents. I’d put money down that he went searching for a girlfriend, ex, or crush at the dorm, and then went over to the academic building to find her. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/67 "2007-04-16T18:03:48Z")
This makes makes me want to puke. I just can’t imagine. Puts Imus and Anna Nicole in a bit of perspective. And this time tomorrow we are all going to know more than we ever wanted to about the name, the life, the childhood, the relationship of the shooter. He’s going to be a fucking celebrity who will be on every news channel for hours and hours and hours and hours. And the victims will just be a list somewhere. Makes me want to puke more. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/68 "2007-04-16T18:04:04Z")
Thanks for the update **Lord**. I am so sorry you and the school had to go through this insanity. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/69 "2007-04-16T18:04:18Z")
Unedited live feed on FOX says 22 dead, even though their front page says 32. One in a residence hall, the rest in an engineering building. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/70 "2007-04-16T18:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=treis] It sounds like it was the same shooter for both incidents. I’d put money down that he went searching for a girlfriend, ex, or crush at the dorm, and then went over to the academic building to find her. [/QUOTE] Maybe, but it’s way too early to tell. The bomb threat to the building where the shooting took place might be connected, though. He had two guns and many magazines. Sounds like this might have been planned for some time. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/71 "2007-04-16T18:06:13Z")
From the comments section on the Washington Post article [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/comments/display?contentID=AR2007041600533&start=161](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/comments/display?contentID=AR2007041600533&start=161) > [@](#): > > I am a student here at VT and the whole situation is mind blowing. I did not have class until 11:15 so I was sleeping and I woke up to my father calling me panicked asking me if I was okay. I had no idea what had occurred. I checked my email and I read all the emails the university had sent out which was followed by sirens left and right. I got word from a friend of mine who actually lives in West AJ the site of the first shooting and \*\*apparently it had to do with a couple. This is unconfirmed but apparently the boyfriend shot his girlfriend and when the RA Resident Advisor came to see what happened, the young man shot the RA as well. \*\*There has also been reports that startled students hoping to escape jumped out of windows after hearing gun shots. > By tiggerrr100 | Apr 16, 2007 2:00:24 PM (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/72 "2007-04-16T18:07:10Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] He had two 9mm pistols, according to MSNBC. [/QUOTE] I saw a report that said he had a DAO-12 semi-automatic shotgun, commonly known as a Streetsweeper. That weapon is a NFA weapon, so it can be tracked to where he got it from. Whomever is on the other end of that investigation is in a whole heap of trouble. But that’s a bit premature, given the circumstances. That comes later. I’d also like to chime in and say that this is a horrible tragedy, if only because there’s really nothing else to say. Such senseless violence. Madness. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/73 "2007-04-16T18:07:51Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] He had two 9mm pistols, according to MSNBC. [/QUOTE] I don’t know much about guns, but isn’t that incredible to take so many lifes with just two handguns? 9mm seems like it would result in a few dead, many wounded, but 30? He had to have insane aim/practice just like the Texas incident. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/74 "2007-04-16T18:09:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] This makes makes me want to puke. I just can’t imagine. Puts Imus and Anna Nicole in a bit of perspective. [/QUOTE] The first thing most of us thought when we heard about the OKC bombings was “well, at leat OJ will be out of the news for awhile”. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/75 "2007-04-16T18:09:32Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] It’s the worst school shooting in US history. What makes a person do this? [/QUOTE] **SSRIs**. I’d bet the farm on it. Terrible situation. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/76 "2007-04-16T18:10:27Z")
[QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] I don’t know much about guns, but isn’t that incredible to take so many lifes with just two handguns? 9mm seems like it would result in a few dead, many wounded, but 30? He had to have insane aim/practice just like the Texas incident. Am I wrong? [/QUOTE] No idea, just passing along what they reported on MSNBC. WaPo is confirming 32 dead from a federal law enforcement official. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/77 "2007-04-16T18:10:44Z")
[QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] I don’t know much about guns, but isn’t that incredible to take so many lifes with just two handguns? 9mm seems like it would result in a few dead, many wounded, but 30? He had to have insane aim/practice just like the Texas incident. Am I wrong? [/QUOTE] It’s a pretty powerful gun. At close range, it’s deadly and accurate. Plus, someone else said he had multiple magazines. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/78 "2007-04-16T18:11:41Z")
Virginia Tech sends students to do internships and community and conservation work on a project I know here in the Dominican Republic. ☹ Losing a loved one this way is so senseless - my heart goes out to their families. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/79 "2007-04-16T18:11:41Z")
Yes you are. In a crowded classroom, it is entirely possible to achieve that kind of carnage. We have no data on number of shots fired, for example. No way of knowing yet what the circumstances of the deaths were. We have to wait for solid information before speculating wildly. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/80 "2007-04-16T18:12:01Z")
[QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] I don’t know much about guns, but isn’t that incredible to take so many lifes with just two handguns? 9mm seems like it would result in a few dead, many wounded, but 30? He had to have insane aim/practice just like the Texas incident. Am I wrong? [/QUOTE] Shooting defenseless people who have no escape route at close range isn’t that much of an accomplishment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=5)