# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/141 "2007-04-16T19:39:03Z")
Shooting up a room full of people is no way to get your girl friend back/ get even with bullies/ get a better grade/impress a girl. What is it with April, anyways? **Lord IP** what a remarkably crappy day for you, friends and classmates. I am so sorry for it all. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/142 "2007-04-16T19:40:55Z")
This fucking sucks ☹ ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/143 "2007-04-16T19:42:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Comes back and kills girlfriend. Kills witness. Decides girlfriend isn’t dead enough. Shoots up classroom. Leaves classroom with some alive. Comes back later, tries to shoot more. Leaves campus. Two hours later, decides girlfriend still not dead enough. Goes to another building, locks people in, shoots more of them. you’re confusing the incident. Apparently he thought girlfriend was dead enough until 2 hours later, THEN came back and shot the classroom up. I wonder if he didn’t finally just snap the rest of the way after mulling over the fact that he shot two people, and just come back and attack another source of his frustration in a suicidal attack, knowing that he wasn’t going to get away with the original shooting. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/144 "2007-04-16T19:42:29Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] What sense is there to look for? Shooting up a dorm or classroom isn’t a sensible response to any event. [/QUOTE] Certainly not. But Columbine didn’t make sense in a far more sensical way than this doesn’t make sense. There were two 2-hour gaps in the whole spree. And if it was about the girlfriend, why come back – twice – and shoot more? If it was about body count, why start with the girlfriend? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/145 "2007-04-16T19:44:35Z")
[QUOTE=enigm4tic] you’re confusing the incident. Apparently he thought girlfriend was dead enough until 2 hours later, THEN came back and shot the classroom up. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I realize that now, but I’m again confused. How many 2-hour gaps were there? Seems to me like there were 2 of them. ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/146 "2007-04-16T19:46:33Z")
he only came back once. 1. shot gf 2. left 2 hours 3. shot classroom (including, apparently, reloading at least once) 4. left classroom briefly (at this point we’re relying on a single eye-witness) 5. came back almost immediately and shot through now-blockaded doors, hit no-one and total conjecture: 6. got shot by police, shot self? it’s still incredibly bizarre, and incredibly heinous. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/147 "2007-04-16T19:53:33Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] Shooting up a room full of people is no way to get your girl friend back/ get even with bullies/ get a better grade/impress a girl. What is it with April, anyways? [/QUOTE] Yeah, whatever happened to the days where nutjobs took shots at Presidents and other public figures? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/148 "2007-04-16T19:54:08Z")
Ah, OK. So that means he shot and killed 29 all in one pass? I must say that’s impressive. In an OMFG sense. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/149 "2007-04-16T19:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Certainly not. But Columbine didn’t make sense in a far more sensical way than this doesn’t make sense. There were two 2-hour gaps in the whole spree. And if it was about the girlfriend, why come back – twice – and shoot more? If it was about body count, why start with the girlfriend? [/QUOTE] Obviously complete speculation, but maybe there was something about the engineering department that caused the argument with his girlfriend…she was cheating on him with an engineering student, she ended the relationship to spend more time on her studies, etc. I could almost see him shooting her, then working himself up for a couple hours about how the other guy/engineering program _made_ him hurt her and get himself into such a deep hole. It’s an awful thing. Glad you’re okay, **LIP**. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/150 "2007-04-16T19:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] It’s too early, but my gosh, how does a shooting take place and nothing happens for two hours? There appears to be word that the police might have detained someone after the first shooting, did they mistakenly arrest the wrong person, thought they had the shooter, and stopped the investigation? [/QUOTE] Again, Tech is **completely insane** when it comes to not canceling classes. I was a student there when 9/11 happened and they didn’t cancel classes until about 5 or 6pm. I never once saw them cancel classes for weather, even when significant blizzards came through. They pridefully wear it like a chip on their shoulder that they _never_ cancel classes. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/151 "2007-04-16T19:58:44Z")
You know, the more I hear about this, the more I think there’s going to be a call for some sort of warning system to lock down a college campus. A lot of kids are saying they didn’t know anything had happened until they got frantic calls from their parents. Here in Orlando(ish), if a bad guy even _looks_ in the direction of a public school, it’s locked down tighter than a gnat’s butthole in about thirty seconds. Everyone living on campus is somewhere. You notify the campus police, they notify the teachers, the RAs, the managers of the campus bookstore and eateries, the librarian. You notify the guards at the gates so off-campus students don’t drive onto campus. You send out some of the police to round up the kids who might be on their way from here to there. Did I miss any? ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/152 "2007-04-16T20:01:52Z")
Holy cow, it’s been less than six hours and already we have four pages of posts on this! ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/153 "2007-04-16T20:02:15Z")
Why not just get air raid sirens? It goes off, everyone runs for cover. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/154 "2007-04-16T20:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] Again, Tech is **completely insane** when it comes to not canceling classes. [/QUOTE] I predict that various lawsuits will cause them to get a lot saner really soon. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/155 "2007-04-16T20:05:17Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Does this make any kind of sense to anyone? [/QUOTE] The problem with trying to anticipate batshittery\* is that you are always playing catchup. If you’re already thinking that an artillery strike is a sensible solution to a romantic difficulty, the rest of us are going to have a hard time anticipating what else you think makes sense. Shitting in the water cooler? Shooting at Reagan? Eating 19 pizzas? Why a classroom instead of 1) administration building 2) McDonalds 3) other nonsensical shit I can’t think of because, hey, I’m not nuts! \*Not yet classified in the DSM-IV ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/156 "2007-04-16T20:08:55Z")
A good freind of mine and her husband are graduate students in engineering there. I am biting my fingernails waiting for her to respond to my e-mail. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/157 "2007-04-16T20:09:24Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] if a bad guy even _looks_ in the direction of a public school, it’s locked down tighter than a gnat’s butthole in about thirty seconds. [/QUOTE] On a lighter note, this gets my nom for ‘Best Metaphor in a National Tragedy Thread’ It’s too soon to deconstruct the ‘should have’s’. It will probably take a week or more for verifiable information to seep out. Chris: I’m sorry you have to wait and worry. Can’t really think of anything else of comfort to say, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/158 "2007-04-16T20:12:27Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] Everyone living on campus is somewhere. You notify the campus police, they notify the teachers, the RAs, the managers of the campus bookstore and eateries, the librarian. You notify the guards at the gates so off-campus students don’t drive onto campus. You send out some of the police to round up the kids who might be on their way from here to there. [/QUOTE] well you missed the fact that most campuses don’t have anything like guards at the entrances to the campus. There’s a police summoning system at UF that doesn’t even require 911, it’s technically in place to prevent rape but (presumably) it does a good job of getting a police response for any situation ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/159 "2007-04-16T20:16:44Z")
Well, in a lockdown situation, you get police or campus guards out to the school entrances. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/160 "2007-04-16T20:21:39Z")
Fine piece of journalism, **Lord Il Palazzo**. Even as I’m trying absorb this stunning escalation in one-day massacres (and I’d disagree that there’s much if any difference between this and Columbine) I’m struck with how fast journalism is evolving. We need a new word – it’s not revolution, it’s too fast for evolution. We are so hungry for information, maybe because we so want to know “why”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=9)