Multiple Shootings at Virginia Tech

At least one shooter eyewitnesses identified as an "Asian" male wearing military load-bearing equipment has shot between 7-17 students and faculty members at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

One fatality has been confirmed, and one shooter is in custody as the campus remains on a lockdown while police search for a second gunman. The first shootings took place in a dormitory, and a second rounds of gunfire erupted in an engineering classroom building at the opposite end of campus hours later. The campus has been shutdown and students are locked down as police scour the campus for a possible second shooter.

Collegiate Times, the Va. Tech student newspaper, is stating that there are 22 fatalities, including one shooter. The web site also states that three men were arrested and escorted from the engineering building.

I'm not sure how accurate these accounts are, and cannot find a corroborating source to support these claimed fatalities. I would therefore recommend this being regarded as rumor for now. If true, however, this may be the deadliest collegiate shooting in modern history.

Update High number of fatalities confirmed, via AP.

Update: The following is an educated guess, and may be incorrect: Based upon the high number of fatalities among those shot, and the high number of victims overall, and the description of the shooter as wearing some sort of load-bearing vest, I'm going to make an educated guess and suggest that the shooter was likely armed with a 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle, probably patterned on the AK-47.

There are a couple of reasons why I feel this is probably the type of weapon used.

The description a shooter "wearing a vest covered in clips." The witness seems to be describing load-bearing equipment, typically made for either 5.56 NATO or 7.62x39 magazines, the two most standard assault rifle calibers. The typical standard magazine for each weapon is typically 30 rounds.
Of the two calibers, the 7.62x39 is a far more lethal bullet across a wider range of conditions than the 5.56 NATO or slightly less powerful .223 Remington variant that can be fired from the same weapon. People shot with 5.56 NATO rounds often survive after even being hit with multiple shots. The high number of fatalities suggests a more lethal caliber and/or cartridge.
The rifles patterned after AK-series are typically far less expensive (often less than $500) than those patterned on the AR15/M16 platform (often more than $900-1,000), and are also often more plentiful for sale.

Obviously, our prayers go out to those Virginia Tech faculty, students, staff, and family members affected by this tragedy.

Update: I'd like to make one last statement about this after reading Allah's latest update, noting that a bill to allow students to carry handguns was recently quashed in the Virginia General Assembly.

When I was a T.A. in graduate school at East Carolina University in the mid-1990s, I knew several graduate and undergraduate students that illegally carried concealed weapons on a fairly regular basis. Contrary to what you might suspect, most of these students were female liberal arts majors. One of my students in the class that I taught brought a Browning .380 to class every day. I felt safe knowing my fellow students were armed. I also felt better when the left the building at night that they could protect themselves and others from any predators that may have been about.

Would the number of students shot at Virginia Tech today have been lower if student there were allowed to take a training class, get a permit, and carry a concealed weapon on campus? There is of course not way to be sure. I do think it is obvious that an armed student or faculty member could have at least made taking their lives a far more difficult.

I'd urge a far more somber Virginia General Assembly, and the General Assembly of other states, to consider letting student who have satisfied their state requirements to carry concealed weapons also carry those weapons on campus. The lives saved may belong to someone dear to them.

Update: 32 killed, 28 wounded. NBC is citing two anonymous law enforcement officials as saying that a pair of 9mm handguns were used in the rampage. This does not seem to match up with eariler reports of the shooter wearing what sounded like military load-bearing equipment, and if accurate, means my earlier educated guess was based upon inaccurate assumptions, as I noted it could be.

A clearer picture separating the fact from rumor will begin to emerge over the coming days.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:38 AM

Comments

1 I work with a guy who still has close contacts at Tech. he says his friends told him the shooter caught his girlfriend in bed w/ an RA(?). then went out, got a gun and came back.

Honestly, this makes no sense, and it's second hand (from someone who's talked to students).

very sad, however.

Posted by: Lee at April 16, 2007 12:00 PM (z1P7a)

2
Something doesn't smell right about that many dead by a shooter with a 9mm. Something bigger and someone who doesn't know guns thinks anything that shape is automatically a 9mm? I linked at http://www.smalltownveteran.net/bills_bites/2007/04/at_least_32_dea.html

Posted by: Bill Faith at April 16, 2007 01:35 PM (n7SaI)

3 I'll wait until the facts are in on this one. I think few people would be able to know the difference between a 9 mm and .40 by just looking at it.

Posted by: BohicaTwentyTwo at April 16, 2007 01:50 PM (oC8nQ)

4 initial reports say the killer was an asian man
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18134671/

Posted by: Ami at April 16, 2007 02:05 PM (OWDoH)

5 Wow, ami, that's very worrisome. Please keep us posted. Did they mention his party affiliation?

Posted by: Vance Maverick at April 16, 2007 02:57 PM (+UW68)

6 Latest information I have is two weapons. A 9mm and a .22 cal handgun and wearing a vest filled with ammunition/clips for the weapons.

Posted by: crosspatch at April 16, 2007 03:04 PM (pxZRL)

7 Glad you got your priorities straight. First, baselessly speculate on what kind of sexy firearms were used in the shooting. Then after that you can offer condolences to the family.

Don't forget to throw in your own personal political statements on gun laws in after the fact too, that way the sympathetic statement gets about 2% of the content.

Posted by: verplanck colvin at April 16, 2007 04:06 PM (TmSaI)

8 The tone of this post is fine.

Posted by: jpe at April 16, 2007 05:26 PM (/0hb2)

9 verplanck,

Um....

It is obvious from the tone and content of your post that you have your politics...errr...."priorities" straight.

I guess you can not tell the difference from people stating that the speculation as to what was used is inaccurate and "sexy firearm" sarcastic shinola.

Of course we all know that if this were some Islamofascist splodeydope or Gaia worshipping ecoterrorist with a bomb you would be praising and making excuses for his/her/its actions. You would probably be speculating as to whether they packed it with nails or ball berings.

Posted by: Ennis at April 16, 2007 06:34 PM (wmHnL)

10 Ami, what is your point?

Posted by: Sarah at April 16, 2007 06:39 PM (zpJBl)

11 Ennis,

Or I could do what I did today, mourn for the loss of life.

Posted by: verplanck colvin at April 16, 2007 06:40 PM (TmSaI)

12 "Of course we all know that if this were some Islamofascist splodeydope or Gaia worshipping ecoterrorist with a bomb you would be praising and making excuses for his/her/its actions. You would probably be speculating as to whether they packed it with nails or ball berings."

Equating liberals with terrorists or terrorist sympathizers is like comparing conservatives with fascists or Nazis. Both comparisons are inflammatory and irresponsible.

Sorry to go off topic, but even as a moderate, I found this a little hard to swallow.

Posted by: Come on at April 16, 2007 07:22 PM (6Frw1)

13 "Equating liberals with terrorists or terrorist sympathizers is like comparing conservatives with fascists or Nazis. Both comparisons are inflammatory and irresponsible.

Sorry to go off topic, but even as a moderate, I found this a little hard to swallow."

Accuracy is often the most jagged of pills.

Posted by: JD at April 16, 2007 07:56 PM (Hbrqi)

14 Yeah, continue slinging partisan insults. See where it gets you.

Posted by: come on at April 16, 2007 10:57 PM (fR1tJ)

15 Accuracy is often the most jagged of pills.

That doesn't even make any sense.

Posted by: Xanthippas at April 17, 2007 12:18 AM (yH6kI)

16 CNN was interviewing a doctor from one of the local hospitals this morning. He said all the victims had multiple gunshot wounds. It sounds like this guys primary goal was to end life. You don't need a high caliber weapon if you are going to double tap anyone you shoot. One eyewitness also said she saw the shooter reload, quickly dropping out one magazine and slamming the other one in like he trained for a quick reload. Police train for quick reloads, but its more likely that this guy watched a lot of movies and practiced this a lot.

Posted by: BohicaTwentyTwo at April 17, 2007 07:23 AM (oC8nQ)

17

The problem is not all the guns we own, the problem is the media culture that glamorizes and glorifies shooting people with guns. We need to change that dynamic if we want to lower the rate of gun violence in this country.

Watching less TV would be a good start...

Posted by: swamp thing at April 18, 2007 12:26 AM (wwkbh)

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