Gunman Kills More Than 30 On The Virginia Tech Campus

The Associated Press released this about 5 minutes ago. This is just shockingly horrible:

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 31.

There seems to have been mass confusion:

It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was shot by police or took his own life. Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive.

What is so amazing about this rampage is how long it went on for. Sources report that the shootings began at 7:15 am and went on for another two hours over the 2,600 acre-campus.

One of the tragedies of this morning was that some of it may have been prevented. School officials failed to get the word out that a shooting had taken place in the dorm and thus students were not prepared for the second shooting.

"What happened today this was ridiculous," student Jason Piatt told CNN. He said the first warning from the university of a shooting on campus came in an e-mail about two hours after the first deadly burst of gunfire. "While they're sending out that e-mail, 22 more people got killed," Piatt said.

It now seems as if the authorities have everything under controll and are taking the precautions necessary to lock down the campus and provide parents a chance to meet up with their children.

We all need to keep the victims, their families, the gunman, and all those connected with Virginia Tech in our prayers...