By Colleen Jenkins
April 15 (Reuters) – Virginia Tech on Monday will mark the
fifth anniversary of the deadliest act of gun violence in modern
U.S. history, a massacre that killed 32 people, prompted
congressional action and spurred universities nationwide to
enhance their alert systems.
In a sign of healing amid several days of vigils and
remembrances in Blacksburg, Virginia, the school for the first
time will hold classes on the anniversary of the April 16, 2007
shooting, officials said.
“Being back in the classroom this year I think is an
important step forward,” said university spokesman Mark
Owczarski. “Because that’s what we do, that’s what this
community does.”
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell ordered a statewide moment
of silence be held on Monday at 9:43 a.m., the time of the
shooting in the classroom building.
Deadly school shootings have again been in the news,
including a rampage two weeks ago at a small college in
California in which seven people were killed. A former nursing
student at the college has been charged with murder.
The 2007 Virginia Tech incident stands out among such
tragedies. Besides the number of victims, there is continued
debate about whether university officials took too long to
notify students and faculty about two killings on campus hours
before a mentally ill student gunman took 30 more lives.
Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed two students in a
residence hall at about 7:15 a.m. More than two hours later, he
chained the doors of a classroom building shut and methodically
gunned down students and teachers. Thirty others died and more
than two dozen were wounded before Cho committed suicide.
A state panel in August 2007 found lives could have been
saved if officials had not waited until 9:26 a.m. to notify the
campus of the initial shooting. In March, a jury awarded $4
million each to the families of two slain students after
determining the school negligent for its slow alert.
But a judge last month ruled Virginia Tech should not have
to pay a $55,000 fine imposed by federal education officials who
said the school violated the Clery Act, which requires timely
warnings of crimes on campuses.
The U.S. Department of Education has not decided whether to
appeal, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
Virginia Tech says the shooting in 2007 spurred universities
to create emergency notification systems that alert students of
danger through emails, text messages and social media.
Such procedures are not the focus of the anniversary events
being held at the school, nor are changes made by Congress after
the rampage that were aimed at making it harder for people with
mental illness to buy guns.
The purpose of the activities is to remember the lives lost
and to “embrace the importance of community,” Owczarski said.
A remembrance run on Saturday drew 6,800 runners, Owczarski
said. They released thousands of orange and maroon balloons —
the school’s colors — along with 32 white balloons in honor of
the victims.
A community picnic is scheduled for Monday, and Governor
McDonnell is set to speak at a commemoration and candlelight
vigil at the school that night.
Most students who attended the school when the shooting
occurred have now moved on, but the events of April 16, 2007,
remain a part of the Hokie community, Owczarski said.
“It is woven into who we are, whether you were here or not,”
he said.
(Reporting By Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Paul Thomasch and
Jackie Frank)
