Shooting, killing at Virginia Tech (UPDATED)

Again:

Virginia Tech says a police officer and another person have been shot and killed on campus, and authorities are seeking a suspect.

In a statement posted to the university website, school officials said the officer was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

There are witnesses to that shooting.

Following that shooting, witnesses reported to police the shooter fled on foot and was headed toward a parking lot on campus. At that second parking lot, police found a second person, who was dead.

As of this writing, shooter is still at large.

Takes me back to a horrific day.

UPDATE: The shooter is dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot:

A manhunt that locked down Virginia Tech University came to an end today when police indicated that a gunman who ambushed a cop on the campus later died of gunshot wounds.

It was the second time the Blacksburg, Va., school became the scene of a gunfire since the 2007 massacre of 33 students.

Police declined to say outright that the second shooting victim was the gunman, but said “no additional victims or shooting reports have given to the police” since the second person was shot.

“I think the investigators feel confident that we’ve located the person, but I don’t want to give you specifics,” Virginia State Police Sgt. Robert Carpentieri said at a news conference. “You can kind of read between the lines.”

School officials also felt secure enough to lift the campus lock down.

And on a more personal, poignant and moving note.  

In the original post above, I linked to that which I published shortly after the first VT shooting.  In that piece, I had cut and pasted an Instant Message with a VT student who was a close friend of my youngest son and who was on campus during the shootings.  It was a harrowing thing for him as you can imagine and it took me back to that day and my own emotions felt as I chatted with him while events were still unfolding.  That young man, my youngest son’s high school best friend, is no longer with us.  David died suddenly a few short weeks ago and is missed terribly by many.  This post has brought back how much he is missed.

Shortlink:

Posted by Rick Rice on December 8, 2011.
Filed under Breaking News.
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