Remembering 4/16/08

I don’t often take the role of the sentimentalist in my work. My opinions are presented pragmatically, logically and shaped by factual evidence. Emotional aspects play into it too, sure, but I generally avoid taking up stake in “I think” statements.

But today, I’m breaking my own rule.

For those who know me personally, this might seem a bit idiosyncratic. As a proud University of Virginia fan (Go Hoos), I’m writing about Virginia Tech. Not to lambast, not to criticize, but to celebrate and honor this beautiful institution of great renown. Those who know me well might also cite that I am a proud American, and to that extent, a proud Virginian. And on April 16, 2007, something tore at the very fabric of that pride. 

Just after sunrise on what was meant to be a beautiful spring day, one of the most tragic events in American history unfolded on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, or Virginia Tech, as a lone gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, opened fire in a co-ed dormitory hall. Here is how the harrowing incident occurred.

7:15-7:17 am: Cho begins his rampage in West Ambler Johnston Hall, where he critically injures Emily Hilscher, a 19-year-old first year from Woodville, Virginia. 22-year-old senior Ryan Clark of Martinez, Georgia, attempts to help her, but is fatally wounded as well. Both succumb to their wounds, with the former staying alive for around three hours after the initial shot. Afterard, he returns to his room to change out of his bloodstained clothes and reorder his armaments.

7:20 am: Campus police are notified of the shooting in West Ambler. Cho remains in his dormitory, likely grappling with the weight of his actions. Sources close to the perpetrator state that he, a South Korean immigrant, long struggled with mental illness and feelings of isolation. This in no way absolves him of his responsibility in this heinous act, but emphasizes the importance of mental health support everywhere. 

8:00-9:01 am: As Cho remains in his dormitory, where sources speculate he deleted his student emails and his VT account as a whole, campus police deduce that the shooting was an isolated domestic dispute, and did not have implications on any other facet of campus life. The students continue about their day, including those making their way to classes in Norris Hall. That decision would prove to be fatal.


 9:01 am: Cho mails a package to NBC News containing a manifesto, photos, and videos in which he explains his motives. As the investigation continued, it became clear that these texts were mostly ramblings, and not revealing about his motives.

9:26 am:Virginia Tech Administration, as a cautionary measure,  sends an email to students and faculty warning them of a "shooting incident" at West Ambler Johnston Hall and advising them to be cautious and report suspicious activity.

9:40 am: Cho enters Norris Hall, an engineering building, and chains the main doors shut from the inside to prevent anyone from escaping or entering. In a backpack, he carried heavy duty chains and locks, a hammer, a knife, two handguns with nineteen 10- and 15-round magazines, and nearly 400 rounds of ammunition. He attaches a note to a door that reads: “if you try to escape, you’ll just die.” On another, he detailed that a bomb was rigged to explode should they try to open the door.  He begins shooting students and faculty in classrooms. In Room 204 specifically, Liviu Librescu, a Romanian Holocaust survivor and engineering and mechanics professor, selflessly blocks the door where Cho attempts to enter, allowing 22 students to escape with their lives. 

 9:42–44 am: The first 911 calls from Norris Hall are made. Cho moves methodically through the building, targeting students and professors. This is when the majority of 

9:50 am: Campus police respond to the calls and attempt to enter Norris Hall but are delayed by the chained doors. They eventually breach the building by shooting off the locks.

9:51 am: Cho continues his rampage, killing a total of 30 people inside Norris Hall. Police reach the second floor, where Cho is located.

9:55 am: As police close in, Cho takes his own life in a classroom on the second floor of Norris Hall. As the shooting’s 33rd victim, the massacre was over.

10:17 am: Virginia Tech sends an email alerting the campus to the second mass shooting and advising everyone to stay indoors and away from windows.

10:52 am: The university announces that classes are canceled and the campus is on lockdown. Law enforcement confirms that the shooter is dead and the immediate threat is over.

12:00 am: A press conference is held by Virginia Tech officials and law enforcement to provide updates on the situation and confirm the number of casualties. Charles Steger, then-President of Virginia Tech, began the conference with one of the most resonant phrases of the day. “Today, the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions.”

The Virginia Tech shooting was a devastating event that left 32 victims dead and many others injured. It led to significant changes in campus security protocols and emergency response procedures nationwide. And yet, the world kept spinning–leaving us to make sense of the senseless, to find light in what seemed to be an endless dark. As we look back on this tragic loss, we must never forget that we have a responsibility to make, wherever possible, a positive impact.  Because as President Bush said the night of that fatal tragedy “it is impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fare. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.” As we come together on this 18th year of mourning and commemoration, my prayers rest, as they always have, with the families of the victims, Virginia Tech, and the greater Commonwealth. We also must stand steadfast in our commitment to a safer state and nation. We must ensure that such indiscriminate violence can and will be prevented whenever possible. At the time of my writing, another shooting at a Dallas High school has injured five, and a shooting at Florida State University has added five more to that count. Two lives were claimed. We cannot—must not—allow these instances to be waived away as “isolated incidents.” On this day of mourning, our resolve must be the same as a community in Virginia in 2007. One of quiet reflection, of reserved anguish, but ultimately a choice to move forward, and honor those who were inhibited from moving forward with them.

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