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11 Dec 2011 10:30

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U.S.: More details on Virginia Tech gunman Ross Truett Ashley

  • He visited a shooting range this year, but was often out of bullets. That’s according to Matt Dailey, who calls himself a close friend of the gunman, who reportedly shot himself to death in the aftermath of the killing of police officer Deriek Crouse on the Virginia Tech campus Thursday. “He didn’t keep (the gun) locked away, but all summer I don’t think he had any bullets for the gun,” Dailey said. “He didn’t buy bullets that often because bullets are expensive.” Dailey also claims that Ashley was a little off, but no more than anyone else, and that no red flags showed up before the incident, which also involved auto theft. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Mar 2011 01:15

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U.S.: Virginia Tech nailed for poor handling of 2007 massacre

  • $55,000 fine for blowing the response source
  • » Why the fine? SImple explanation. Despite the fact that the university knew about the slayings of two students in a dorm room, it took them 2 hours and 15 minutes to warn people what was going on — a requirement under the Clery Act. Shooter Seung-Hui Cho attacked a lecture hall 2 hours and 30 minutes after the initial killings — attacks which were much deadlier. To put it simply, they could have saved lives if warnings were put out sooner.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Dec 2010 15:22

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U.S.: Virginia Tech shooting: School liable for sucking at providing information

  • bad A school shooting at Virginia Tech killed 32 and injured many others back in 2007 – the worst school shooting in U.S. history and one noted for the university’s lax response – they didn’t inform students about the gunman until two hours after the first shootings.
  • worse The Department of Education just found that the school broke the Clery Act by being very lax about notifying students about what was going on. They didn’t follow their own internal policies. The school could be fined and may lose federal aid. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Nov 2010 00:13

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U.S.: FCC chairman agrees with texters: “911 IS A JOKE LOL WTF”

  • The Virginia Tech campus shootings in 2007 are a tragic, real-life reminder of the technological limitations that 911 is now saddled with. Some students and witnesses tried to text 911 during that emergency and as we know, those messages never went through and were never received by local 911 dispatchers.
  • Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski • Evoking the 2007 Virginia Tech school shooting to explain why 911 needs a texting function. 911, a system around in its current form since 1968. And it’s one that hasn’t kept up with the fast pace of technology, either with mobile phones (which are now the primary source of 911 calls) or broadband technology: “Many 911 call centers don’t even have broadband, and some are in communities where broadband isn’t even available,” Genachowski said. “That is unacceptable.” All this stuff is on the list for things to improve thanks to the stimulus plan, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2010 13:27

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U.S.: Virginia Tech tries to gank funding from school paper over comments

  • This is not an issue of freedom of the press. The concern is not the content per se, although some of it is alarming – homophobic and racist and so forth.
  • Virginia Tech Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Spencer • Regarding the school’s push to take funding away from the school paper, The Collegiate Times, due to the fact that their site allows anonymous comments. Apparently, it breaks some stupid policy. While the paper has independence from the school, they do receive $70,000 yearly, along with free office space. In case you need a single reason why this is a bad idea, whatever the policy may be, we have a pretty good one: The paper’s excellent coverage of the school’s 2007 shooting. Student journalism needs to be protected. (hat tip Charles Apple) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2009 11:50

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U.S.: Virginia Tech, a school with a heavy heart, has another tragedy

  • Trauma like this is deeply painful to us all. Once again, this community is visited by senseless violence and tragedy upon aspiring young minds from our campus.
  • Virginia Tech President Charles Steger • In an e-mail regarding the deaths of David Lee Metzler and Heidi Lynn Childs, who were found slain outside a local campground popular with students. Virginia Tech has had lots of tragedy and bizarre death in its recent history. Beyond the 2007 school shooting which killed 32, a student was beheaded on campus by a classmate earlier this year. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jul 2009 10:54

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U.S.: Found: The mental health records of the Virginia Tech shooter

  • pre-2007 Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho has a long, documented history of mental health problems, both prior to and during his time at the university.
  • 2007 Cho later goes on a shooting rampage, killing 32 people and himself on April 16, 2007. But his mental health records went missing.
  • 2009 Authorities finally find his records, which were stolen by a former employee of the counseling center. They promise to release them soon. source
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16 Apr 2009 09:58

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U.S.: A somber anniversary for Virginia Tech students

Today marks the second anniversary of the shooting that shook up a university and a nation. A run will honor the victims. source
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22 Jan 2009 18:40

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U.S.: Another disturbing tragedy on the Va. Tech campus

  • An unspeakable murder A Chinese graduate student was decapitated by a fellow classmate in a cafe on campus. Yesterday, 22-year-old female student Xin Yang was killed with a butcher knife by 25-year-old male student Haiyang Zhu. Yang had only recently started at the Blacksburg, Va. school a few weeks ago. Haiyang knew the student, but no motive has yet been determined for his actions.
  • Echoes of a major tragedy The tragedy shook the campus of a university that, just a year and a half ago, suffered one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, when a gunman shot 32, then himself. University president President Charles Steger was cognizant of the emotions on campus. “An act of violence like this brings back memories of April 16,” he said. “I have no doubt that many of us feel especially distraught.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jan 2009 23:50

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Sports: Virginia Tech gives Wake Forest a wake-up call

  • 16-1 The Demon Deacons’ record after the Hokies defeated them 78-71. They were the only unbeaten team in college basketball.
  • two No. 1 seeds have been knocked off by Virginia Tech in the last three seasons. Tech was unranked before tonight’s game. source
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