A police officer has been shot on the Virginia Tech campus with a second victim reported nearby. The shooter remains on the loose as of 1:18 p.m. and is believed to still be armed. “Stay indoors,” says the school’s website, which describes the suspect as “white male, gray sweat pants, gray hat w/neon green brim, maroon hoodie and backpack.”
Update, 1:46 p.m.: The school newspaper Collegiate Times reports that one person was apprehended on the steps of the performing arts building, but was not arrested, while another source says the suspect may still be at large.
The paper reports that one victim died in the Cassel Coliseum parking lot and tweeted this photo of what appears to be a covered body.
Update, 1:50 p.m.: A university spokesperson confirmed that two people are dead, while students are reporting more shots fired.
Update, 2:03 p.m.: The university website has posted more details of this afternoon’s events, noting that the Virginia State Police have taken the lead in the investigation.
Shortly after noon today, a Virginia Tech police officer stopped a vehicle on campus during a routine traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall
During the traffic stop. the officer was shot and killed. There were witnesses to this shooting.
Witnesses reported to police the shooter fled on foot heading toward the Cage, a parking lot near Duck Pond Drive. At that parking lot, a second person was found. That person is also deceased.
Update, 2:11 p.m.: Virginia Tech was, of course, the site of a tragic 2007 campus shooting spree that killed 32 people and wounded many more, for which the university was fined by the Department of Education for failing to promptly notify students. The campus was also quickly locked down in August amid reports of a gunman, but it proved to be a false alarm.
Update, 2:25 p.m.: A local news network is streaming live video from the scene.
Sources
WBJ7Update, 4:22 p.m.: NBC News reports that law enforcement now believes the second shooting victim was the man who shot and killed the police officer. Authorities are awaiting final confirmation, at which point maybe we will find out who shot the shooter.
Update, 5:35 p.m.: At a news conference this evening, police would not say whether the second victim killed the officer or whether there was still a shooter loose, but said that the campus lockdown had been lifted. Police also said that officers did not shoot the second victim, and would not say whether or not he shot himself. For continued updates, the Collegiate Times is on Twitter.
