Say a prayer for a hokie....

In a time where astronauts can run Marathons on the moon, a time that we can drive hybrid electric cars and we can get our mail delivered to our cell phone But we can't stop senseless killing? I just don't understand

First off- thank you to everyone who called, emailed and prayed today-- Amanda is safe-- She actually had come home yesterday to pick up Madison and was headed back to school during the tragedy this morning.

That horrible feeling in my stomach came early this morning as the news reported the first student death-- and the day got worse each time I hit the refresh button the death toll rose. Something is so wrong when lives are lost for no reason-- when attending class, or sitting in your dorm room brings you terror. I keep thinking my child is safe -- and I feel horrible... what about those parents who don't know or worse yet-- do know... what about the shooters parent? surely they didn't raise their son to reign terror on fellow human beings.
And how do we address the concerns of 26000 students-- how do they find a safe haven when they are so far from home? Who can protect them from each other?



BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman killed 30 people in two shooting incidents Monday at a college in Virginia in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The gunman also was killed, and at least 22 other people were injured.
“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, in southwest Virginia. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”
President Bush said in a brief televised statement: “Schools should be places of sanctuary and safety and learning. ... Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech.”
The shootings spread panic and confusion at the college. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire, which rang out just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School bloodbath near Littleton, Colo., when two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.
Federal law enforcement officials told NBC News that the gunman was dead after he shot more than 50 people at two locations on campus. Thirty-one, including the gunman, were confirmed dead.
At least 22 others were being treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg and Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, the hospitals said. Six of the victims were in surgery, and five were reported in stable condition. The conditions of the 17 others were not immediately reported.
The name of the gunman was not released. Witnesses described him as a man in his 20s, wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket. A spokesman for the FBI in Washington said there was no immediate evidence to suggest it was a terrorist attack, “but all avenues will be explored.”
Silent gunman ‘just started shooting’The man did not appear to be shooting at random, NBC News’ Pete Williams reported, quoting federal law enforcement officials. He seemed to have specifically targeted the two locations, a coeducational dormitory and an engineering classroom across campus.
Law enforcement officials said the gunman carried two weapons, a 9-mm pistol and a 22-caliber handgun, Williams reported. They said gunman chained the doors of the classroom building so his potential victims could not escape and police could not enter.
A student in the engineering class describe an “unreal” scene with “blood pretty much everywhere.”
“None of us thought it could have been gunshots,” the student, who identified himself as Trey Perkins, told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing in a telephone interview. “... I’m not sure how long it lasted. It seemed like a really long time.”Perkins said the gunman never said a word. “He didn’t say, ‘Get down.’ He didn’t say anything.” He just started shooting.”
The gunman left the classroom and then tried to return, but students kept him out by bracing the door closed with their feet. “He started to try to come in again and started shooting through the door,” Perkins said, but hit no one.
“I got on the ground and I was just thinking, like, there’s no way I’m going to survive this,” Perkins said. “All I could keep thinking of was my mom.”

I am sure over the next few days there will be alot of information put out about this hokie tragedy-- I know I have so many unanswered questions... how do you wake up angry enough to do this? What type of person thinks a gun resolves anything? Why do we need the right to bear arms if this is what comes of having this right? how do you move forward from this?

Say alittle hokie prayer-- I have a feeling they are gonna need it.

**** updated at 5:15pm

At least 33 dead in rampage at Virginia college
15 others wounded in one of worst mass shootings in U.S. history
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