[Scan-DC] Shooting at Virginia Tech

[Bruce Harper]

At 1:30 PM -0400 4/16/07, b_thom at juno.com wrote:
>I have nothing to add. I'm watching the coverage on TV. At least one
>lister at Scan-DC has a vt.edu email address, Bruce Harper
><bharper at vt.edu>. He's a railfan who scans the ATCS information.
>
>Harper, are you OK?

Other than being devastated by all this, yes, thanks. It has been a zoo and the Media Building (where I'm located) is across campus from where all this took place. But between having a scanner on my desk (and being info central for the building) and having to scramble to keep updates on the web site, it has been intense. I expect I'll decompress later this evening.

I have a Pro-95 that has most of the local frequencies plugged into it and it definitely has gotten a workout.  This was a multiple-agency response and there is little interoperability -- but the police still got the job done. Virginia Tech Police Department was and is lead agency in the whole event, with Blacksburg PD right there with them. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Department is also involved and the Virginia State Police. Give all the various dispatchers credit for a great job, as they were the linchpins that kept all the communications straight between all the agencies. There was a massive response from all the local rescue squads, let by the student-run Virginia Tech Rescue Squad. A triage area was set up adjacent to Norris Hall and ambulances shuttled in and out of the area to transport victims to Montgomery Regional Hospital, the Carillion New River Valley Medical Center, and to hospitals in the Roanoke Valley. Carillion's helicopters and the State Police helicopters were unable to be used for transport due to the high winds we are experiencing.

The campus (and surrounding public schools) were locked down, since no one really knew what the situation was, how many shooters there might be, and where any more might be. The incident ended after 11 a.m. and people on that side of campus were released to go home. Other parts of the campus were released at 12:30. SWAT teams from various police agencies in the region are doing a sweep of campus and the crime scenes are being processed.  Classes are cancelled on Tuesday.

Cell and landline phone service is spotty right now, 3 p.m., as families work to get in touch with each other. The VT web site got slammed early on and we have probably broken a number of records for hits on the site -- far exceeding even last fall during the William Morva manhunt.

Please keep all the families in your thoughts and prayers -- it will take a long time to heal from this tragedy.

Bruce in Blacksburg
-- 

Bruce B. Harper, Virginia Tech Webmaster	http://www.vt.edu
VT Web Communications      bharper at vt.edu     (540)231-4360
University Relations (http://www.unirel.vt.edu)   (540)231-4040 fax
Media Building (0109)   Virginia Tech   Blacksburg, VA  24061

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