I've been following the events as they have developed since yesterday around noon. I'm a little upset that all those who are reporting on this continue to lay blame at the feet of the Va. Tech faculty and police department. Living in Virginia, very close to other college campus's I can't see how it could have been done any diffrent. Could sirens or something like this help? Yes, they could and will most likely be looked into as a way work towards saftey.
This was a horrible thing to have happened at any school in any state in the U.S. The authorities reacted to what there was to work with. No one can see into the future if we could none of this would have happened.
In closing I'd like for people to think about this. Are we now going to suggest that our children at any age be forced to attened schools that appear more as jails with law enforcment at every door? Is this the atmosphere we want for our children?
This is not a time for the "why" or "how could this happen" this is a time to begin healing, later when ALL the information is collected will be the time to begin the next stage in our history, learning how to make this safer place for all children.

The blame game has begun. There is no way for ANYONE to know until this horrible crime happened that it was of this magnitude. Indeed, how do you successfully lockdown an entire campus of over 25,000 people? The sheer manpower it would take alone boggles the mind. The second blame is the "gun culture" in the US.
The problem isn't the guns. The real issue is what makes someone want to commit such a horrific act. That never seems to get discussed. Even with strict gun laws, someone determined to kill would be able to buy one on the black market. Just like people bought booze on the black market during Prohibition.
In my view, the problems we are seeing stem from the 60s when American society changed to an "anything goes" culture. We have all gotten more and more selfish, more self centered, more angry about silly things and more coarse. Class, dignity, honor, do-the-right-thing have all fallen to the march of ME first. Americans need to do some soul searching to understand what really causes these crimes. It isn't the guns. It's the mind that uses the gun to commit the crime. What has changed in our society to make people do this in the last say 45-50 years?

It has nothing to do with being a gun control zealot by saying that we as a country need to do something about the amount of guns and how easily accessible they are (even to someone not from the US). My heart goes out to everyone in the Virginia Tech community and my hope is that something good comes out of this horrific tragedy. I hope that good is some real honest debate, not political, about guns in our society.

They finished pulling out bodies of the classroom hours ago. Give the gun-conrol and blame game a rest.

To Rhonda in Eugene, we do not have anywhere near “more violence in the United States than in any other culture.” Unless of course you’re ignoring Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Iraq, Uganda, Sri Lanka, etc., etc. This event was horrible enough, there’s no need to pile hyperbole on top of it. The U.S. suffers a horrible toll from gun violence, but making the country sound like a failed state mired in anarchy does nothing to advance your cause.

To Sam in Shreveport, the shooter had lived in the country for 14 years and purchased the guns here. You make it sound like he flew in with a pistol on each hip for the express purpose of shooting up these kids. Moreover, I can’t think of a single U.S. spree or serial killer of foreign birth other than this instance, so perhaps you should check your facts before feeding the hate machine.

I truly hope our leaders in government and the media do not make this an issue of gun control. This tragedy isn't about gun control. A gun not held in the hands of a murderer does no damage. Please keep this in mind.

It is so easy to throw blame around after the fact. The only one to blame is the shooter.
The VT campus is almost as large as the town I live in now. I can't see someone closing our town down after a shooting at an apartment building. How would anyone anyone guess that 2 hours later that same person would go to a movie theater or McDonalds and shoot 30 more people?
It's unrealistic to think law enforcement did not do enough. It's also very unrealistic that this scenario could have been handled better at any other major college or university in the US. Few, if any schools, plan for this type of scenario until after something like this happens.

Since when did guns on school property became okay? i do not agree with what a previous person commented stating "Had one of the students had a gun maybe this act could have been minimized." we are talking about SCHOOL here..students shouldnt be carrying guns period.

Obviously gun shootings at schools in the US isn't anything new anymore. Who is society going to blame this time?..looks as though fingers are being pointed in the wrong direction and we should start asking ourselves what have WE done to help prevent this.

I'm amazed how angry people are with the university and the police force. In the recent inmate escape, the suspect - known to be armed, and having murdered a guard - was at large for over 24 hours before the campus was alerted and measures taken. This lockdown occured just 130 minutes after the initial shooting occured, and less than 90 minutes after the administration was notified of the original incident.

Of all the domestic violence cases - which happen all to frequently - this is the first one in the history of the US where the assailant has gone on to massacre a large number of otherwise unrelated people. There is no precedent for this to occur.

I know that we "need" to blame someone, but right now everyone needs to turn down the anger a bit, and understand that no one is omnicient. Nobody seems to be angry at the School Board for not closing the local schools (there one elementary school within 1400 yards of the initial shooting, and another 1200 yards of the second shooting).

As for those who feel I may be disconnected - this hits very close to home. I am a VT graduate, I own a business near Downtown Blacksburg, and have a young daughter in preschool just 1000 yards from where the initial shooting occured. This is a horrific tragedy, and I am convinced that no resonable planning or preparation could have absolutlely prevented it.

This tragic event makes me question the direction our country is going as I am certain the violence is mostly due to the changes in the mores of society. Raised in the 1950s we had none of the problems of today. Could it in part be due to the more liberal views toward lack of respect, lack of responsibility for ones own actions and YES, the R word, lack of religion – whatever that religion may be? We had more family interaction, discipline when needed without interference from the government, playtime with friends that did not include violent video games and explicit sexual scenes on TV. We showed respect to our elders, admired those who served in a uniform and went to religious worship once a week. How odd that in the midst of this most recent carnage the same liberal society and media that wants to eliminate reference to GOD and prayer from most everything this country was built upon seems to turn toward it in a time of need.
There is to be convocation at the university today where there will likely be prayer. I am not ashamed to say my prayers and thoughts go out to all who suffered a loss and the hope that this country will begin to return to its original roots where we can once again be a safer and more respectful society.

I was as shocked as everyone in our nation as these events unfolded at the Virginia Tech campus yesterday afternoon. My heart goes out to the innocent victims of this tragedy, their families and can only pray for strength and faith to help them get through this senseless, cowardly act.

I was however absolutely appalled watching the press conference involving the President of Virginia Tech and the Chief of Police wherein the press, being as overzelous and insensitive as they are, were pining for blame and riddling the President with questions regarding the University's lockdown policy, perceived lack of response and other inquiries that attempted to distribute blame, in part, squarely on to the shoulders of the University. The University President was not even able to finish speaking in some cases as the hoard of lions snapped their teeth in anticipation of being the first to stake their claim to victory. What about the 33 innocent young men and women who had just died - and all you can do is focus on blaming the University for at least 31 of those deaths? A gunman - a loner who obviously had severe psychiatric issues - is the genesis of this tragedy, not a flawed policy, not an imcompetent University Administration headed up by President who is obviously shaken and heartbroken, not to mention concerned and quite stoic given the gravity of this situation. "Why didn't the emails go out". "Why weren't the sirens going off". "Why didn't you put this out on the radio"....after the first shooting. Hey Press - I'm sure had you been in command each and every one of you would have executed a plan to absolute "precision", wouldn't you? Anyone asking questions like this as students lay dead in a dorm that was "chained" closed by this gunman who obviously had a very premeditated, methodically laid out plan showed a complete lack of sensitivity to the students gunned down and their families - a subject that should have been front and center and the only focus in this press conference aside from the sequence of events and any known details. Trying to place blame, fully, in part or as a contributing factor, on anyone other than the gunman in the wake of this tragedy is absurd and an insult.

Get it together.

When you fill our lives with violence via music, film, games, tv, etc., why is everyone shocked when someone acts violently. In order to enjoy democracy, people must also act responsibly. There are more worthy pursuits than earning a buck and using any means to do so.

My husbabd and I wanted to go to the movies this past Friday night. Out of about a dozen movie choices, eleven of them were violent or horror. We question where and why people get violent tendencies! We must stop financing violence in fiction or we may never see the end of it in our reality.

Social freedom is not free, we pay for it every time an individual chooses to violate it. To second guess security policy is a study of futility. This is America , home of the free and sometimes crazy. The only solution to preventing this in the future is considering a loss of freedom. Are we ready for that? I hope our tribute to these victims is an intelligent debate about gun control, yes gun control, that dirty little political hot button that none of our leaders have the courage to do anything about. Look at Europe, if your a nut case there you can buy a strait jacket but not a 9mm pistol.

Interesting that there are suddenly so many experts in the media, and posting here, that consider themselves well-qualified to judge how the university handled the shooting. We have now learned that after the first shooting, Cho went to his dorm room for the two hours before going to the classroom building. A "lockdown" of the campus after the first shooting would have left Cho locked into a dormitory with hundreds of students to murder. Would that have led to fewer deaths?
Perhaps in an attempt to find people to blame for this nightmare, instead of the obvious targets we should look at ourselves, our elected officials, and the special interest groups that hold them hostage when it comes to gun legislation.

I can already imagine the lawsuits coming down on this University. Bet the lawyers beat the media to the scene. No matter what the cause, or WHO causes these things - someone else is held accountable ($$$$). IF the University had hall cameras, locked the campus down immediately, etc. etc. someone would be bellyaching about something else "they" should have, shouldn't have done. Such is our life in this country, here & now. What's the answer to all the violence. There is none. Just try to learn from these terrible episodes. God be with the families!

I am thouroughly digusted with the media judging the authorities without knowing the facts. I do not believe the media has a right to pass judgement on the people involved and the way they handled the situation within 2 hours of the total chaos that erupted on the West Virginia campus. Until you have responded to a situation you have no idea what went on or what else to expect. The media needs to report facts, not make judgements.

Stop blaming the University President and the police for this crime. I have yet to hear any anger towards the actual shooter. There was no way to know that this was going to be the end result. Hindsight is always 20-20. There should be no reason to shut down 2600 acres of school because of what was thought to be an isolated incident. Lets make sure to not to blame the wrong people for this tragedy

We must take time out and stop second guessing what could/should have been done, stop debating about gun control, stop blaming and pointing fingers....the sad, but simple reality is 33 people lost their lives in this tragedy! Our thoughts should be with the lost, and their families right now. That is what is important.

How is it that we are starting to blame the university officials for not closing down the campus? Virginia Tech's size is that of a small city. Do you think your whole city, or even your neighborhood, should be shut down and locked up completely because of a probable domestic violence shooting? Only with hindsight can we fault the authorities on this. Isolated shootings on campuses are not unheard of events. Who could have foreseen one would turn into such a catastrophe?

Hindsight is 20/20. Had the shooter never gone into another building to slaughter so many innocents, not much more would have been heard of this incident outside of Blacksburg. The authorities did what they could with the information they had. They locked down the dorm and secured the vicinity and immediately started searching. They notified RA's to get in contact with their kids and remind them to stay put until further notice. Being that the shooter was in fact a student, they had access to as much of the campus as anyone else. THE ENEMY WAS ONE OF THEIR OWN! Also, there is that issue that the shooter may have locked the doors to the dorm. Police officers can't go into a building, guns blazing. This isn't a western and many lives were at stake. They did everything they could be done. K-12 schools have better logistics to handle this type of thing. It's a lot easier to lock down a building than a 2,600 acre campus. WE SHOULD ALL STOP POINTING FINGERS AND JUST BE THANKFUL IT WASN'T MUCH WORSE.

Keep those who are lost and those who are suffering in your prayers. And for those of you advocating gun control... guns aren't what kill people. It's the disturbed individuals WITH guns that kill people. And trust me, if they didn't do it with a gun, they would do it with something else.

Let's say the campus was shutdown, and lets say he went back to his dorm after killing the first two. Then they lock down the dorm and do not let anyone leave. Who's to say he doesn't go on a shooting rampage in the dorm and kill as many if not more people? I think the attack on the handling of this situation is premature and at this point unwarranted.

How long has it been since any of you have been on a college campus? Majority of the student population (have earphones from mp3 players or Ipods) listening to music while walking to and from class, the others are talking on the phone. The communication standard is email and text messenging. You check your email before you leave for class, if you have a lap top before and during class, and as soon as you return from class. Then there is text messenging, that is the ultimate in multitasking.

Do you know how long it would take to call 26,000 students plus staff to warn them. AND if I dare point out the information the administration has will often be the student's current address without a phone. The college my son attends prints a phone directory annually from the current information they have available regarding addresses and phones it is then made available to the public. Students will leave off phone numbers or use their parents information to protect their privacy. Calling individual numbers even by a service would not be an effective way to alert students perhaps staff IF they have phones.

As far as using sirens, I live in the midwest where tornados are an issue. Sirens are used to alert students of severe thunderstorms and tornados. The problem faced by campus administration is rarely are they acknowledged by students or professors. I seriously doubt that blowing a siren will do much to alert anyone of a impending crisis.

The most efficient way to alert todays college students is email, text messenging, using available phone trees on campus.

It is sad to have the media/commentators that will constantly second guess your every decision. When the facts are not present, they begin to creat what they do not know. The media/ commentators that are so far removed from the situation feel such a need to express their opinion without gathering information to base it on. It amazes me the inaccuracies and sensationalism that is presented by our media and then watched by "us". But that is the key until we stop and demand accuracy and accountablity what will change. You have the right to change the channel or turn off the TV.

So many of you people have your facts wrong. The authorities were questioning a possible suspect when the second shooting broke out, and you can't tell people something happened when you don't have the facts yourselves. You can incite panic and hysteria, and if you lock down you can trap people with a gunman. When in the history of shooting rampages has a person targeted a few people at one crowded place, then just stopped for hours before going completely insane somewhere else? IT'S NEVER HAPPENED! You can't expect people to predict an unprecedented behavior!!! I went to Virginia Tech, and I can tell you that it would have been impossible to lock that place down and find that guy in the time between the two shootings. There are too many buildings between AJ and Norris, too many places to hide on and off the campus. You could never block all the people from coming or going, because it's open. Even if you block all the drive-in entrances (and there are a lot), you couldn't stop people from walking on or off. There aren't enough cops in southwestern VA to have effectively shut down the place, let alone shut it down and search it. Virginia Tech was/is no more or less safe than anywhere else in the country. This tragedy didn't happen there because of something the school did or didn't do, it happened because a person who lived there was or went crazy. That can happen anywhere at any time, and no amount of denial or finger-pointing will change that. The VT administration is NOT the Bush administration; in fact, it is the exact opposite: competent, qualified, dedicated. That's part of the reason multiple members of so many families decide to go there. They don't deserve the nasty venom that's being spewed at them, and before the facts are even in. If I had a reason to go back to school today, I would go back there. I would send my children there. It isn't some evil magnet. One evil person created carnage and chaos, and when someone decides to do that there isn't a place on earth where you can hide from it.

This event is tragic and almost unpreventable. There is no realistic way this event could have been stopped. To all the people who are attacking the president of the university and the chief of police please stop. The first gunfire was reported at 7:15 am. Okay now the police get to the dorm, start their investigation and realize the shooter is not in the building. It is now 7:45. Ok so say the email is then sent out to 36,000 people. If you work and your work were to send out an email at 7:45am to let you know that work is closed today would you get that email. I am guessing 90% of us would not because we are busying getting ready for work or driving into work (just like the students). Let’s say by 8:15 somehow they lockdown the entire campus. By this time the shooter could already be in the hall with the classrooms. He still kills all those students and then you people would be yelling that they should not have locked down the campus and they should have allowed the students to leave. Stop looking to blame people, there is only person and one person only to blame for this tragic event and that person is to blame is the shooter.