Virginia Tech under lockdown because of report of gunman
By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/08/virginia-tech-under-lockdown-because-of-report-of-gunman/1
Virginia Tech officials are telling students on their website to stay inside, and secure doors because of a report of a person with a gun in the area.
The alert, issued at 9:37 a.m., said the person with a gun had been spotted near Dietrick Hall, a dining area.
Dietrick is a three-story, 93,000-square-foot dining center also houses a convenience store, laundry area and central bake shop, the Richmond Times-Dispatch notes.
Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Va., was the scene of shooting rampage in April 2007 that left 32 people dead and 25 wounded.
The Associated Press says the dining hall is only steps away from where the 2007 shooting occurred.
Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: Larry Hincker, assistant vice president of university relations, says the report was called in by three students attending a camp called "Higher Achievement." He says there are a number of camps held during the sumer at the school, some lasting only a few days, others longer. Asked about the status of the alert, Hincker says, "The alert is in effect until further notice. We are asking people to stay indoors until they hear from us again."
Update at 11:09 a.m. ET: Virginia Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum says no one is in custody and the alert remains in effect.
Update at 11:07 a.m. ET: At a news conference on campus, a Virginia Tech police official tells reporters that the alert remains in effect.
Update at 10:46 a.m. ET: Here's the school's latest alert:
At 9:09 a.m. three juveniles attending a camp at the university reported seeing a white male, 6 feet tall, with light brown hair outside of New Residence Hall East holding what may have been a handgun. They say the weapon was covered by a cloth or covering of some sort. He was walking fast in the direction of the volleyball courts. He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt (stripes were vertical), gray shorts and brown sandals. The subject had no facial hair or glasses.
Officers responded immediately to the area but found no one matching the description. Police have encountered no other witnesses reporting this individual or anything suspicious. Law enforcement officers from VTPD, Blacksburg PD, Christiansburg PD, Virginia State Police, and Montgomery County Sheriff's Office are patrolling the campus, continuing to look for the subject. ...
Campus individuals should remain indoors.
Update at 10:35 a.m. ET: John Beck, a student who is not on campus for the summer but receives official communciations from the school, says he got the first text warning at 9:41 a.m. ET.
Update at 10:32 a.m. ET: Law enforcement officers from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Montgomery County were on campus looking for the subject, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
Update at 10:25 a.m. ET: The school's website says three young people attending a camp at Virginia Tech reported seeing a man holding what may have been a handgun, the Associated Press reports.
They said it was covered by a cloth or covering of some sort, and that the man was walking in the direction of the volleyball courts.
Lynn Davis, a spokesperson for the school, tells CNN the man is described as a white male, with light-brown hair, wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt. He is also wearing shorts and sandals, she says.
Law enforcement officers from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Montgomery County were patrolling the campus, continuing to look for the subject.