SHOOTING RAMPAGE KILLS 33

SHOOTING AT VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY


A US shooting rampage at the Virginia Tech university has left 33 people, including a suspected gunman, dead.

There were two incidents two hours apart, at a student dorm where two were killed and at an engineering building where 30 and the gunman died.

Officers said they were working to link the attacks and had not yet identified the gunman. Fifteen people were hurt.

After the deadliest shooting at a US school, President George W Bush said the US was "shocked and saddened".

"Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community," he said.

The state university in the town of Blacksburg is home to 26,000 students

Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum said that emergency services had received a call at 0715 (1215 GMT) alerting them to a shooting at the dormitory - West Ambler Johnston Hall.

He said that two hours later there was a second report of shooting, this time at the engineering building, Norris Hall.

Asked why the campus was not closed after the first shooting, Mr Flinchum said that, at that stage, it was thought to be an isolated incident.

Police believed the first shooting may have been a "domestic incident" and that the gunman had left the campus.

Eyewitnesses locked down inside the university buildings were using the internet to try to glean information about what is happening and many emailed the BBC News website.

Nikolas Macko was in a mathematics class in Norris Hall when they heard a series of loud bangs in the hallway which prompted a female student sitting near the door to move to close it.

"She peeked out into the hallway, and saw the shooter, so she immediately closed the door. Three other students moved a table that was in front of the room - it seats approximately 40 students at capacity - and barricaded it against the door.

"A few seconds later, the shooter tried to open the door, but my classmates kept it well shut, as they held the table against it from floor level.

"The shooter shot the door twice at chest level, which resulted in two holes in the door, one of which hit the podium in the front of the class room and the other continued out the window. At this point he reloaded, shot the door again - this shot did not penetrate - and moved on to the other classrooms," Mr Macko said.

He said there were "many, many shots" fired.

A fleet of ambulances has ferried the injured to nearby hospitals. However, rescue efforts were reportedly hampered by high winds which meant that medical helicopters could not be used.

Mr Flinchum said the gunman had no identity on him and it was unclear if he was a student. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said: "Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions."

He said the university was in the process of informing the next of kin of those killed and that counsellors were in place at the campus for student families.

The university urged students to call parents to let them know they were safe.

The US has a history of deadly school shootings.

In 1966, the day after killing his wife and mother, gunman Charles Whitman opened fire from a tower on the campus of the University of Texas killing 14 people and injuring 31 others.

In 1999 two teenagers at Columbine High School in Colorado killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

VOCABULARY

rampage
sanctuary
violate
impact
alert
isolated
domestic (domestic dispute: This is a collocation. Notice the ALLITERATION)
locked down (a lock down)
bang
barricade
reload
penetrate
fleet
to ferry (a ferry)
hamper
monumental proportions
next of kin

QUESTIONS

How many people were shot and killed?

What happened to the gunman?

What did president Bush say about the killings?

What is a lockdown?

There were two shootings. Why was the campus not "locked down" after the first shooting?

What happened after students in one classroom barricaded the door?

According to the article "The US has a history of deadly school shootings." Why do you think this type of trajedy occurs in the United States?

Has anything like this shooting ever happened in your country? If yes, explain.

Can you think of any reasons why someone might want to kill people in a school?

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the "right to bare arms." Some people believe the Constitution should be changed and that thereshould be gun control in the United States. What do you think?

Are you worried that something like this might occur here at USC?