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The Associated Press reports that Virginia Tech reports a gunman on campus, tells students, staff to stay inside and secure the doors.

Here’s a link to the latest from Fox News.

From Fox:

The university issued an alert on its website at 9:37 a.m. Thursday telling students and employees to stay inside and lock their doors. University spokesman Larry Hincker said during a news conference later in the morning that the campus alert remained in effect and that people should stay indoors until further notice.

The children said they saw the man walking fast toward the volleyball courts, carrying what might have been a handgun covered by some type of cloth. Police swarmed the area but said they could not find a gunman matching their description. The university said on its website that no one else has reported a person with a gun or anything suspicious.

Va. Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said that the three children were interviewed, and that the information they gave was deemed credible.

This is (thankfully) beginning to sound as if it’s an (understandable) overreaction. Given the history there, this is not only a natural reaction, but also prudent.

UPDATE: [10:15CDT] CNN reports that no gunmen have been found, no shots fired, but the campus is still on lockdown.

UPDATE: [9:45CDT] CNN reports:

The white male was described as having light brown hair and being 6 feet tall and was walking in the direction of a volleyball court. The man was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, gray shorts and brown sandals. He had no glasses or facial hair, according to the report.

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The fall semester has not started, but summer school is in session.

The suspected gunman was spotted near Dietrick Dining Hall.

In April 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, 23, shot dead 32 people on campus before killing himself.

 

More details as soon as we get them.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Could be nothing; I imagine the VT cops are a bit jumpy these days. Either way (and I hope it’s that), we’ll update and analyze.

  2. The Virginia tech Crime Alert page is currently down, probably because all of the reporters in the U.S. are causing a DOS. From what Google has cached and what CCN is reporting,

    “At 9:09 a.m. three juveniles attending a camp at the university reported seeing a white male [with a pistol concealed under a cloth]”.

    Could be some guy CCWing on campus and printing…

  4. Something stinks about this story. Three youths (how old?) attending a camp at the school report a man “might have a gun” under a cloth or other covering. So far there’s been no shooting (knocks wood).

    While I agree that due diligence should be done to search for the person in question, I am hoping that the three yutes are grilled hard.

    • Yup… I smell a hoax, prank, or active imaginations at work. If it was “concealed under a cloth,” how did they see it???

  6. Probably just PSH created from someone’s overactive imagination. Anyone seen Magoo today?

  7. If only there were some sort of thing, some device, that people could carry upon their person to defend themselves in such places. And laws were passed allowing people to carry such devices in public.

    • A lefty would probably deadpan look at this and say “Yeah, a cell phone, so you can call the police.”

  8. We should also handle this as appropriate. The gun on the campus isn’t illegal. When a gun or any event is reported to enforcement, they must respond. That means the individual needs to be located and assessed.

    Why is this particular event worth reporting? Is it firearm on campus? Is it because there’s a firearm at the location of a massacre? Why are we so interested in a perfectly legal activity?

        • You really can’t see the difference there? The Virginia Tech tragedy is still extremely fresh in the minds of not only the nation, but especially so in that area. It’s been what, 150ish years since the battle of Manassas?

  9. Sure am glad you sited Fox News because they’re always truthful and never gin up anything.

    • Considering the subject material, I don’t think MSNBC would be the best place to get accurate, non-sensationalized, news.

    • I don’t trust Fox “News” as far as I can throw them. If they tell me the sky is blue, I’m going outside to check for myself.

      You guys do know that Faux Noise won a lawsuit some years back to say anything they wanted – even lie to you – and call it “news”, right?

  10. Huh, what other device could a sandal-wearing college student want to conceal while traveling across campus?
    For the clueless: it was a bong. Duh.

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