Coming home from classes in El Cajon, California my girlfriend told me there had been another school shooting. Like everyone else I tuned in to see what happened at Virginia Tech. I am not ashamed to admit that after absorbing the news, I just about cried. I had to go into the bathroom to get my emotions under control. As a graduate of Santana High School I have been through what Virginia Tech students and faculty are going through when Andy Williams shot people at my school in 2001 and my heart goes out to them all. It is just such a shocking reminder of what horrific things can happen anywhere.

Perhaps the National Rifle Association would care to tell us again that guns don't kill people? Perhaps the NRA would care to discuss the constitutional "right" to bear arms with one of the parents whose child is now dead from a person with a gun? With "rights" comes responsibility. It's about time the NRA faced up to theirs.

It seems that with weapons becoming more and more impersonal (guns, bombs, targeting systems...) that this is happening more and more frequently. I'm wondering, if people were more aware of the real, living and breathing human beings on the other end of their weapons, would they would be less likely to do this sort of thing?

I would like to tell you that guns don't kill people - a person was behind that gun pulling the trigger, making the machine function... it doesn't function without assistance. Even you acknowledged this: "...from a person with a gun..."

I would like to discuss the consitutional right to bear arms on a college campus, something that might have stopped this lunatic from injuring and killing 50 students.

I would like to suggest that Americans start taking responsibility for their own actions, including protecting themselves. We have become complacent and expect others to protect and save us at all times, and we accept the suggestions from "experts" telling us that we should not fight back. I would like to applaud the students in those classrooms who barred the doors and "fought" to keep their lives. Are you prepared to tell THEIR parents that fighting back is wrong? Good luck with that.

All my thoughts and prayers are with the VT family...

I am a Senior at a small liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, VA. Like so many across the state, I have many, many friends at Tech. I spent the better part of today tracking down my little brother. He was lucky; he ended up in the hospital last night with a high fever and so was far from all the mayhem. You wouldn't believe how many phone calls my mother and I have received from people all over, some of whom we haven't heard from in years, just wanting to know if he's alright. The international support already stuns me.

What I find disheartening, however, is that people already want to politicize this issue. As a political science student, I cannot see anything political in this nightmare. No amount of gun control (which I support) will keep a nutcase from getting a hold of a weapon if he/she wants it. Today was not a small part of a greater endemic; it was a freak tragedy afflicting one of the finest schools I've ever seen. Rather than point fingers, we could try and offer support to 33 families who have suffered the ultimate loss today.

I am a university student in Canada, I cannot still believe what I am seeing unfolding infront of my very eyes. My biggest thing besides the death of these innocent people, is how this person walked across this campus, why did they not close down the school, even if it was a domestic inncident at 715? All these questions get raised when things like this arise, I am sure everyone tried to do their jobs to the best of their ability, but I start to question my safety and would people in my university know what to do if something did happen? I believe there should be something besides emails,telephone trees and more that could have been done. Among all my questions and concerns my prayers are with victims family and loved ones! May they rest in peace where they are. And as a world, lets prevent another inncident so more people do not have to suffer any more!!!!!!

It is with deep sadness that tragedy occurred on yet another school campus. Will this country ever admit that a number of factors contribute to these incidences: (1)violence seems to have taken the place of corporate prayer in schools; (2)with the plethora of violent video games available to our children, mixed with violence on television, these events are only the "final exams" from much practice that has occurred in the homes or in social circles.

A college campus is a place where dreams come true...where students sit in the grass and study...and today that was jeopardized! I will go to bed tonight and pray for the VT victims, their families & friends, and also for our nation!

A parent's worst nightmare is to receive the telephone call saying your child has been hurt or worse seeing it splattered all over the news. Having two children in different colleges in the northeast I pray everyday that they are safe.

My heart goes out to all of the families affected by this henious act. The reality is this can happen anywhere at any time. We just have to teach our children to always be vigilent of their surrounds and pray everyday that they will be safe from harm.

This is not a time for a debate over gun rights, but a time to count the blessings of the survivors, and of the ~24,950 students who were not physically harmed, but are now coping with this tragedy, not to mention the parents and friends of these students and the thousands of faculty of VT who also lost some of their own today. The entire nation's college populace was shocked today. I'm a student at NC State University studying Technology & Homeland Security, and today all I could do was watch as one of my worst fears played out on national television. Tonight I'm counting my blessings and praying for those who were involved in today's attacks, even for the misguided soul of the gunman. We can talk guns next week, but tonight let us mourn the losses and celebrate the living.

What a sad day. We never know what we'll face on any given day of our lives. My thoughts and prayers are with those touched by this tragedy. Will we ever be a society free of violence? I can't believe what we're all doing to each other. I'm glad your son's friend is ok. Take Care

My heart goes out to the family, friends and the rest of the Virgina Tech community during this difficult time. I teach in college and my students are my life, the reason why I became teacher, I will give my life for theirs, if I have to. I wish I could erase the memories of this tragedy, but I cannot, I can only pray for the soul of the gunman and for those who died today. Their lives will be a living memory in the hearts of those who knew them. May this time be a time to reflect on the blessings received from God an may you never forget that no matter where we are or where we came from, we all cry the same way. God bless all of you.

I must say that I am extremely disappointed by CNN's decision to have Anderson abandon his promised work in Afghanistan. As grave as the VA situation may be, the number of deaths pale in comparison to the number of deaths that the worsening situation in Afghanistan will bring. We do not need every single reporter in CNN to bring the same news while an international crisis goes underreported. Anderson and CNN should not publicize that they are paying attention to the "forgotten war" if they are not going to utilize their resources or ditch the project immediately.
I hope that Peter Bergen and Nic Robertson will remain in Afghanistan and continue their excellent reporting.

My prayers go out to all the victims and their families. When I heard what happened I was shocked like everyone else, but I knew this was going to turn into political fodder for gun control. You can't control every aspect of everyone's life. America is not a 'police' state where people's locations and thoughts are tracked by GPS chips. And, yes, people are not killed by guns, but by the killers using those guns. I also think that the police did what they had to after the first shooting; which was nothing. With a campus of 26,000, you can't just shut it down and cancel classes whenever something bad happens. That would be like locking down a town with that population whenever someone is shot. Obviously, that never happens due to the reprocussions of our freedom. Our schools are as safe as they're ever going to be. There will always be some deranged person out there who's going to do what they want no matter what security precautions others have taken.

This is a tragedy that deserves investigation, clarity, and most importantly, immediate sympathy. This is not the time to start pointing fingers at school officials and law enforcement. We can not expect law enforcement to make "projections" on matters they are still trying to piece together. Let's not lose sight that the person to blame is the shooter who took innocent lives.

Hi John,
I can not imagine the terror families who have loved ones at Virginia Tech must be feeling.
I am anxious to hear how this story unfolds. It is perplexing why anyone would go on such a rampage.
This is really, really, horiffic.
These are really strange times we are living in, aren't they John?
All the victims and their families are in my heartfelt prayers.
Thanks for the blog John. I look forward to seeing more from you. Also, congrats on your new A.M. anchor position!

I went to VA Tech only 4 years ago, my sister is a freshman there now. Most of my friends have graduated from there or are heading to graduate school there. I just dropped my sister back off Easter Sunday.

I don't think my mother will let her return next semester. Not that this couldn't have happened anywhere. It can. But my mom wants her home. The thing is, I never felt unsafe on that campus. If anything, I felt safer there than at any other school I've visited or attended. It breaks my heart the way the news media is kind of portraying this tragedy. "MASSACRE at VA TECH." It just seems so "unfeeling" basically for shock value. I hope the media treads lightly, this is a horrifc tragedy, not one that should be exploited.

Young people have died, for what exactly? For nothing and I surely hope the media can respect that fact and understand their families who are just finding out they have lost a loved one; a person who was just there to get an education.

My family got a good outcome. My sister is safe, but I can't help but cry at the fact that so many aren't that lucky, and their families will have to go through that hard sad experience.

I pray for the families of these poor kids.

However, this is a time to discuss "gun control." Had even one individual had a weapon and the where-with-all to use it the attacker could have been stopped in the very beginning. An armed society, is a polite society. Perhaps laws should be passed to require all adults to carry a weapon. Would this have happened had the killer known he would have been stopped at the outset of his rampage? I think not.

As so many others have said, my prayers are with the victims and the survivors of VA Tech. Rather than trying to blame others, I think we all need to take a good look at ourselves and the examples that we are setting for young people out there today. Almost every story about a shooter involves someone who has a "difficult upbringing" or a difficult time dealing with the bad things that eventually happen to everyone at least once during his or her lifetime. I can only hope that we can try better to teach our children and ourselves appropriate coping skills. When your life stinks, violence is not the answer, no matter how angry you are.

First off, my thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, students and all who have been touched by this tragedy…

Secondly, this is not the time to point fingers at anyone, it is a time to work together and help each other.

God Bless……

Today was a tragedy. There has already been a lot of media coverage- some helpful, some disrespectful. It was useful for many students to see what was happening on their campus today via the news, but unnecessary to display yellow journalism headlines of "Massacre" and "Students Slaughtered." We are aware and it is difficult to cope when these terms are blared throughout the world. We still have not heard who among our friends, relatives, or professors have been affected and seeing images of blood soaked pavements is not comforting.

I have several friends that are faculty and administration at Virginia Tech. I have not been able to reach them, yet.

I am trying to finish a doctorate in "Higher Education Leadership," this situation at Virgina Tech is the worst nightmare for any university administration. It is beyond university getting bad press for any number of issues. While universities try it is hard to secure an entire campus and there are no easy answers. University campuses often involve hundred of acres of land and thousands of people, not just faculty, staff, and students, but general public too. Public university campuses by the simple nature of their mission are open to the public and in turn create many serious security issues.

My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to all the families of victims at this incident, as well as all Virginia Tech families.

For those of you old enough to have children or grandchildren away at college or university, call them tonight and tell them you love them. This tragedy will affect college students, not just at Virginia Tech, but all over the the U.S. and the world.

If you happen to have a son or daughter at Virginia Tech, go to them, in person, if possible. The next several days and weeks are likely to be very difficult.

Demanding the resignation of the V-Tech President and Police Chief is not going to solve the problem. I can assure the reders in my classes as a doctoral candidate in Higher education leadership the subject of a tragedy of this size or anture was never discussed. There is not training for a situation like this. I do not doubt mistakes were made, but current and future university administrators can learn from this tragic situation in order to prevent it from occurring again, elsewhere.

First and foremost my prayers go out to all the families and loved ones and to all the students, staff and admin at VT. Believe that God has a plan. The next few days should be focused on grieving and healing. We may never know why and I cannot believe that we will understand. By understanding we are accepting violence as a solution to emotional issues. Issues that, in hindsight, are never worth killing or harming over. Also, let us not turn yet another senseless tragedy into a political forum or worse a finger-pointing debate. Precious lives were lost today and many other lives have been changed forever. The media needs to stop egging on every person they interview by asking "Are you angry?" "Should the University have done more?"... Unless law enforcement and VT admin have crystal balls, how could they anticipate another shooting, be it 20 minutes or 2 hours later. We need to only ask one question; What can we as a society do to raise our children with higher morals and a respect for human life and return to a more compassionate, loving society? God be with all those who have been affected by today's massacre. God bless us all.

As a university faculty member, now at my third university, I think I can shed some light on the delay in getting word out and in locking the university down. VT President Stegar has made a comment at least three times, that I have heard, that makes me immediately distrust him. He has tried to insinuate that sending an email to all 36,000 students, faculty, and staff takes time (because of the number of recipients). The fact is that any university president, or any person in the president’s office, or anybody else on campus s/he so designates can send an email to everybody with a campus email address as quickly and easily as they can to one person. The real problem, based on my experience, is that one of the two following scenarios took place. Either the President assembled his leadership team and they wordsmithed the message to the campus, or the Public Affairs/Information (or whatever VT calls it) Office did the wordsmithing. After either, it would have gone to the other for approval. And then before being released it certainly would have been looked at by the University General Counsel. All of that takes time and, in my experience, they actually got the message out rather quickly. However, had they been more concerned with safety than with precise wording (to protect themselves) they could have gotten the message out much earlier.
The position that 14,000 students were on their way to campus and couldn’t be locked down is plain dumb. A quick media blitz to all local radio stations would have turned many of those students around. The others could have been turned away from campus. The fact they finally decided to do this before the second round of shootings, but barely before, shows they were still too concerned with image and not enough with the safety of their students. I have seen student safety ignored far too often in my career, and that angers me. I once taught at a university in an area where snow and ice storms occurred several times a year. They didn’t happen often enough, nor were they severe enough, for the local or state transportation departments to have equipment to safely clear the roads. So we almost always had classes (we were primarily a commuter school) when the local weather forecasters and police were warning that the roads were unsafe. What angered me the most was that our president lived in the president’s house on campus and the very first thing that was accomplished those mornings was the snow/ice was cleared (completely) on the sidewalks between the president’s house and the administration building. No regard for student safety at all. So what happened this morning at VT comes as no surprise to me. It took mere hours for the VT administration to go into damage control, because they know they are going to be sued. When they made that decision truth, safety, and the memory of those killed were all tossed aside.

As a resident who lives and works in Blacksburg, I was shocked and saddened by the tragedy. I came from a foreign country and gratuated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Engineering. As a person who came from a gun-free society (like most other developed nations) I cannot help but think the proliferation of guns in this society and its impact to human lives. Yes, it is true that guns don't kill people but there is also no question that the number of casualities would have been much less if the killer didn't have access to guns in the first place. I hope people realizes that that there is such thing as a gun-free society in this world.

What a terrible day! My prayers go out to the families of the victims, to the student bidy at VT, and to the gunman's family too. No one on this earth can really give them the comfort they will need to "survive" this terrible event, but I pray God grants all his grace. Healing will take a lifetime. My good neighbor called this evening to tell me she wants to send her son to Catholic U instead of the State university he was also accepted at because she's scared by today's events. I could only say, this could have happened anywhere-at any time. If it had happened at a Mall, would you never shop again? If it happened at a church would you never pray again? My hat's off tot he kids at VT--AND EVVERY COLLEGE--for having the "wisdom" to see that the events of today will not rock there dedication to their school. The school needs to honor that and do a better job keeping the kids apprised of criminal events going on, as we saw today, but the kids are right! Stay in the school of your choice and do not be terrorized by sick people who chose to use guns! (You NRA types gotta admit, if he had a knife, a lot less people would have been killed!)
God Bless VT, and kids doing something positive wiht their lives everywhere! PEACE!

Whilst standing with the innocent families in their time of grief, I feel it is time to squarely face the question - why do these horrible things seem to happen more frequently across America than in other parts of the world? What are the factors that trigger such diabolical behavior in young american males?
Universities are sacred bastions of culture, just as coffee shops and old bookstores! If one cannot move around such places without fear of being shot by some lunatic, it points to a societal decadance whose stink rises above the best political cosmetic.
Having the best levels of security at national monuments, nuclear facilities and so on is meaningless if our campuses are so vulnerable. Sincerely hope this point is driven home into the national psyche at least in this moment of unspeakable tragedy.

There should be a law passed that prohibits the press from revealing the name and any identifying pictures of anybody that commits these sort of crimes. These are warped individuals that need attention so badly that they would do anything to go down in history. Why give them the opportunity and the satisfaction?

As usual, the reporters at CNN are busy trying to find someone to blame besides the criminal.

Hi John:
I am so glad that your son's friend is alright! When it hits that close to home it is devastating! I have been watching this from the outset in Canada and am so disheartened and saddened for these children and their families!The Virginia Tech families will be in my prayers! Thank you and be safe, John!

John,

At this point there are more questions than answers, had there been an overhead or loud speaker announcement that there had been a shooting on campus could other casualties have been prevented? parents will be painfully asking these questions, the gunman appeared to be efficient , quick, , with a lapse of time of two hrs reported too much opportunity of time went by ,police and President of the university will review what could have been done that could have prevented the deaths of these innocent students. Tonight I pray for the people that have died and I pray for the families.

Maritza San Jose, Ca

This is a very sad day for all Americans. I have been following this news all day and the first thing I noticed is the NEWS media placing blame, not on the shooter, but the police, school and others involved. You people (media) are amazing and are the first ones to make this into something else. I have an idea, since you guys are so smart and can tell the future, why didn't you guys call and warn everybody. The shooter appearently was a student and lived on campus in student housing, so the "lock down" thing might not have worked, since he probably had a access to most of the buildings. Give it a rest and stop blaming everyone, but the shooter. My prayers go out to all VT students and staff and their families.

John,
I think the whole nation is shaken up about this. I'm in St Louis & just mortified by this sensless act. My thoughts & prayers are with all the students, faculty & parents and everyone affected by this. God Bless.

Yes, we do need more guns! If every student was packing a 45, we would all be much safer!

I would like to say my heart goes out to all the families that lost a love-one!!

I was watching CNN and there was a young lady on the phone by the name of Tina, she said she was very mad at the school because they did not send out a e-mail or some kind of warning early.
I do understand however we must remember no knew who or where the shooter was.If the school would have let student leave the campus,I'm more than sure they would have been many more dead. Anyone of those 20,000 plus students could have cross his path at that time, so the school felt that the calss room was a safe place to be at the time. After the 1st shootings no one really believe that he would still be in the area, most people leave after they commit a crime, but it's clear to see he had to very close in the area,if not still on campus.If the school would have sent out some kind of message there would have been no order on the campus and he could have easy shot people as they walk by, we don't know what kind of mind set he had at the time, we do know he want to kill and with more than 20,000 plus walking the campus the numbers would have been higher.

What about a lock down? Maybe only if we knew how he look or had a name to put with a face at the time of the 1st shootings,then maybe they could have been more aware. It only takes about 15 min to walk from one bulding to the other, he could have been right among the student body and just waiting for the right time to finish what he had started.

I writing this from Argentina as I read about and watch this tragedy.
I attended Marquette University, WI as a graduate student 2 years ago and I can't imagine the impact of such a violent event on campus.
It does make me wonder why this kind of event seems to happen more often in the US.
I come from a country where social injustice, political corruption, and economic uncertainty could turn people into violent rampages at any time. However, there aren't any records of events such as the tragedy at VT ever happening (that is not to say that other awful things don't happen). It fills me with curiosity how social structures, interactions, and influences unfold so that a person would choose to end its own life in such a way.
I hope that families of the victims are allowed to mourn respectfully and that the American society as whole can learn from these terrible experiences.

My twins are shaken also. They called each other and also called home. My son seemed to be more upset. I can't wait to see him on Sat. I think that is how we all feel as parents. He was on campus with his friends. They all talked about how it could happen anywhere anytime. He is at Kansas, she is at Purdue. I hope this will help them to be more aware of their surroundings. They also have friends spread around the country, but I don't think they know anyone at VT. I think it is time to restart the talks on gun control. My thoughts and prayers are with all of these students, friends, faculty and families. Thank you all for covering this emotional story.

I am sure there is NO WAY your son "was as shaken as the students" @ VT. How could you even make a comment like that? Your son is across the country and will not have to deal with this everyday for the rest of his life. People need to stop trying to create their own connection to this tragedy (for attention) and start praying for the people who were actually affected.

My sincerest sympathies go to the family of Cho. It must be so painful for them to know that their child took away the precious lives of other parents' children; that he caused so much pain to so many people and that he took away part of America's future. How does one beging to untangle the events leading up to the Virgina Tech Massacre? Is there a way to go back and see what could've been done to help this troubled young man? No one will ever know. It's not the school's fault. It's no one's fault. This was a man driven to end his life and upon ending his life took a population of innocent students. Who are we to judge him? That is God's job. Let us pray and find a way to recover, regroup, go on and most importantly forgive. The latter is extremely hard to do, but if God forgave mankind and died for his sins, then are we better than He? Let us pray that this will pass and Virgina Tech can go on but not forget the lives that were lost on April 16th.

My sincerest sympathies go to the family of Cho. It must be so painful for them to know that their child took away the precious lives of other parents' children; that he caused so much pain to so many people and that he took away part of America's future. How does one beging to untangle the events leading up to the Virgina Tech Massacre? Is there a way to go back and see what could've been done to help this troubled young man? No one will ever know. It's not the school's fault. It's no one's fault. This was a man driven to end his life and upon ending his life took a population of innocent students. Who are we to judge him? That is God's job. Let us pray and find a way to recover, regroup, go on and most importantly forgive. The latter is extremely hard to do, but if God forgave mankind and died for his sins, then are we better than He? Let us pray that this will pass and Virgina Tech can go on but not forget the lives that were lost on April 16th.