Phil Viana, a student at Northeastern University in Boston, said when he heard the news of the shooting at Virginia Tech, he and other friends immediately began trying to reach Tech student Ross Alameddine.
They "kept calling and calling Ross to see if he was OK," Viana told CNN, as he took a break from studying for midterms.
They never reached him.
Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Massachusetts, was among those killed in the shootings that have shocked the nation.
Amy Mastrangelo, a 19-year-old student at Boston University, grew up in Saugus with Alameddine. They even carpooled to school together.
"There's no one else like him. That's what we've all been saying -- there's just no one else like him," she said.
She described him as a very gifted, intelligent individual.
Mastrangelo and Alameddine went to elementary school together at St. Mary of the Assumption and then went on to Austin Preparatory School. "He was a very unique individual," she said. "Very confident, self-assured, friendly with everyone."
Alameddine played multiple instruments, including the piano and was a member of the high school debate team, she said.
However, Mastrangelo said, he was best known for his dance skills.
"He was a gifted dancer ... at school dances, everyone would crowd around and watch him. He was very talkative, was very accommodating, very friendly."
--By Katy Byron, CNN Assignment Editor
