When I first arrived today at Virginia Tech, I was directed by campus staff through a large hallway off a ballroom at the Alumni Center. It had already become the worst kind of waiting room. This was where many students and parents were gathering -- pockets of people who hadn't heard from their friend or child since the shootings.
A group of engineering students was looking for some friends who might have been in Norris Hall during the second shooting. One was optimistic that he probably couldn't reach some of them because of how people scattered from the campus. Many were on their cell phones. I heard one say, "Yes, I'm trying to locate ..."
When I came back a couple hours later, the change in mood was palpable. I have never seen that look on a person's face before, let alone on so many faces.
Shock. The realization that today and every day after will be so, so different.
-- By Brianna Keilar, CNN Correspondent