UPDATE 3:00PM EST: Virginia Tech officials lifted an alert issued after three people reported seeing a person possibly carrying a gun on campus.
The school says a large police presence will remain as officers continue to check out campus buildings, but they have not found anyone with a weapon.
Virginia Tech’s website says the alert has been lifted. Here is the message to students issued at 2:41 p.m. ET:
The campus alert is lifted. There will continue to be a large police presence on campus today. Police have not received nor discovered additional information about a person possibly carrying a weapon beyond that reported this morning. The university community may resume normal campus activity. Only Blacksburg campus classes have been cancelled today.
While the alert has been lifted, as always, we suggest that people remain vigilant and report suspicious campus activity to Virginia Tech Police.
UPDATE 12:40PM EST: Virginia Tech was locked down Thursday when three children attending a summer camp said they saw a man holding what looked like a gun, an alarming report on the campus where a 2007 massacre left 33 people dead.
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 told police 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.
On Thursday, officials said they were looking for a 6-foot-tall white man with light brown hair. Officials said the person was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, gray shorts and brown sandals. He was described as clean shaven, according to the university’s website.
FIRST POST 10:20AM EST: A person with a gun has been reported near the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., according to an alert on the school’s website.
Virginia Tech, is the site of a 2007 massacre, when Cho Seung-Hui, 23, shot dead 32 people on campus before killing himself.
Regular classes aren’t in session at the moment, but there is summer school. The university in Blacksburg, Virginia, is asking people on campus to stay inside and secure doors. The person was spotted near Dietrick Dining Hall.
The school is asking all students and faculty to “stay inside” and secure all doors.
Emergency personnel is responding to the scene, the alert says.
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2 Responses
Again Virginia Tech?!
They might wanna do some introspection.
I do verily hope no one is injured or killed.
Simultaneous events happen for a reason. If anyone recalls a few years ago, it came out that the murderer at Virginia Tech was a loner, a different kid, who was mercilessly teased and taunted by his schoolmates.