Massacre at Virginia Tech

Unidentified Sheriff’s personnel patrol near Norris Hall where FBI and ATF agents also responded. The fatal shootings at the science and engineering building occurred two hours after those in a dormitory at Virginia Tech.  (Don Petersen/AP)

The row of ambulances parked near Norris Hall are testimony to the deadliest rampage in U.S. history, with 33 people killed and dozens injured at Virginia Tech. The incident invoked memories of the 1966 shootings at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman killed 16 people from a clock tower before being gunned down by police.  (Don Petersen/AP)

Virginia State Police escort an unidentified person to van near Norris Hall. Apart from the shooting casualties, dozens of students sustained broken bones and sprains jumping from windows to escape the gunfire.  (Don Petersen/AP)

Unidentified students watch from the doorway of Virginia Tech’s McBryde Hall as police infiltrate the area. Said student Michael O’Brien, “I saw police cars from all different levels--state, local county--rush by. Ambulances, SWAT vans...”  (Matt Gentry / AP / The Roanoke Times)

At a nationally televised news conference, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said, “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.” He defended against criticism that school officials did not lock down the campus soon enough to prevent a second wave of shootings. “We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur. We can only make decisions based on the information you had at the time. You don’t have hours to reflect on it.”  (Don Petersen / AP)

A Virginia State Police armored vehicle heads for the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. The university’s pastoral setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 160 miles west of Richmond belies the violence that besieged the campus this morning when an as-yet unidentified gunman killed at least 33 people and injured several others.  (Don Petersen / AP)

Members of the SWAT team head to Norris Hall, a science and engineering building where most of the casualties occurred. One student interviewed by MSNBC said he was inside a classroom there when the gunman entered and began shooting. “He let off a full round. I was one of 10 to 15 people in our classroom to get shot. He didn’t say anything, he just started shooting.”  (Steve Helber / AP)

After the shootings, he campus was closed and classes were canceled through Tuesday.  (Don Petersen / AP)