MU honors Va. Tech community
Published April 17, 2007
MU Chancellor Brady Deaton expressed his sympathy for students and staff at Virginia Tech after a series of shootings at the university on Monday.
In an e-mail to students, Deaton stated he had been a member of the Virginia Tech faculty for 11 years.
The shootings on the Virginia Tech campus left 33 people dead, including the shooter, and many others injured. The mass shooting is the worst in U.S. history.
Deaton learned of the shootings during lunch from his wife, Anne, who heard about the tragedy from their son David.
As Brady Deaton left after lunch for afternoon meetings, he said he would try to contact officials at Virginia Tech to see how MU could help.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger described the shooting as a tragedy of "monumental proportions" in a statement distributed around noon on Monday.
"I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over this senseless and incomprehensible heinous act," Steger said in a news conference.
Virginia Tech was closed Monday, and classes are canceled today in response to the shootings. University officials have scheduled a ceremony on the Virginia Tech campus at 2 p.m. today and a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. for the community.
University officials also designated a meeting place on the campus for families to meet with their students, but a list of victims has not yet been released, pending notification of family.
Paul Fraas, an MU student from Alexandria, Va., said he knew several students at Virginia Tech but was unable to contact any of them.
"I kept getting the line busy signal," he said. "I basically had to rely on Facebook."
Fraas said he tried to contact his friends through instant messages and through the Facebook Web site.
He said he was still not able to contact some of his friends, but the ones he did contact were safe.
"Thanks to (instant messaging) and Facebook, I'm kind of in the loop, but kind of not," he said.
Fraas said he is planning to drive to Virginia Tech to be with a friend who knew a student who was severely injured in the attack. He said the two students both lived in West Ambler Johnston Hall, the site of two shooting deaths.
The Missouri Students Association will play host to a candlelight vigil at 9:30 p.m. tonight under the Memorial Union arch to honor the victims of the shootings.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives both observed a moment of silence Monday in respect for the victims of the shootings.
President George Bush briefly addressed the nation and offered his sympathy for the Virginia Tech community.
— Staff writer Juana Summers contributed to this report.