Timeline of the events surrounding the 2007 shootings on the Virginia Tech Campus.
Created by devin on Aug 13, 2007
Last updated: 03/11/10 at 07:45 PM
Tags: cat_colleges
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William Massello, an assistant state medical examiner, said autopsies of Cho's 32 victims revealed that he fired "more than 100" bullets into them. "Some were hit once; some were hit several times, more than once. We had two, three, four, maybe even as high as six." The initial autopsy of the Virginia Tech gunman found no gross brain function abnormalities that could explain the rampage that left 32 people dead
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
VA Governor Kaine declared a statewide day of mourning. Alumni encouraged display of the Virginia Tech school colors: orange and maroon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Virginia Tech announced that all students killed on Monday will be granted posthumous degrees in the field in which they were studying. These degrees would be given to the families at the regular commencement exercises that they would have participated in with their friends
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Local police authorities announced that television network NBC received correspondence from Cho, some of which included images of him holding weapons, writings, audio recordings and videos; this information was immediately submitted to the FBI. Since the package was timestamped between the first incident at West Ambler Johnson and the second shooting at Norris Hall, it is possible some of the material was drafted by Cho during the 2 hour interval
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
A SWAT team entered Burruss Hall, a campus building next to Norris Hall. No explanation was immediately available. Virginia Tech's public affairs office stated that police were responding to "suspicious activity"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
A candlelight vigil was held on the University Drillfield
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A convocation ceremony was held at the university community at Cassell Coliseum. President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine were among the many people in attendance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Virginia Tech announced that classes would be canceled "for the remainder of the week to allow students the time they need to grieve and seek assistance as needed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Virginia Tech Police Department released name of shooter as Cho Seung-Hui and confirmed the death toll of 33
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
University President Charles Steger announced that police were releasing people from buildings and that counseling centers were being set up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Police knocked on the door of Suite 2121, alerting Grewal and informing him that Cho killed the people in Norris and West Ambler Johnston halls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
News stations confirmed that Cho wore a bullet-proof vest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
News stations reported that Cho shot himself in the face.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
University President Charles W. Steger and Flinchum, the campus police chief, confirm that 33 people are dead, including the gunman. They say they will not announce the names of the victims until their families are notified.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
President George W. Bush spoke from the White House regarding the shooting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
News stations confirmed that there were two separate shootings in a 2 hour period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
The House of Representatives observed a moment of silence for the victims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
The death toll had risen to 22.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
At a news conference, Virginia Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum says 22 people have been killed.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
April 18, 11am Package arrives in NBC building. Staff are suspicious and open it using rubber gloves
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
Copies are made, and contents delivered to the FBI
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
First video clips broadcast. Package contained 23-page written statement, 28 video clips and 43 photos
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
University officials send another e-mail saying that a number of people have been shot inside Norris Hall. They repeat earlier warnings to stay inside.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
A third e-mail from university announces that all classes have been canceled. It also advises people on campus to remain behind locked doors and for those who are not on campus to stay away.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Virginia Tech officials send a second e-mail, warning students that a gunman is loose on campus. They ask everyone to stay inside and away from the windows until further notice.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
The campus police respond to a 911 call about a shooting at Norris Hall, an engineering building, where the front doors have been chained shut from the inside. The police break in and hear gunshots coming from the second floor. When they get upstairs, the gunshots stop, and the officers find the gunman has killed himself.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
After arriving at Norris Hall, police took 5 minutes to assemble the proper team, clear the area and then break through the doors. They used a shotgun to break through the chained entry doors. Investigators believe that the shotgun blast alerted the gunman to the arrival of the police. The police hear gunshots as they enter the building. They follow the sounds to the second floor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Students in Norris 205, while attending Haiyan Cheng's issues in scientific computing class, heard Cho's gunshots. The students, including Zach Petkewicz, barricaded the door and prevented Cho's entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Armed with two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition, Cho walks into Norris Hall. He fires dozens of rounds at professors and students
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
School officials send out the first e-mail notifying staff and students to the killings at West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall.
The email is entitled "Shooting on Campus"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Off campus, police interview a person of interest in the first shooting, whom they do not arrest. While they are speaking with him, the second attack starts at Norris Hall.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Around 9:05 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.: Cho was seen in Norris Hall, an Engineering building. Using the chains he had purchased at Home Depot, Cho chained the building's entry doors shut from the inside in order to stop anyone from escaping.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Having walked to Blacksburg post office, Cho Seung Hui mails a package to NBC containing video clips and writings
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
Campus police Chief Wendell Flinchum briefs university officials on the investigation.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Virginia Tech officials, including the university president, executive vice president and provost, meet to assess the situation and decide how to notify staff and students.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Students begin their first classes of the day. Word of the killings begins to spread among students via text messages and cell-phone calls.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
West Ambler Johnston was locked down; a third floor resident assistant notified students of the lockdown. Aimee Kanode, a freshman, stated that police lifted the lockdown shortly before the Norris Hall attacks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Heather Haugh, Emily Hilscher's friend and roommate arrived to meet her to go to chemistry class together. When she asked about Hilscher, Haugh was questioned by detectives and gave them the information that Hilscher would usually spend weekends with her boyfriend, Karl Thornhill, at his off-campus townhouse. She explained that on Monday mornings Thornhill would drop off Hilscher and go back to Radford University where he was a student, and that Thornhill was an avid gun user. This led the police to seek him out as a "person of interest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
After interviewing witnesses, police believe the double homicide stemmed from a domestic dispute and was an isolated incident. They also believe the gunman has fled campus and are following up on leads concerning a person of interest in relation to the killings. They decide not to close campus
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Between 7:15 am and 9:01 am: Cho returned to his dormitory room to reload and left a "disturbing note.
The note included a rambling list of grievances that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Virginia Tech police respond to a 911 call from West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall, where a man and woman have been shot and killed. Police establish a safety perimeter around the dorm.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9636137
Cho Seung Hui shoots the students Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark dead on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1680517.ece
Emily Hilscher was dropped off at her dormitory by her boyfriend, Karl D. Thornhill, with whom she had spent the night
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Cho was seen waiting outside an entrance to West Ambler Johnston Hall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m.: Aust saw Cho return from the bathroom, get dressed, and leave
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Around 5:30 a.m.: Karan Grewal, one of Cho's other roommates, noticed Cho, clad in boxer shorts and a T-shirt, brushing his teeth and applying acne cream after Grewal finished an "all-nighter" of study in Suite 2121. Grewal did not see Cho after this point
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
While in Suite 2121 of Harper Hall, Joseph E. "Joe" Aust, one of Cho's five roommates, noticed that Cho was awake and at his computer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Cho phoned his family in Fairfax County.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Witnesses saw a "suspicious looking man with a hooded sweatshirt" near the entrance to Norris Hall, and some of the doors chained shut around the same time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
Bomb threats to Torgersen, Durham, and Whittemore Halls were called in anonymously. An additional bomb threat, this time to engineering school buildings, was found at the shooting scene at Norris Hall. Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum has stated that the bomb threats are not linked to the April 16, 2007 massacre; however, a written bomb threat similar to the ones that were phoned in was found in Suite 2121 of Harper Hall, Cho's dormitory room
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre_timeline
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