Monday, April 16, 2007

 

- 7:15 a.m.

Shooting reported at Virgina Tech’s West Ambler Johnston Hall

 

- 9:17 a.m.

Police respond to a report of gunfire at Norris Hall. Virginia Tech student Jamal Albarghouti uses his mobile phone to capture video footage of part of the attack from the exterior of Norris Hall; this was later broadcast on many news outlets.

 

- Photographs from local and AP news journalists begin circulating on all major news channels accompanied with updates of fatalities, interviews with survivors and other students from the incident.

 

- Reports continue at least once every hour.

 

- 12:15 p.m.

Virginia Tech University President Charles W. Steger reads a statement at a news conference saying, “The university was struck today with a tragedy of monumental proportions.” Initial police report states at least 21 people are dead.

 

- 12:26 p.m.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, already has an entry for the shootings entitled “Virginia Tech massacre” that includes a photo from the event.

 

- 2:03 p.m.

The U.S. Justice Department reports 32 fatalities in the shooting incident, plus the death of the shooter.

 

- Approximately 6 p.m.

Vigils begin all over Blacksburg, Va. Footage of vigils along with special reports continue to be broadcast on most news outlets. Some of the topics discussed include Virginia Tech officials’ response to first shooting, gun control, local campus safety and speculation on the identity of the killer who is described as an Asian male.

 

- Other Reports

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed was cited as the source of initial reports by news outlets such as WBBM, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and the Herald Sun that the gunman was a “24-year-old Chinese man” who had come to the U.S. on Aug. 7, 2006, arriving in San Francisco on a United Airlines flight on a student visa issued in Shanghai. Fox news also broadcast this information. Sneed did not identify her source for that information. NBC News additionally reported that the gunman was not a student at Virginia Tech.

 

- 11:02 p.m.

Richard Esposito of ABCnews.com reports:

“He is Asian, he lives in the dorm where the first shooting occurred and he recently broke up with his girlfriend. He also happens to have a Web blog packed with pictures in which he poses with firearms. On the Internet, Wayne Chiang is as good as convicted. He has received 37,000 hits on his Web site over the past several hours, many containing death threats. ‘Right now pretty much the Internet thinks it is me,’ Chiang told ABC News. ‘I am just interested in trying to clear my name.’”

 

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

 

- 7:18 a.m.

A list of confirmed fatalities begins circulating throughout media, followed by profiles of some of the victims.