Washington – Sharon Monde, principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington County, Va., missed the early news reports Monday, so she couldn’t figure out why people were asking her whether her daughter Alexandra, a junior at Virginia Tech, was all right. Her panic grew when she couldn’t get a call through.
Her daughter, who was safe, was also trying frantically to call her mother. She finally text-messaged.
As the day went on, parents began to get e-mail messages from the school with updates. And by midday, most, like Monde, had heard that their children were safe – and that the news overall was much worse than they had imagined.
“It’s northern Virginia,” said Camille Stonehill, whose son Eric saw police running by his English class Monday. “You know lots of people who have kids at Tech, and everyone is calling each other.”
Many parents compared the lost feeling to what they felt on Sept. 11, 2001. Not that it compared to the scale of that, of course, Stonehill said, but the helpless feeling was similar. “And that it just keeps getting worse and worse.”
Vicki Dorman of Potomac, Md., whose daughter Carolyn is a freshman at Tech, said it’s awful to think how much this generation has already lived through.
“These poor kids,” she said. “They’ve lived through 9/11, the (Washington-area) sniper. They’re used to code blues and code reds and – really kind of sad that they are so used to these things.”
Mark Robinson recalled that when he dropped his son Sam off in Blacksburg for his freshman year, he looked at the police officer directing traffic as parents unloaded boxes and thought, “What a cushy job!”
Robinson was relieved when he reached his son about 10:30 a.m. from his office in Tysons Corner, Va. But as the day went on and he kept seeing news updates, he got more upset. A client came to ask where his graphic designs were.
“I kind of blew up at him and had to send an e-mail apology later,” Robinson said.
He kept trying to reach his son again, but the circuits were busy. Finally, Sam Robinson sent an e-mail telling his dad he’d been trying to get through all morning and was worried about a guy in his hall that no one had been able to reach. He wrote that he’d been praying.
Their eldest daughter called Mark Robinson, upset and wishing she had called her little brother more often.
“I was feeling like I felt on 9/11,” said Sam’s mother, Sheila Robinson, who was teaching at Daniels Run Elementary School in Fairfax City, Va. “I was immeasurably grief-stricken. Even knowing my son was OK, I was just unbelievably grief-stricken for all the victims as well as all the survivors.”
She finally talked to her son shortly before 3 p.m. He was in tears too.
He said he kept thinking about the number of people who had died: “That’s 30 families and however many friends. Imagine what they’re going through.”
OFFICIALS’ REACTIONS
Statement by Virginia Tech president Charles Steger, shortly after the shootings:
“… The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us, and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere and profound sympathy to the families of these victims, which include our students.
“We are currently in the process of notifying next of kin. The Virginia Tech police are being assisted by numerous other jurisdictions. … Crime scenes are being investigated by the university police, the FBI and the state police.
“… I cannot begin to convey my own personal sense of loss over this senseless and incomprehensible heinous act.
“… Were making plans for a convocation tomorrow at noon in Cassell Coliseum for the university to come together to begin the healing process from this terrible tragedy.”
Statement by Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine
“It is difficult to comprehend senseless violence on this scale. Our prayers are with the families and friends of these victims, and members of the extended Virginia Tech community …
“My staff has made arrangements for me to leave Tokyo today, where I was set to begin a two-week Asian trade mission, so that I can return to the Commonwealth on Tuesday.
“I urge Virginians to keep these victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers.”
Statement from Columbine High School principal Frank DeAngelis and Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson:
“The Columbine community and the entire Jeffco School District are in a state of shock after hearing about the horrendous tragedy at Virginia Tech University. We know all too well how a shooting of this magnitude affects an entire community. Our hearts are breaking for the victims and their families. We offer them our deepest and most sincere prayers and condolences.
“In the days and weeks to come we will be available to support the Virginia Tech community in any way we are able.”
Statement by President Bush:
“Our nation is shocked and saddened by the news of the shootings at Virginia Tech today …
“I’ve spoken with Gov. Tim Kaine and Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. I told them that Laura and I and many across our nation are praying for the victims and their families and all the members of the university community who have been devastated by this terrible tragedy. …
“Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community.
“Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech. We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers, and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering.”
