A Virginia Tech U. police officer was shot and killed during routine traffic stop on the school’s campus Thursday afternoon in a frightening reminder of the 2007 massacre at the school.
A second person was found dead approximately a quarter-mile away. NBC News reported that police believe that second body was the shooter, but police refused to confirm that at a Thursday afternoon press conference. Investigators did say they believed there was “no longer an active threat” to the campus and surrounding area.
It happened just before 12:30 pm, after a campus police officer made a traffic stop in a parking lot just outside Cassell Coliseum, the school’s basketball arena. Investigators say they do not believe the shooter was in the car that was stopped, but were not sure whether the officer was specifically targeted. Witnesses told police that the shooter ran off, in the direction of I-Lot, another campus parking lot.
Police saw a suspicious person in that area around 1:00 pm and tried to make contact with him. That person was found dead a short time later. Police identified him as a white male, who had suffered a gunshot wound.
It was initially believed to be a second victim, but late Thursday afternoon, NBC News reported that police believe it may have been be the shooter. Police say that they did not shoot him.
Virginia State police identified the officer killed as a 4-year veteran of the Virginia Tech Police Department in the patrol division, but have not publicly announced the officer’s name or the name of the suspected shooter.
The campus was locked down for approximately four hours as police searched the school and surrounding areas for the gunmen. Students were told to stay inside in secure areas. Just after 4:30pm, the school posted an “all clear” update on its website. Virginia Tech canceled all final exams scheduled for Friday.
The incident is a terrifying reminder of the 2007 shooting rampage on campus that left 33 people, including the shooter, dead. That was the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.
In that case, Seung-Hui Cho chained the doors of a classroom building closed on April 16, 2007 and killed 32 people before committing suicide.