BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16 (UPI) -- The Virginia Tech campus was shattered Monday when a gunman killed 32 people before taking his own life in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
The gunman, possibly a 24-year-old Chinese national, opened fire about 7:15 a.m. in Ambler Johnson Hall, killing one male and one female in what police initially thought was a domestic incident.
Two hours later, however, the shooter, armed with two pistols and extra clips, is believed to have locked the doors of Norris Hall where classes were under way. He methodically shot 30 others -- apparently without saying a word -- before taking his own life, survivors said. Fifteen people were injured, including three critically, MSNBC reported.
Student Trey Perkins said he and others trapped in their German class were "scared out of our minds" as they held the door shut when the gunman returned and started firing again through the door.
Police, who wouldn't name the shooter, said a second "person of interest" was being questioned.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported the shooter may been from China. MSNBC reported federal officials believed he likely was a Virginia Tech student. It wasn't known whether three recent campus bomb threats were related to the shootings.
