Campus Prays for Answers After Shootings

Shootings at a dorm and classroom on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, April 16, 2007, left at least one person dead and one wounded, and a suspect was arrested, authorities said. (AP Graphic)

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The people of this once-peaceful mountain town and the university at its heart prayed for the victims of the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, struggling to find order in a tragedy of such unspeakable horror it defies reason.

"For Ryan and Emily and for those whose names we do not know," one woman pleaded in a church service held for those seeking solace.

"For all the children in our community who are afraid," another said.

A third added: "For parents near and far who wonder at a time like this, 'Is my child safe?'"

That question promises to haunt Blacksburg long after Monday's pair of attacks, which came two hours apart and left 33 people dead, including a gunman.

Investigators offered no motive. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.

The shooting began about 7:15 a.m. on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston, a high-rise coed dormitory where two people died.

Police were still investigating when a gunman wielding two handguns and carrying multiple clips of ammunition stormed Norris Hall, a classroom building a half-mile away on the other side of the 2,600-acre campus. Some of the doors at Norris Hall were found chained from the inside, apparently by the shooter.

The second attack left 31 dead, including the gunman, who put a bullet in his own head. At least 15 people were hurt, some seriously.

The attacks forced students to jump from windows. Young people and faculty members carried away some of the wounded without waiting for ambulances to arrive. Many found themselves trapped behind chained and padlocked doors.

SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. A student used his cell-phone camera to record the sound of bullets echoing through a stone building.

Inside Norris, the attack began with a thunderous sound from Room 206 _ "what sounded like an enormous hammer," said Alec Calhoun, a 20-year-old junior who was in a solid mechanics lecture in a classroom next door.