Morning of Terror at Va. Tech Campus

Virginia Tech student Gerald Goad, 21, leaves his Ambler-Johnston Hall dorm at the school in Blacksburg, Va., Monday, April 16, 2007. A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33. (AP Photo/Allen Breed) (Allen Breed - AP)

Virginia Tech sent out a third e-mail at 10:17 a.m. announcing classes were canceled and repeating the warning for everyone to lock their doors and stay away from windows.

By then, the magnitude of this bloody day was becoming increasingly clear.

Grim-faced TV anchors reported the rising death toll: 21, 31, then 33, including the shooter himself, not immediately identified. He put a bullet to his head. Two of the dead were shot at the dorm, the remainder at Norris Hall. Authorities also reported that 15 people were wounded, some seriously.

At 10:53 a.m. _ more than three-and-half hours after the terror began _ the announcement of the end of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history came in a fourth e-mail from the school.

It read:

"Subject: Second Shooting Reported; Police have one gunman in custody

"In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall.

"Police and EMS are on the scene.

"Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.

"All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice.

"All entrances to campus are closed."

As the wind whipped through the campus on Monday night, a steady stream of students from West Ambler Johnston carried suitcases, backpacks and other personal items _ one held a large stuffed dog nicknamed Hokie after the school mascot _ to find someplace else in sleep.

They said they couldn't bear to spend the night in the dorm.

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National Writer Allen Breed contributed to this report from Blacksburg, Va.