Bush Offers Condolences at Virginia Tech

President Bush makes a statement regarding the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, Monday, April 16, 2007, in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert - AP)

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Representing America's anguish, President Bush told Virginia Tech students and teachers at a somber convocation Tuesday that the nation was praying for them and "there's a power in these prayers."

"It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering," Bush said at a memorial service on the campus where 33 people, including the suspected gunman, died in shootings the day before.

"Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate," the president said. "They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone _ and they leave behind grieving families, and grieving classmates, and a grieving nation."

Before flying to the tragedy-stricken university in southwestern Virginia, Bush ordered flags flown at half staff and issued a written proclamation in honor of those killed and wounded.

Speaking to a solemn crowd at a basketball arena, packed with students and others, many wearing orange short-sleeved Virginia Tech T-shirts, the president quoted a recent graduate blogging about the killings to encourage those who grieve to reach out for help.

"To all of you who are OK, I'm happy for that," Bush said, quoting the Internet posting. "For those of you who are in pain or who have lost someone close to you, I'm sure you can call on any one of us and have help anytime you need it."

The memorial service was subdued but ended with a spontaneous school chant of "Let's go, Hokies!"

The president met with a wounded student and 50 relatives of the victims, hugging them and telling them to take comfort from one another.

Bush said it was different than meeting with families grieving victims of the Sept. 11 attacks or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I think what makes this different is that a parent or a loved one thought their child was, learning to, to enrich their lives, and the next thing is they're dead," Bush told NBC News. "And it's just the shock and suddenness and the location that makes this a very traumatic experience."

First lady Laura Bush said she met with two families that had lost their only child. "The idea of that for any parent is so devastating that it's hard for us to even imagine what they're going through," she told CBS News.

The Bushes also stopped briefly in the middle of campus, where students have set up a memorial of candles and flowers. The president and first lady added their signatures to a display of the letters "VT" _ for Virginia Tech.