| Page 4 of 5 < > |
8 Minutes After 911 Call, A Rescue From Madness
Va. Tech Lt. Debbi Morgan calmed student Emily Haas, who called 911 from Norris Hall, and kept her on the phone. Haas's information was vital to police.
(By Linda Davidson -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"Okay, there's units there. Stay calm. Try to stay calm. Ease your breathing."
Haas's breathing slowed.
"What's your name?
"I can't talk."
Pop. Pop. Pop. "Still shooting in Norris," Morgan screamed to a dispatcher as Haas screamed.
Lt. Curtis Cook, leader of the Virginia Tech SWAT team, heard the shots and looked up at the gray limestone building to see if he could spot the gunman. The officers moved to a big wooden door next to the chained one. It was locked with a deadbolt. An officer shot through the lock and pushed the door open, then the group ran inside through a mechanical shop. It was quiet.
They split up. Some, including Wilson, the Blacksburg SWAT team leader, started up a staircase. Cook and his group moved down the first-floor hall, checking classrooms in an "emergency clearing" tactic, and headed up another staircase, at the other end of the hall, so they would have both sides of the second floor covered.
At 9:51, as Cook and Wilson moved up opposite stairwells, they heard a gunshot.
Where was the gunman? they wondered. Was he with hostages? Which classroom? Which floor? How many gunmen were there?
* * *
The 9:51 shot echoed inside Haas's classroom. It was so loud that it seemed as if it were right next to her. Through Morgan's 15 years as an officer, she had dealt with difficult situations. But nothing like this.
"Stay calm," Morgan said.
