Virginia Tech Gunman Dead After Killing Officer, Source Says

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Virginia Tech says there is no longer a threat on campus and normal activities can resume after two people, including a police officer, were shot and killed on Virginia Tech's campus Thursday.

While officials would not confirm that the second victim in the shooting was in fact the gunman, a law enforcement source tells Fox News that authorities do believe that the second victim is the gunman, and that he suffered a self-inflicted wound. 

 

An unidentified Virginia Tech police officer was shot shortly after noon during a traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall, a gymnasium on the 2,600-acre campus. 

A witness reportedly saw a third party suspect approach the officer, fire a weapon and then flee the scene, Dr. Gene Deisinger Deputy Chief Officer of Virginia Tech Police Department said in a press conference.  

The officer later died. 

Officials said that they don't believe the suspect was in the vehicle involved in the traffic stop, or related to it in anyway. 

Witnesses reported to police that the shooter fled on foot toward a parking lot, where a second unidentified victim was found dead. 

An officer reportedly observed a "suspicious subject," identified as the second victim, but by the time the officer approached the subject, the subject was deceased, Deisinger said. 

Bob Carpienteri of Virginia State Police said, "we're in good hands and it's safe." 

A weapon has be recovered, Carpienteri confirmed.

The suspect, according to an earlier posting on the school's website, is described as a white male and was wearing gray sweatpants and a gray hat with a neon green brim.

"We are very pleased with the results today in terms of communication within the community," Dr. Charles Steger, President of Virginia Tech said. 

"Several law enforcement agencies have responded to assist," read an earlier posting on the school's website. "Virginia State Police has been requested to take lead in the investigation."

Messages seeking comment from school officials were not immediately returned.

"There is an active campus alert in Blacksburg," read an earlier notice on the school's website. "Everyone should seek shelter or stay where you are. Blacksburg Transit service is suspended until the alert is lifted."

Reports of subsequent gunshots heard on campus were unfounded, officials said. Schools in nearby Montgomery County were also placed on locked down following the shooting.

Britni Wilson, a student at the school, told Fox News she and other students were remaining indoors.

"It doesn't seem like too much is going on around here," she said. "We're all just staying in, nothing else is really going on downtown."

Julia Fleming, a Virginia Tech freshman, told WDBJ-TV she did not hear any shots being fired, but saw the officer covered in blood.

"I guess the officer didn't make it because they covered him with sheets," Fleming said.

Students on campus were scheduled to participate in a reading day, as final exams were scheduled to begin tomorrow. Virginia Tech academic leadership is currently in the process of trying to arrange a new exam schedule, Larry Hinker, Associate Vice President of Communications at Virginia Tech said. 

"The loss of human life is a tremendous tragedy felt by everyone in the community," Hinker said. 

The university is reportedly putting in place counseling and support for students, faculty and families. 

On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a senior English major at the school, killed 32 students and faculty before committing suicide in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

"I'm upset we have to meet again under these circumstances," Hinker said.