Gunman Identified as Centreville Resident

By the end of this morning's news conference at Virginia Tech, officials had released the name of the gunman in Monday's deadly campus shootings, but not much else.

Within moments, Virginia Tech's Web site confirmed what campus police chief Wendell Flinchum had announced: The gunman was Cho Seung Hui, a senior majoring in English. The 23-year-old South Korean was a resident of Centreville. On campus, he lived in Harper Hall.

Officials said two weapons, a 9mm handgun and a .22 caliber handgun, were found in Norris Hall, the scene of Monday's second shooting. While ballistics tests indicated that one of the guns was used in both the first and second shootings, Virginia State Police superintendent Col. Steve Flaherty said evidence did not yet indicate whether the shooter was the same in both cases.

Students and the media had been hoping to get a list of victims at this, but Marcela Fierro, the state's chief medical examiner, said the names would not be released until identities were confirmed for all victims. In addition to the two people killed at West Ambler Johnston, 30 bodies, including the gunman's, were found in four classrooms and a stairwell of Norris Hall.

Students and family members, meanwhile, anxiously await as media outlets begin to report names of the victims and officials wait to release official confirmation, which Fierro said could take several days.

By Bob Greiner |  April 17, 2007; 10:21 AM ET  | Category:  Dispatches from Blacksburg
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