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NIU officials increased campus security and notified everyone on campus about the threats by e-mail, voice mail and fliers.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a state of emergency to help provide resources to deal with the shooting. The declaration provides assistance from state police forensic and emergency teams as well as human resource workers to help in crisis counseling.
"The State of Illinois will provide whatever support and assistance is necessary to university staff and students," Blagojevich said in a statement.
The Virginia Tech administration responded to the shootings by sending condolences to NIU.
In a statement sent to all Virginia Tech students, Tech president Charles Steger said, "This horrific news will certainly bring to mind the hurt, pain, and trauma we experienced less than a year ago. I have sent my condolences and offer of assistance to the president of NIU. Our university community was bolstered and comforted by the outpouring of support from campuses around the nation and the world. I am sure that expressions of support from the Virginia Tech community will mean much to that now suffering campus community."
Steger also encouraged Tech students to reach out to one another and seek counseling if necessary.
"I am convinced that our university community coped because of our care and concern for every member of the extended Hokie Family. I ask you to look out for your each other and seek help through university services if necessary," Steger said.
According to Christopher Flynn, director of Cooke Counseling Center, Tech doubled its counseling staff last night and extended its hours. Flynn said that the staff may work through the weekend.
Flynn also said that they would be mailing information they had gathered after April 16 to NIU in order to aid the NIU counseling staff.
"We had been taking steps to making sure we were prepared for the one-year anniversary of April 16 for the university, but unfortunately this has brought it up sooner," Flynn said.
Virginia Tech students were both surprised and saddened by the shootings, which struck an all-too-familiar chord for many.
"It's sad, it really is. It's weird seeing it from our perspective now," said Victoria Pryor, a senior in biochemistry. It's just crazy seeing it from the other end."
Story by Jason Meisner, Jeremy Gorner and Tina Shah from the Chicago Tribune. Tech reporting by CT News Staff.
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Leave a comment 20 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
Was NIU a "gun free campus"? The students should thus feel perfectly safe there, as they should in Blacksburg.
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Okay, time to gear up and send our condolences, our love and our support to NIU!
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as of now 3 people, including the gunman is dead
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I live in Sycamore, IL and man. I can't even believe this would happen out here. Im really worried I have family that go there. Shell's right. Everyone send them love and support!
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According to the latest reports, this article is correct - 5 people, including the gunman, are dead. Shell is right, since no one can understand what NIU is going through like Tech can.
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All we can do is be there for them like many universities were for us. It is terrible that things like this happen and it is also unfortunate that non-Hokies like Ted would choose this particular time to call people idiots. Let's drop the immaturity and be there for NIU
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Perhaps, Ted, there is a lesson here in reserving judgement and not flaming, especially about these chaotic incidents. A bit hasty, and sometimes people make errors when there are conflicting reports.
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CNN: 5 shot dead including killer... that means 5, not 6. fix you numbers please.
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5 shot dead including killer means 6 total... learn how to add please.
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whats the point in calling people idiots? this is a tragedy and unfortunately something that the Hokie nation has already had to go through and whether it was 3 fatalities "including" the gunman or if its now 6 fatalities...its still something horrible that happened regardless of the accuracy of ever changing and updating news. As already said, just start supporting NIU just like they supported us.
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ted, did you ever think that maybe the numbers are coming from somewhere other than CNN? so far it looks like every time you've said they were wrong they ended up being right.
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After the fact though. I understand it's a tragedy, I'm not saying it isn't. I just want the CT to report it correctly and not post false info before it's been clarified by a university official or something.
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Lets please stop fussing with each other about inaccurate numbers in this article. At this point in time, we just need to support NIU and the Huskies like the nation supported us Hokies last year. Its a tough time and we all know this.....Keep NIU in your thoughts/prayers!!!!
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My heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to the Huskies right now.
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Our prayers and condolences go out to NIU and the NIU family. Please, President Steger and Student Government, with our own tragic lesson(s)-learned, couldn't we send some of our administrators and/or peer counselors as well as condolences? I am sure many caring, sensitive Hokies would be very willing to go and minister - especially after so many did so much for us. It is obvious that tangible support from our Tech community could be so valuable to reach out to the NIU campus, the survivors, and the victims' and survivors' families. Let's show the world we can give as well as receive in times of sorrow and crisis.
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Awful. I've never been so saddened by something as I was the VaTech shootings. To have the place/town I love be remembered always as the site of the massacre still hurts to think about. Now these kids, alumni and families will go through the same thing, and it's shame. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.
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Go here http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=000103435559 if you want to leave condolences for NIU. I can't believe this happened somewhere else. It's too horrible to comprehend.
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This is just impossible for me to comprehend. I graduated from VT in Spring 07, and was in class in Norris Hall on 4/16. Since graduation, I moved to Chicago, and to have this happen again, 65 miles away from me is dumbfounding. Still trying to get over the shock of what happened less than a year ago, I feel like I am in the middle of it all again. I can imagine this stirs up similar emotions in my fellow Hokies. I wish people would realize that everyone has problems. This is not the way to solve them, or make yourself a martyr, or whatever they are trying to accomplish. Please remember how much it helped out to have the outreach of so many people and schools, and on the other hand, what it felt like when people would nitpick little details and forget the 'big picture'. Being relatively close to NIU, I just want to be able to find a way to let my experiences help those who are now going through the same thing.
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The Huskie Nation was rocked yesterday, in an all to familiar way to us Hokies. Pray for the family, friends and victims. We need to band together once again, not for ourselves, but to help our fellow Huskies in their greatest time of need.
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Describe a time when you simply had too much to do and you needed help. ,
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