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TOPICS: april 16
Elilta Habtu spent the morning of April 16 checking her e-mail constantly, convinced that classes would be canceled because it was so cold.
As a second semester senior, her morning routine was simple. She would study, go to class, and hang out with friends.
"I was not worried about things," Elilta said. "Blacksburg was one of the safest places on Earth, so I was just enjoying life."
At 8:50 a.m. she walked to her German class in Norris Hall 207. Elilta was looking forward to graduating, and though she didn't want to go to class because of the frigid outside air, she took her seat in the front row at 9:05 a.m., as she would on any other day.
The multiple visits from Seung-Hui Cho that morning, as he planned his attack, were serious distractions.
"The first time was innocent, the second was annoying," Elilta said. "He looked like he was looking for someone; it was that long of an interruption."
Elilta said that the distractions seemed innocent, and though it twice broke their attention, it was not until gunshots rang out in room 207 that reality set in.
"For five seconds I sat there watching him, thinking it wasn't real," Elilta said. "I didn't realize it was real until I saw blood. The last thing I remember was ducking under the desk. I was still in denial, but my body was just reacting. I was sitting in the front row, right in the middle, just staring at him."
Though Elilta suffered multiple injuries, adrenaline and shock set in while shooting was underway.
"I didn't know I was shot in the wrist until I looked down," Elilta said. "I felt being shot in the head, but not in the jaw. I was conscious throughout the entire thing, because I was so aware of what was going on. I was kind of paralyzed because of shock."
As Cho exited the classroom, only to attempt to return, Elilta found herself unable to move. She witnessed several students from her class spring to action.
"I was so surprised that Erin Sheehan, Katelyn Carney and Derek O'Dell were up and running to hold the door," Elilta said. "I wasn't able to do something like that, and I don't think I would have thought of that. If he was able to go back in, well, we saw the damage; we wouldn't be here."
Only able to look around, Elilta began to notice the extent of her injuries, though she was convinced they were all minor.
"I thought I was shot in the top of my head, because I could tell there was blood in my mouth and that I was injured," Elilta said. "The bullet is still in my head, one millimeter from my brain. If it didn't go through my jawbone, I'd probably be dead. One millimeter away from my brainstem is scary."
As shots down the hall continued, Elilta began wondering to herself when everything would end. She said that students were shouting out the windows for help, fearing Cho's return.
"Even when it was quiet, we were waiting," Elilta said. "I just wanted to get out of there. To experience all that, I just wanted to go home and be safe."
Thanks to the barricade implemented by other students, Cho was not able to reenter room 207, and police arrived on the scene shortly.
Elilta spent a month in the hospital following her injury, physically and mentally drained.
"I was so wiped out," Elilta said. "It was so embarrassing, but at the same time you have to go through it. It's so frustrating, because people don't know what you've gone through."
Elilta has since realized that her injuries were much more serious than she thought. Only one of her injuries, where a bullet grazed the top of her head, healed completely during her month in the hospital.
"My jaw was fragmented, my chin was broken, and my tongue was on fire because the bullet pierced through it," Elilta said. "I was on narcotics, and that wasn't enough. I was crying because I was in so much pain."
Elilta has since been back to campus several times, the most notable being her first return visit. Despite having not fully recovered, Elilta was able to walk at graduation in May.
"They let me out for that day and then I had to go right back," Elilta said. "I busted my ass for a week, through the intense therapy. I was out of breath after walking for two minutes. I was able to walk a mile after a week, and I was able to go to graduation and walk on the stage without any help."
Elilta has since found out that she has post-traumatic stress disorder. Though she saw multiple counselors while still in the hospital, she feels that much of her healing has best been done on her own.
In October she became involved with the Brady Campaign, speaking for tighter gun-control laws.
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My brother in law was shot dead in the Bronx, NYC. All gun control did was disarm him so he could not try to defend his life. I will not be disarmed so the next psycho has an unarmed victim. Gun control is a "feel good" solution more dangerous then the problem.
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Wow leave it to the editors to ruin a good article. An entire article is written about the horrible experience of one of the victims and how they overcame, but the editorial board seems to think the only thing important in the article is the last sentance that she wants more gun control.
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It was already illegal for a gun to be on that campus. Do people really think criminals will obey laws making it illegal to own guns?
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It's cliche, but when you outloaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. Law-abiding citizens who are legally registered to own firearms rarely commit gun-related crimes or mass shootings. It's a far lower precentage than the general population. The majority of gun crimes are committed with illegal weapons. In countries where handguns have been banned, violence still occurs with firearms, but also knives and other instruments. As has been mentioned, banning or restricting weapons only disarms the innocent.
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And its also pathetic that 98% of the article was about her experiences, but that the editorial board plugs it as a gun-control article. Shameful, you really need to learn journalism folks.
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Caleb this is article number 3 where you talk at length about Elita. Stop writing propaganda and start writing news.
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You all need to SHUT. UP. Not today.
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John, Forget "legally registered". When obtaining a firearm, a gun-owner should do all that he can to get the weapon off-paper...legal or not. Remember the 2nd Amendment's true purpose: To keep the government under control. Over 100,000,000 people have been systematically slaughtered by their own governments in the last century alone. And it often came after gun-registration/confiscation. When it comes to Keeping and Bearing Arms, people make the mistake of thinking the only bad guys they are going to need their weapon for are the common street-thug, and thus it is ok to accept things like permits, licenses, background checks and "requirements". They forget that they may have to defend themselves against one of history's most notorious killers: Governments. In fact the ONLY reason guns are an issue today, are because their are the predictable tyrants that want the people disarmed for the sake of control. If we fail to remember this, we may find ourselves going to the way of many other genocidal victims. We must get rid of the NICS, 4473s, licenses/permits. Sincerely, Brandon Stone CD'A, Idaho
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agreed Steph.
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hey Steph and ?, note that the CT published all these gun related articles today, despite being asked not to.
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Very sad that the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus crowd would be taking cheap shots at one of the survivors today. I guess anger and hatred don't take days off, April 16 or not.
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She has a personality type that freezes up instead of taking action when in mortal danger, cannot comprehend that bad things happen in the real world, and has PTSD. Typical profile for a Brady organization member.
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Time to call gun ownership obsession what it really is...a mental illness. The gun industry benefits with every new nut. The gun epidemic is America's shame.
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People are mixing apples and oranges. We need the 2nd amendment rights to be able to protect ourselves, and we also need to be more aware of people with serious mental illness.
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francis, fear of guns is a mental illness. very sad, what are you talking about? sccc was commended by vt administration today for not doing anything regarding their cause. you just keep telling yourself that disagreeing and attacking are the same thing, and putting victims out as your front when those so-called attacks come. shameful, just like the protest.
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pro2a, "very sad" is none other than Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, who has been attacking SCCC for the past week or so. Apparent jealousy that SCCC was classy enough to avoid 4/16 but his groups (like ProtestEasyGun) weren't. From recent news, it looks that most SCCC members are friends and family of victims, so I think he's being a bit hypocritical!
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Gun control is NOT the issue. Virginia Tech's refusal to spend financial resources to better address Cho's psychologial problems before he went over the edge is. Virginia Tech is all about raking in the money, but they dont want to spend any to insure student welfare. Putting the new locking system on dormitory doors was a political save face gesture, and not the answer! Taking better care of their campus watch security and police department personnel and providing them with the equipment they need to get the job done is, but tech doesn't want to spend the money plain and simple. Why is campus watch still running around with radios so old they can't hold a charge?
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I studied at Tech for a semester in 2001 and was shocked to find the toy section in Walmart in such close proximity to ammunition and weapons. My Father was in the British Army for 40 years so I am not unused to seeing weapons being carried my trained professional soldiers. Trained and professional being the operative words here. I have to agree with Francis when he says that "the gun epidemic is America's shame." America is a great country but the ease with which one can buy and use a gun is very sad. Perhaps if US gun laws were tightened tragedies like April last year would be fewer. It is certainly worth giving it a go. UK Hokie
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If you ask me this article should not have been posted. It only brought flames to the gun debate on a day for remembrance. And I can't help but wonder why she mentioned nothing of how she was promoting gun control.
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Lets make gun ownership in the USA illegal. Outlaw them outright. That way no one will have guns to kill with. Just like illegal drugs. No one gets high anymore. Look the UKs violent crime with a weapon statistics per capita after every major gun control law passed through parliament. The goal was to make it go down... It didnt. You make guns illegal, and you are only taking them out of law abiding citizens hands. Even if the mental background check system worked in Cho's case, he still could have gotten a firearm to kill with illegally. "If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?"
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