Collegiate Times

Police held up a white sheet near the crime scene in the Cassell Coliseum parking lot. Officials put up white sheets to cover up the body of Deriek Crouse, the officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

“I apologize for not being able to fill in some of the blanks, but you realize this is still in the early stages of the investigation, and we’re trying to provide you with as much information as possible,” said Sgt. Bob Carpentieri of the Virginia State Police during a press conference.

“I know it’s frustrating for you, but when other information becomes available regarding the victims, we will pass it along.”

Gene Deisinger, Tech's deputy chief of police, also commented on the number of reports that came in after the initial VT Alert notifying people of alleged gunshots. 

“In an incident like this, it’s not at all unusual when you ask the community to report suspicious behaviors or any concerns they have, for police departments to be inundated, or at least receive numerous calls,” he said.

“Since the time of the second incident, there have been no other founded reports of any threats to the campus. We have responded to and investigated numerous calls of suspicious activity, community members reporting persons who matched the description that was provided to the community of the reported gunman, and none of those resulted in credible findings.”

An additional rumor connected the incidences at Tech to a rest stop on I-81 northbound being closed near Radford, but no such link has been found to this point.

“We had some reports of some suspicious activity at that location,” Carpentieri said. “We sent some troopers and agents to that location, and they’re currently processing that scene. I cannot tell you if it is related to this incident or not.”

Several hours later, when all leads from the community were proven to be unfounded, Tech released its final alert at 4:29 p.m., when it announced that there was no longer an active threat and to resume normal activities.

“I want to thank our university community — and in particular, our student body — for staying indoors,” said Larry Hinker, a university spokesman. “We asked them to stay in doors and stay secure when we sent out the VT Alerts throughout the day. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”

A candle light vigil for the police officer is going to be held tonight at 6:30 on the Drillfield, and Cook Counseling’s office in East Eggleston will be open today for students who would like counseling. 

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A version of this article appeared in the Dec 9 issue of the Collegiate Times.