Virginia Tech, the nation fall silent to honor victims

Story Highlights

• Cho's family being moved under FBI protection, source says
• Sources: Cho fired as many as 225 shots, using 17 clips
• U.S. Senate, NASDAQ hold moments of silence
• Wearing school colors, crowds pause to honor 32 victims killed Monday

Adjust font size:

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- Bells tolled Friday at Virginia Tech to honor victims of the deadliest shooting on a U.S. college campus, and mourners, many wearing orange and maroon, bowed their heads, embraced and held hands in a moment of silence.

Many who stopped what they were doing to honor the 32 students and faculty shot to death Monday gathered around the school's Drill Field, site of a makeshift memorial decorated with signs, flowers and mementos.

"It's good to feel the love of people around you," mourner Alice Lo told The Associated Press. "With this evil, there is still goodness." Lo told AP she is an alumna and friend of Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a French instructor killed in the massacre. (Watch mourners remember the dead as bells toll 32 times )

Among the memorial's mementos are simple stones decorated with flowers and American flags. Each stone represents a victim, and a 33rd one was added for Seung-Hui Cho, the 23-year-old gunman.

"I feel bad that you did not get help that you so desperately needed," read a handwritten note left by the stone. It was signed, "God bless, Barbara." (Watch how the memorial has become the campus' center of gravity )

Cho fired off as many as 225 shots as he gunned down his victims before turning the gun on himself, law enforcement sources told CNN Friday.

That figure is based on the number of bullets and the 17 empty ammunition magazines found at Norris Hall, one source said.

Another law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said most of the victims were shot at least three times. A doctor who treated some of the survivors Monday also said they had multiple gunshot wounds, and no one had less than three.

Governor: Tragedy felt worldwide

In an interfaith prayer service in Richmond, Gov. Tim Kaine said the tragedy had "touched hearts around the world" and urged people to "hold on to that spirit of hope and community celebrating the lives that have been lost."

In Washington, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid -- wearing an orange and maroon ribbon -- called for a moment of silence. President Bush wore an orange and maroon tie Friday to show his support, according to AP.

The busy NASDAQ trading market in New York paused for 2 minutes to send condolences to the Virginia Tech community.

Virtually every state across the nation sounded bells and had moments of silence for the victims, including Colorado, which was remembering the eighth anniversary of the shooting deaths at Columbine High School. (Read more about how Colorado plans to join Friday's day of mourning)

In the school's first sporting event since the shootings, Virginia Tech's baseball team will play Friday night against the University of Miami. A brief memorial service, including a moment of silence, will be held before the game begins at 7 p.m.

Amid the remembrances, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger announced that classes will resume on Monday.

"We will move forward in a way that will honor the memory of those we have lost," said Steger in a letter to students. (Honoring the victims)

One victim of the attack, engineering professor Kevin Granata, will be remembered at a public memorial service at 2 p.m. ET at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.

Granata was the father of three children: two sons, ages 13 and 12, and a daughter, 10. (Read how Granata was a top biomechanics researcher working on cerebral palsy)

Eight victims remain hospitalized

A woman who was wounded in the attack left Montgomery Regional Hospital on Thursday night, leaving eight other gunshot victims recovering in three area medical facilities. The hospital expects to release one or two more patients later Friday or early Saturday, a spokesman said.

A top level source at the South Korean Embassy told CNN Friday that Cho's family is being moved to different locations every day under FBI protection. Thursday, an FBI official denied the family was under protection. A law enforcement official said that the FBI is in contact with the family, however.

Cho's family left their home in Centreville earlier this week after the shootings.

Cho's sister Sun-Kyung Cho released a written statement Friday saying the family feels "hopeless, helpless and lost" and is "deeply sorry" for his "unspeakable actions." (Read more about the statement)

For some at Virginia Tech, sorrow was mixed with anger, not only at Cho for his rampage and his multimedia screed mailed to NBC, but also at the media for airing his last recorded words and images.

Peter Read, father of victim Mary Read, pleaded for media outlets to stop broadcasting the images that Cho mailed between the day's two shooting incidents.

"It's a second assault on us," he said. "It's a second assault on our children. Please put the focus back where it belongs: on these wonderful, vibrant, young human beings who were bringing so much to this world." (Watch how the airing of Cho's messages sparked an uproar )

In 2005, Cho was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice, who found he was "an imminent danger" to himself, a court document states. (Read more about "the kid who never spoke")

Cho's great-aunt, Kim Yang-soon, described Cho as "very cold" and said her niece was constantly worried about him, according to a translation from the AP.

Tools:
Save |
Print |
E-mail |
Most Popular |

Next story in U.S.

U.S.

What are E-mail Alerts? | Manage Alerts | Create Your Own

Sen. John McCain: 'Fight with me'

John McCain vowed Thursday to "shake up Washington" and said he's prepared to reach across the aisle to get the country "back on the road to prosperity and ...