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Crime

The Massacre at Virginia Tech: The day after

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Tuesday 5:30pm Update: The killer Cho Seung-Hui’s roommate, Karan Grewal is desi. This is what he had to say on Cho on the morning of the fateful day.

His face was blank, expressionless. “He didn’t have a look of disgust or anger,” Grewal said. “He never did, there was always just one look on his face.”
……….
“My impression was that he’s shy,” said Grewal, 21, an senior accounting major who lived in a room across the hall. “He never looked anyone in the eye. If you even say. ‘Hi,’ he’d keep walking straight past you.”

Tuesday 4:30pm Update: Minal Panchal, the missing Indian student has been confirmed dead. Minal, a student of Rizvi College of Architecture in Mumbai, also maintained a profile on Orkut that people are using to convey their condolences.

Tuesday 4pm Update: Nothing new to report but I came across this heart warming gesture by some Marshall University students. Playing off a popular line from the recent movie “We are Marshall” and a popular school chant, Marshall University students create a banner for Virginia Tech.

Time off from my updates for a minor media rant. WDBJ7 from Roanoke, Virginia is reporting that the killer Cho Seung Hui received a speeding ticket on April 7th. My question: Why is this news? What will they report on next? His lunch menu?

Tuesday 3pm Update: What does “Ismail Ax” (written on killer’s arms) mean? (from Hot Air)

You probably already know this, but in James Fennimore Cooper’s story “The Prairie,” the settler Ishmael Bush, who is attempting to escape from civilization, sets out across the prairie with two key tools, a gun and an axe. Each has a symbolic meaning. The axe — which can either kill or provide shelter — stands for both creation and destruction. Given that the VT killer was an English major, might this be the likely meaning of the words on his arm? Just my two cents.

Rest of today’s updates after the jump

Tuesday 1:30pm Update: Sorry for the half hourly update but it is now feared that an Indian student, Minal Panchal, from Mumbai, is missing and feared to be among the casualties. Also the Indian Embassy is sending an official to provide assistance to the community in Blacksburg.

Tuesday 1pm Update: The Indian Student Association of Virginia Tech confirms that currently there no known casualties among Indian students.

Dr. Loganathan’s colleague Dr. Mallikarjun’s reminisces of his departed co-worker and fellow Indian.

I’ve known Prof. Loganathan rather well. In fact, I have lost a good friend and the university an excellent teacher,’ said Prof. Kumar Mallikarjunan, associate professor in the biological systems engineering department. ‘He was always ready to help and very popular among the students and faculty at Virginia Tech,’ Mallikarjunan told IANS about his late colleague, who was with the civil and environmental engineering department.

One of Dr. Loganathan’s students, Prashanth, fondly remembers him as a good teacher and even better human being.

Dr. Loganathan was my Master’s thesis advisor. He was also a friend and mentor. I am still unable to believe that he is no more. Words escape me at this stage. When we would work late nights, his younger daughter would call him to wish him good night. He is a great teacher and very patient. A humble and kind man. He taught me and countless others Advanced Hydrology and he died teaching that course.

Vice President of the Indian Student Association of Virginia Tech, Amit Chandra Agarwal on the mood prevalent there after the shootings:

‘This is a quiet, peaceful place, full of students from all over the world. The shootout and the loss of lives have really shocked us. We will be holding prayer meetings for the deceased later in the day,’ he added.

The official account of Prof. Loganathan’s last minutes:

However, it has been confirmed that Dr. G.V. Loganathan was shot and killed yesterday while teaching in Norris Hall. Evidently, the gunman entered multiple classrooms and systematically shot at students and faculty. The CEE 5324 Advanced Hydrology class was invaded by the gunman and there are multiple casualties among the students.

Dr. Loganathan’s family will travel to Virginia to perform his last rites. Thoughts and prayers are with them.

In a chilling revelation on the killer’s last thoughts, the investigators found a note left by the killer (tip Karthik via email).

Tuesday 11am Update: Liviu Librescu the 75-year-old Israeli professor who was one of the three faculty who were killed in the shooting saved serveral lives before being shot. He was also a holocaust survivor from Romania.

Also, Boing Boing (tip Anantha via email), talks about how another student, Wayne Chiang, with a passion for guns was mistakenly identified as the killer by “some” bloggers. A classic demonstration of an online lynching of a minority because of mistaken identity.

The VT Killer
img: via ABC
Tuesday 10am Update: ABC is reporting that the Norris Hall killer, there are theories that say there could be 2 different killers, was a student of South Korean origin, Cho Seung-Hui, who completed his high school in Virginia and was a permanent resident of the United States.

Tuesday 8am Update:
Prof. G.V.Loganathan
img: VT.edu

An Indian professor was among those killed in what is being described as the worst campus shooting in US history.

Indian Professor GV Loganathan, 51, was among those killed at the Norris Hall in the university campus. Loganathan is from Tamil Nadu and completed his BE from Madras University. He later did his MS from IIT Kanpur and PhD from Purdue University.

The unofficial toll so far is as follows (from Wikipedia):

First shooting: West Ambler Johnston Hall Dormitory

* Ryan C. Clark, 22, a senior from Augusta, Georgia in Biology, English and Psychology. A resident advisor at the West Ambler Johnston Hall Dormitory, he was killed in the dormitory as he rushed over to investigate what was going on when he came upon the gunman, according to a student who lives on the fourth floor, where the first shootings took place.[29]
* Emily J. Hilscher, 18, a freshman from Woodville in Rappahannock County, Virginia.[30]

Second shooting: Norris Hall Engineering Building

* Ross Alameddine, a student from Saugus, Massachusetts.[2]
* Caitlin Hammaren, a sophomore in International Studies and French.[33]
* Matt (Matthew[34]) La Porte, a freshman from Dumont, New Jersey in University Studies.[33][35]
* Jarrett Lane, a senior from Narrows, Virginia in Civil Engineering.[33][35]
* Henry Lee, a freshman from Roanoke, Virginia in Computer Engineering.[33][35]
* Juan Ortiz Ortiz, a graduate Puerto Rican student in Civil Engineering.[33][35]
* Daniel Pérez-Cueva, a student from Peru in International Relations.[36]
* Mary Read, a freshman from Annandale, Virginia.[37]
* Reema Samaha, a freshman from Centreville, Virginia.[33][35]
* Leslie Sherman, a sophomore in History and International Studies from Springfield, Virginia.[33][35]
* Maxine Turner, a senior from Vienna, Virginia in Chemical Engineering.[33]
* Christopher Jamie Bishop, an instructor killed while teaching a German class.[35][38]
* Kevin Granata, a professor.[32]
* Liviu Librescu, a professor killed while holding off the gunman so his students could escape out the window.[32][39]
* G. V. Loganathan, a professor.[33]
* Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a French teacher.[40]

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