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Washington: At least 32 people, including the suspected gunman, were killed and many others were wounded at Virginia Tech university yesterday in the deadliest campus shooting incident in US history.
The rampage took place in two separate areas of the huge campus about two hours apart during the morning. Police said they believed a single gunman was responsible.
"This is a tragedy of monumental proportions," Virginia Tech president Charles Steger told reporters.
Virginia Tech campus police chief Wendell Finchum said the suspected gunman was dead and that police were trying to determine whether he killed himself or was shot by officers. "At this time we believe it's only one gunman," said Finchum.
The death toll was worse than a massacre at the University of Texas in Austin on August 1, 1966, when trained marksman Charles Whitman killed 15 people, including his mother and wife the night before, and wounded 31 others.
The first shooting at Virginia Tech, a state university known for its demanding science and engineering curriculum, was reported to campus police at about 7.15am (1115 GMT) in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory housing some 900 students. It was followed by more shooting at another campus building, Norris Hall, Steger said.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the area for treatment, he said. Virginia Tech is located in the southwest of the state.
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