Newtown Students At Virginia Tech All OK

By John Voket

The almost incomprehensible reality of this week’s tragic mass murder at Virginia Tech hit home for Newtown native Kara Whipkey, when she turned on the television and saw her close friend and future roommate being carried by SWAT officers from the fated engineering building like a bloody rag doll. According to reports, Kristina Heeger, of Fairfax Va., was shot in the back in her class at Norris Hall.

The bullet struck her kidney and colon and surgeons removed two-thirds of one of her kidneys, according to one news report. Ms Whipkey contacted The Newtown Bee Wednesday to talk about the incident, which officials say is the largest mass shooting in modern US history.

She is among four Newtown students attending the university where the mass shootings occurred between about 7:15 and 11 am April 16. None of those local students, including Ms Whipkey’s current roommate, Katie Hewig, and two others, Katherine Eaton and Peter Stephenson, were apparently directly involved in the situation.

Ms Eaton’s parents, David and Connie, said neither they nor their daughter wanted to discuss the incident, but the local couple did confirm their daughter was all right when contacted Tuesday.

Mr Stephenson, who graduated from Newtown High School in 2005, could not be contacted at press time. But he was not listed on any media releases identifying victims.

The chain of events began early Monday morning at the Blacksburg campus when police say student Cho Seung-Hui, 23, entered the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory and shot a female student and resident assistant who came to her aid. Assuming the incident was an isolated domestic matter, campus officials began the process of investigating and searching for the alleged gunman.

Shortly after that shooting, Ms Whipkey was awakened by Ms Hewig and told to go with her outside. It was then she learned about the first shooting.

Upon returning to her dorm a few buildings away in Neuman Hall, Ms Whipkey said she went online and concurrently saw a news flash about the second wave of shootings, and received a school intranet bulletin warning students to lock down where they were and remain there until being released by campus authorities.

What she learned in the ensuing few hours has since been reported almost continuously worldwide. Approximately two hours after the first shooting at Virginia Tech, the gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, walked into Norris Hall, an engineering facility, and killed 30 more students and staff members before turning the gun on himself.

Ms Whipkey believes her friend was one of the survivors in one of two language classes that were occurring at the time. While the Newtown student was scheduled to be in an adjacent classroom building at the same time, she had decided earlier to remain in her room to finish a paper.

“If I didn’t stay in my room to finish a paper that was due, I would have been two buildings away in McBryde Hall,” Ms Whipkey said. “That’s just too close for comfort.”

In the ensuing few hours before the campus lockdown was rescinded, Ms Whipkey learned through various media reports that her close friend was among the victims.

“You don’t know what it’s like to turn on the TV and see your friend being carried out all bloody,” Ms Whipkey said. Once she determined that her friend had survived and was stable, Ms Whipkey took another student up on the offer to leave and stay temporarily off campus.

But she returned Tuesday evening to join hundreds of other students, families, and university staff for a candle light vigil that Ms Whipkey said was a life-altering experience.

“My perspective shifted at that ceremony,” Ms Whipkey said. “That vigil, I think, was the first time everyone involved was able to turn away from this unimaginable tragedy and turn to each other. When I saw all those people and all the support we were getting, it really brought out our school pride.”

In the weeks and years to come, Ms Whipkey said she realizes she will be among many university residents and workers who will be associated with this historic tragedy, and admitted at first that she was “scared to go back.”

“I had a lot of questions but it’s my school,” she said. “It’s hard to imaging Virginia Tech is going to be associated with this terrible thing when it’s such a beautiful place full of beautiful people.”

In the hours following the shootings, Ms Whipkey said it was difficult to get phone service, but she was able to get the word to her parents back in Newtown that she was all right. Her mother Linda said her daughter has been on an “emotional rollercoaster,” since the shooting, and may be returning home temporarily to visit this weekend.

But there is no doubt in this Virginia Tech student’s mind where she will end up once classes resume, presumably next week.

“Virginia Tech is gonna coma back from all this,” Ms Whipkey vowed. “We’re all going to be there for each other and hopefully we’ll all get over this.”