At least 32 people, including the suspected gunman, are now confirmed to have been killed and many others wounded at Virginia Tech university today 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, first at a dormitory as students had begun criss-crossing the sprawling campus for morning classes, and then about two hours later at an engineering and science hall a half-mile away.
The attacks sparked panic and chaos. Witnesses said some students were hurt jumping out the windows of the classroom building to escape the gunfire.
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 Chief Finchum.
He said it was unclear if the assailant was a student, but said that a number of the victims were. "Some of the victims were shot in a classroom," Mr Flinchum said.
A student journalist's video of the chaos was replayed repeatedly on US television networks, showing people scurrying around the campus and volleys of shots ringing out.
Students told CNN there were multiple bomb threats to the campus in the last few weeks. Two of the threats were aimed at the university's science and engineering school. A US Department of Homeland Security spokesman said there was no indication of terrorism but that it would be part of the investigation.
US police officers take up position on Clay Street on the Virginia Tech campus earlier
The death toll was worse than a massacre at the University of Texas in Austin on August 1st, 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 (local time) in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory housing some 900 students.
Some two hours later it was followed by more shooting at another campus building, Norris Hall. It was during the second incident that most of the victims are understood to have been killed.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the area for treatment, Mr Steger said. President George Bush said he was "horrified" by the shooting at Virginia Tech university.
"The President's immediate reaction was one of deep concern for the families of the victims, the victims themselves, the students, the professors and all of the people of Virginia who have dealt with this shocking incident," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
She said the federal government was monitoring the situation and while state and local authorities were investigating, federal assets were available if Virginia should request them.
Virginia Tech, with 26,000 students, is located in the southwest corner of the state, about 390 km from Washington.
The campus had been closed for one day last August during a search for another gunman, CNN reported.
"It's just shock and anger around here right now," graduate student Elizabeth Stewart told CNN, adding she saw the shootings as "freak incidents" that would not stop her attending Virginia Tech. "I love my school with all my heart and soul."
The university had already sent out an e-mail cancelling classes after the first shooting when students heard more shots, another student, Laura Spaventa, told CNN.
Classes were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday and counsellors were being brought in talk to the students.