Virginia Tech officials might have saved lives if they had given out information on the first two shootings on campus sooner, an investigation has concluded.
The report into the April shootings that left 33 dead at the US university was released last night.
"Warning the students, faculty and staff might have made a difference. . . . So the earlier and clearer the warning, the more chance an individual had of surviving," said the report.
However, the report concluded that although alerts might have helped students and faculty to protect themselves or alert authorities of suspicious activity, a lockdown of the 131 buildings on campus was not feasible.
Gunman Seung-Hui Cho seen in a video posted to US media before his rampage
It would take 400 to 500 security officers to do the job, while only 14 of the school's 41 officers are on duty at 8am on a weekday, the report said.
Gunman Seung-Hui Cho was a student with an ID card to access campus buildings and the ability to get the same messages as everyone else, the report noted, adding he could have gained access to a dormitory or begun shooting people in the open.
"From what we know of his mental state and commitment to action that day, it was likely that he would have acted out his fantasy somewhere on campus or outside it that same day," the report said.
The eight-member panel, appointed by state Governor Timothy Kaine, spent four months investigating the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
The report also concluded that although Cho had demonstrated numerous signs of mental instability, the university did not intervene effectively. The governor's panel criticised the university's counselling centre, where Cho was referred for treatment in 2005 after a stretch of bizarre behaviour and concerns that he was suicidal.
The panel concluded that the counselling centre failed to provide needed support and services to Cho, due to a lack of resources, misinterpretation of privacy laws and passivity.
Individuals and departments at Tech were aware of incidents that warned of his mental instability in his junior year but "did not intervene effectively".
"No one knew all the information and no one connected all the dots", the report said.
Cho killed the first two students just after 7am, more than two hours before his rampage in classroom buildings across campus. It wasn't until 9.26am that the school sent the first e-mail to students and faculty. No further action was ordered.
Cho began shooting inside Norris Hall about 20 minutes later. He later killed himself.
AP