Two dead at Virginia-Tech after shooting; veterinary college locked down

Blacksburg, Va.

— The veterinary college at Virginia-Tech is locked down after a gunman opened fire on campus killing two people.

The shooting occurred just around noon today after Virginia Tech police made a routine traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall. McComas Hall is about a quarter of a mile from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine on the Virginia-Tech campus.

During the traffic stop, the officer was shot and killed, according to university officials. Witnesses reported seeing the shooter flee on foot toward another parking lot near Duck Pond Drive. A second person was found shot and killed in that lot, according to Virginia-Tech.

The shooter is described as a white male wearing gray sweat pants, a gray hat with neon green brim, a maroon hooded sweatshirt and backpack. His identity and current status is unknown, according to the university.

The shooting locked down the campus, including the veterinary school and its hospitals, while the suspect remains at large. A source at the veterinary college says anyone who was outside when the shootings occurred were not allowed back in the buildings.

No regular classes were held at the veterinary school today due to the end of the fall term. Final exams were set to begin tomorrow, but the university announced that all exams scheduled for Dec. 9 have been postponed. The university says will make information about a new exam schedule available at a later time.

Visitors are being asked to stay away from the campus, and those at Virginia-Tech are advised to stay where they are and take shelter.