Virginia Tech gathers to remember

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Wounded by a gunman who sprayed bullets through their German class at Virginia Tech, Katelyn Carney and Derek O'Dell worked together to bar the door so he couldn't return.

With memories of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history still fresh in their minds, they and many of the other students hurt that day returned to campus yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the slayings.

Carney, who graduated in December, ran a 3.2-mile race on campus to honor the 32 people killed April 16, 2007, by troubled graduate student Seung-Hui Cho, who also took his own life.

"This is where it matters," she said as she and a friend prepared to run.

O'Dell, who walked the course, called the experience bittersweet.

"We're celebrating their lives, but remembering, too," he said. "It's difficult, but I think it's important."

Engineering student Fred Cook jumped out a second-story window in Norris Hall as his professor, Liviu Librescu, was gunned down while he barred Cho from entering his classroom. Cook hurt his ankle, but took up running when he recovered and participated in yesterday's race.

"Not a day goes by that we don't think about it," Cook said.

Most of the 12 injured students still on campus joined about 4,300 people who raced around the main section of campus on the sunny morning. The event began with the release of balloons - 32 white, followed by hundreds in the school colors of maroon and orange - and chants of "Let's Go, Hokies."

Suzanne Grimes, whose son Kevin Sterne was injured, was impressed that nearly all of the runners were students, some of whom weren't on campus two years ago.

"They came out and showed their respect," she said.

More than 2,000 people gathered later for a more somber event to remember the accomplishments of the 27 students and five faculty members killed.

"While the tragedy of April 16, 2007, touched us all, we know that 32 families continue to confront the deepest of all losses - the loss of a loved one, the loss of a life well-lived, and the loss of a bright and promising future," university president Charles Steger told the crowd.

Five of the injured students read passages during the ceremony.

"This is extremely, extremely sad," said Holly Sherman, whose daughter Leslie Sherman was killed. But she said it was helpful to see other family members again.

"We're sharing some feelings," she said. "There are benefits to having a day like this."

About 100 relatives of victims and injured students returned for the memorial ceremonies.

Events also included an open house in a new peace center that occupies a refurbished classroom wing where most of the victims died. The final event was a candlelight vigil at dusk.

Geraldine Adams, Leslie Sherman's grandmother, came from Kennewick, Wash., and found the experience healing.

"I'm so in awe of Virginia Tech," she said. "I saw all these people with pain on their faces. It fills you with humility."

The families of two students slain in the Virginia Tech massacre have sued the state, the school and its counseling center, several top university officials, and a local mental-health agency, claiming gross negligence.

Relatives of Julie Pryde and Erin Peterson are seeking damages of $10 million, according to the lawsuits filed yesterday, the last day before the statute of limitations expired, in Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court.

They were the only families who did not agree to an $11 million settlement with the state in June. The estate of gunman Seung-Hui Cho also is a defendant.

The lawsuits claim Virginia Tech failed to protect its students and is directly liable for gross negligence. They further claim the university is liable for a few of its officers and employees "who were deliberately indifferent to the safety needs of its students."

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker, also named as a defendant, would only confirm the suits had been filed.

- Associated Press

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