In South Jersey, Va. Tech shooting survivor makes case for change

One survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech University shooting can recall vivid images of the day she was hit by three bullets as a gunman methodically worked his way through her class, "shooting to kill."

On Tuesday, Kristina Anderson, 28, of Washington, offered chilling details of that day and shared its lessons with about 450 law enforcement officers, rescue workers, and education officials gathered at Washington Township High School for the South Jersey School Safety and Security Conference.

"Brace yourself," she recalled thinking as the gunman shot her French teacher, and then student after student. "Your turn is going to come."

She was curled up at her seat, hugging the desk with her head down. The first bullet struck her back, slicing her gallbladder, kidney, and intestines.

The gunman left, but not for long. He returned, looking for survivors. Anderson said she could not understand why a nearby student was coughing, letting on she was alive. In retrospect, she realized, the young woman was dying.

A shot was fired above Anderson's head. When she looked up, another bullet struck her lower back. She does not recall when a third bullet injured the big toe on her right foot.

The classroom assault lasted for 12 minutes before the gunman fatally shot himself as rescue workers rushed the building. In all, 32 people were killed that day. April 16, 2007, remains the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in the United States.

Anderson's eyes softened with tears Tuesday as she displayed the faces of those killed and read their names. Educating the public is part of the work she does for the Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, a Washington-based nonprofit she created to help local communities prevent school violence, respond to incidents, and heal in the aftermath.

She encouraged officials to make sure buildings have adequate exits. There should be enough doors that can be locked from the inside and out when needed, but cannot be chained to prevent escape.

Educators and police, she said, should foster an environment that encourages people to come forward when they have concerns about the odd behavior of others. Protect the identities of those making reports, she urged.

In the case of the Virginia Tech shooter, senior Seung-Hui Cho, school officials were aware of a history of mental illness and stalking incidents. His behavior in one class was so "creepy" that other students had stopped attending, Anderson said.

Recalling the shooting, she said little about the gunman, including his name.

Initially, Cho shot two students in a dorm in what police first thought was domestic violence.

As authorities investigated, Cho worked his way across campus without incident to Norris Hall, where Anderson had arrived late for class with a friend, Colin Goddard. They sat in the back, which is why Anderson thinks she survived.

Cho chained the doors to trap people inside Norris Hall. He posted notes that warned that if anyone tried to leave, their exit would trigger a bomb. Anderson recalls gunshots that got louder as Cho came toward her class.

She thought the end had come when there was silence. There was some sobbing, but not much, because most in the room were dead. Cho also wounded 17 people, and six more were injured as they escaped through narrow windows.

When SWAT officers arrived, chaos ensued. Anderson remembers lying on the floor, holding hands with her friend as she grew tired and wanted to sleep.

She heard the officers transmit the students' conditions through color codes: "We have a lot of blacks in here," one officer said. At first, she was "yellow," but quickly reassessed as "red." She would later learn the codes were for those who had died, were less severely injured, and critically injured. Goddard was shot four times and also survived.

In responding to a catastrophe, Anderson told her audience, think of the victims who are just trying to hold on for help. She said she wished the first officers sent in to assess and be sure there was not another gunman had taken just a second to tell her that medics would arrive soon. She could not move during the 30 minutes before she was scooped up and rushed outside.

After recovering from the shooting, which was in her sophomore year, Anderson said, she returned to the university and graduated on time. Other survivors did the same.

One person in the audience asked what she would say to those considering going to Virginia Tech. Without hesitation, she smiled and paid homage to her alma mater's mascot: "Go Hokies!"