Two families of students killed in the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech filed lawsuits against the state today, the second anniversary of the campus rampage.

The families of Julia Kathleen Pryde and Erin Nicole Peterson filed lawsuits in Fairfax County Circuit Court, according to a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Mims.

Spokesman David Clementson said he could not comment on the specifics of cases or whether the attorney general’s office has been served notice of the lawsuits. The attorney general would represent Tech and other state agencies that would be named in the lawsuits.

Thursday marked the deadline for filing legal claims against Tech and other agencies in connection with the campus shootings.

Copies of the lawsuit could not be obtained from the circuit court late this afternoon.

There was a two-year statute of limitations on lawsuits related to the shootings, and families needed to notify the state that they may pursue such legal action within one year of the shootings.

Of the 48 families that filed notices of claim with the state, leaving the option of litigation open, only two — the families of Pryde and Peterson — did not agree to a state settlement in the matter.

The families gave up their right to sue when they signed the $11 million settlement, which included financial compensation, health benefits and meetings with university and police leaders and the governor. It also required the university to create an electronic archive with documents related to the shootings and make it available to families. The settlement also covers claims against the town of Blacksburg, Montgomery County and other localities as well as the New River Valley Community Services Board.