Thursday, January 22, 2009
Student stabbed to death at Va. Tech
Police said the suspect and victim had a relationship, but its nature was unclear.
Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
Police and officials gather in the lobby of Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center on Wednesday. Police said a female resident was stabbed in the center's Au Bon Pain coffee shop Wednesday night.
The Roanoke Times
BLACKSBURG -- A female resident of Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center was stabbed to death Wednesday in the center's Au Bon Pain coffee shop at 7:06 p.m. in an apparent domestic assault, authorities said.
The suspect, a male graduate student who lives off campus, was taken into custody in the coffee shop when police arrived at 7:10 p.m., Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.
Neither the victim nor the suspect was being identified Wednesday night pending notification of the victim's next of kin. Both are international students from Asia, Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said.
Police said the two had a relationship, but its nature was unclear. No details of what happened in the coffee shop were being released. Flinchum said police recovered a knife at the scene.
Police were still interviewing witnesses, including those who were in the cafe at the time, and no charges had been brought against the suspect Wednesday night, Flinchum said.
The university sent out two messages through its emergency alert system. Hincker said the system has about 30,000 subscribers, who can choose to have messages delivered by e-mail, text or other means. The system sent some 40,000 e-mail messages Wednesday night alone.
Police also received a report of shots fired at the neighboring Squires Student Center, but that turned out to be unfounded.
The Graduate Life Center at the intersection of Otey Street and College Avenue opened for the 2005-06 school year in the former Donaldson Brown hotel as Tech's first graduate student housing area. It houses more than 100 students.
Sophomores Lina Garada and Melissa Lawall said they were in the gym when a friend told them about the incident. About a half-hour later they received a text alert that confirmed the news.
"I still don't understand how it happened," Lawall said.
Garada, a Richmond native, said she's used to hearing news of violent acts in her home city but wouldn't expect it in Blacksburg. She said it's unfortunate for such an incident to occur on students' second day back to class after winter break.
Graduate student James Allen received multiple text alerts about the incident while he was in Squires Student Center.
"Hate to say it, but unfortunately we've gotten used to this kind of thing after April 16, but it is sad though," Allen said.
On April 16, 2007, student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 students and faculty before turning a gun on himself.
Allen said all he can do now is trust that the school and university police have the situation under control, since the alert said that police had a suspect in custody.
Staff writer Neil Harvey contributed to this report.
tonia.moxley@roanoke.com 381-1676
lerone.graham@roanoke.com 381-8621
