Some were pleased. Others, disappointed that the Virginia Tech Review Panel report stopped short of calling for the resignation of Tech officials. Many simply chose to remain silent.

Hours after the panel released the document, families of those killed and injured in the April 16 shootings reacted to its findings in various ways.

Elizabeth Hilscher, mother of Emily Hilscher, one of the first people killed in the tragedy, said she planned to take the report on vacation and spend some time "reading every word" and formulating a response. Her initial reaction, however, was one of dismay.

"From everything I've heard, there were endless opportunities to be made aware of how troubled he [Seung-Hui Cho] was," Hilscher said. "Every single time, people either ignored it or didn't act. That flabbergasts me."

The Woodville resident said she hopes people will react more quickly to troubled individuals now.

"The next step," she said, "is to take the information from the report and make some determinations of action."

Celeste Peterson, who lost her only child, Erin Peterson, said she found the report "very comprehensive" but was disappointed that it failed to hold anyone accountable.

"I'm spinning. My compass is gone. I don't have my child anymore," Peterson said.

"I'm disappointed. Virginia Tech is brick and mortar, but it is being run by people who aren't competent."

Peterson, of Centreville, said she felt "a sense of severe injustice" as she listened to Gov. Tim Kaine and Tech officials.

"This report doesn't give any indication that Tech's president and police chief should lose their jobs. That's interesting. ... I mean, we hold our children accountable. We tell them to follow rules and be responsible for their actions. And that isn't what is being played out now," she said. "Shame on them, shame on them."

Suzanne Grimes, mother of Kevin Sterne, a student wounded in Norris Hall, reacted similarly.

While generally pleased with the report, Grimes said she was "frustrated, enraged and stunned" by Tech President Charles Steger's insistence that the university did the best it could with the information it had at the time of the first shootings. She said the administration should step down.

"He needs a wake-up call, he really does," Grimes said of Steger.

"The administration of Virginia Tech clearly needs to come forward and say they've made a mistake. ... Until they do that the families of the victims, the families of the survivors, they will not rest."

Andrew Goddard, father of injured student Colin Goddard, disagreed.

"I think if Dr. Steger is replaced, you're starting over with someone who hasn't had that very traumatic learning experience," he said. "You might be going backwards. He's learned an awful lot from this. Ousting him I don't think would be a service to the deceased or to the survivors."

Goddard, of Richmond, said despite early misgivings about the state panel's objectivity, he was "generally very pleased and relieved" with the report.

Narrows resident Tracey Lane, whose son Jarrett died in the shootings, praised the panel for taking their charge so seriously.

She agreed with criticism of the administration's decision not to shut down the campus after the initial shootings.

But the report's release didn't bring her comfort, she said. "Until Tech makes an effort to change some of its policies and heed the panel's recommendations, I won't have any closure.

"They need to answer to the families of the victims and the survivors. They owe us that much."

While some families had much to say about the report, others kept mum.

Bryan Cloyd of Blacksburg, father of victim Austin Cloyd, said in an e-mail that he expected the report to be long and that "much of it will be difficult to read."

"We're going to need some time to process things before we can make any comments," said Cloyd, an accounting professor at Tech.

Peterson, likely expressing something felt by many, said that in the end no report could make up for their loss.

"The report doesn't change the fact that I hurt every day and my husband and I cry every day," Peterson said. "It is not an easy thing trying to put into simple words what my husband and I are feeling. We're devastated and lost."

Staff writers Greg Esposito, Neil Harvey and Beth Macy contributed to this report.