Tuesday, April 17, 2007

First List of Names of Deceased Virginia Tech Massacre Victims, Heroes and Remembrances - Continuously Updated

Virginia Tech and other officials have released the first list of confirmed victims' names, all of whom have had their next-of-kin notified.

Stay tuned to this website for continuously updated reports, plus profiles of the Virginia Tech shooting victims.

Regular updates with complete coverage are updated throughout the day at the Virginia Tech Massacre links and resources page (last updated on Friday, April 20, 2007 at 6:35 p.m. EST).

One of the victims was engineering science and mathematics professor Liviu Librescu, who was 76 years old. But he was much more than that. He is everything you would admire from a teacher and person, his students and fellow professors said.

He is also a geniune hero. Mr. Librescu survived the holocaust, but he gave his life on Monday to save the lives of his students.

As Cho Seung Hui tried to enter the classroom, Librescu held the door shut with his body as long as he could, allowing numerous students to jump out the windows, saving their lives. Seconds later, Librescu was shot through the door in the back and died on the scene. There is a special place in heaven for this amazing man.

Ironically, Librescu died on Holocaust Remembrance Day. His life not only served as an example of a man who survived Hitler's holocaust while a teen in Romania, came to the United States via Israel and went on to teach students at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, but it also shows how far some teachers will go to protect their students.

Librescu gave his students guidance and knowledge to succeed in life and they will hopefully carry on in his memory and promote humanity in times of unspeakable human cruelty around the world. I never knew you, sir, but I feel like I do. You are an American Hero.

Latest list of Virginia Tech victims who are confirmed deceased (sources include Virginia Tech University and The Houston Chronicle):

- Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez, Ga., biology and English major (shown above with marching band)

- Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass.

- Christopher James Bishop, 35, who helped run an exchange program.

- Jocelyn Couture-Nowak, a French instructor and head of the horticulture department at Virginia Tech. Nowak was the one of the first to die in Norris Hall when the gunman reportedly entered the classroom and shot Nowak execution style.

- Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, killed in his French class, was from Peru.

- Kevin Granata, age unknown, engineering science and mechanics professor (pictured on the right).

- Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., a sophomore majoring in international studies and French.

- Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa.

- Emily Jane Hilscher, a 19-year-old freshman from Woodville, Va.

- Jarrett L. Lane - his age and status at Virginia Tech not yet known. Stay tuned for more updates.

- Matthew J. La Porte, 20, a freshman from Dumont, N.J.

- G.V. Loganathan, 51, civil and environmental engineering professor.

- Daniel O'Neil, 22, sophomore.

- Juan Ramon Ortiz, a 26-year-old graduate student in engineering from Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

- Mary Karen Read, 19, of Annandale, Va.

- Minal Hiralal Panchal of Mumbai, India, Graduate Student, Architecture

- Waleed Mohamed Shaala originally from Egypt, resident of Blacksburg, Virginia, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

- Rachel Hill of Glen Allen, Va., Freshman, Biology

- Mary Read of Annandale, Va., Freshman, Interdisciplinary Studies and Elementary Education

- Matthew Gwaltney of Chester, Va., Environmental Engineering

- Austin Cloyd of Champagne, Il., Freshman, International Studies and French

As of Saturday, April 21, this list is still being updated, stay tuned for complete profiles of each victim and what can be done to honor their memory forever.