Readers write in about that shaky V Tech timeline…

I received a lot of support on the V Tech article, for eg. :

Lila,

RE: http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/rajiva3.html

Thank you for a thoroughly informative article about the government's many
failures in the VT shootings.

I thought you might want to know that there are some published timelines that
indicate that the police dallied for over twenty minutes (maybe even close to
30), rather than 5, 9, or 11.

Here's one link I found, with others in the discussion below, that suggest
different timelines than what the major media have been reporting:

        http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn04212007.html

-- NAME DELETED

>Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:38:34 -0400
>To: NAME DELETED
>Subject: Fwd: Re: Crazed Maniacal Asian Killer
>
>
>By the way, the Times Dispatch said in a timeline they published on Sunday that
the first call actually came in at 9:21 or something.  The cops were on the
scene in two minutes (it was a brief run across the field where a hundred or so
already were at the double murder).
>
>The VT site still clouds the time they got the first call from the 2nd
building; it still says 9:45, as have several other news outlets.  I think they
know they screwed up, and they are trying to fudge the numbers in the hopes no
one notices.
>
>-- NAME DELETED

>
>>Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:17:48 -0400
>>To: NAME DELETED

From: NAME DELETED

>>Subject: Re: Crazed Maniacal Asian Killer
>>
>>
>>>>>I should have saved the links, but I didn't.  There were several articles that
said there was a 21 minute or 27 minute delay before they entered.  I do
remember one of the columnists on LewRockwell.com mentioned it.  It's eventually
going to appear -- buried -- in police reports, but by then the debate will have
shifted to gun control, and the entry delay will be off the radar like it was in
Columbine.
>>
>>I've seen it in several of the news reports.  One person can be heard saying
"why aren't they going in?" while he's capturing the video, and gunshots can be
clearly heard.  It was pretty obvious the cops were clueless, several can be
clearly seen walking around in the video, looking like they don't know where to
go or what to do.
>>
>>It may also be a lot worse than a twenty-minute delay before they went in.
Something is really fishy.
>>
>> From what NBC reports:
>>
>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18138327/
>>
>>... the second assault actually started at 9:15 am.  I presume that's when he
put the chains on the doors, and then worked his way upstairs.  According to
witnesses, the shootings began at 9:20 am.
>>
>>Yet the police say they didn't get the first call until 9:45 am.  I consider
that really friggin unlikely, given that everyone and his brother now has a
cellphone, and since there are hardwired phones in every classroom.
>>
>>http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/timeline.php
>>
>>I'm tempted to do a FOIA request for the 911 logs.
>>
>>There's probably a bunch of people who still have their cellphone logs of
their 911 calls; but I bet the cops don't release the records they get from the
cellphone companies.
>>
>>The killer apparently shot himself at about 9:50.  Something's really wrong
when a shooter can do his work for 30 minutes without a response.
>>
>>Here's a couple more timelines:
>>
>>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/timeline.text/index.html
>>
>>http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_9889.aspx
>>
>>The VT timeline says the cops took less than a minute to go in once they got
the calls at 9:45.  That may or may not be true (notice at the bottom of their
page says "Editor's Note: All times are approximate."); and that by the time
they got upstairs at 9:50, it was already over.
>>
>>The government had so many opportunities to prevent this guy from doing what
he did, and they missed every time.  Just like 9/11.
>>
>>You know, I wondered at first that this guy was railing against class and so
would have shot what looked to him like the white middle class wealthy people,
but he didn't.  It was entirely indiscriminate:
>>
>>http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20070418_VICTIMS_GRAPHIC.html
>>
>>Lost in the gun controllers hot air is the fact that politicians railing
against gun control are all surrounded by teams of well-armed footsoldiers.  See
the article I added on, below.
>>
>>NAME DELETED

>>
>>
>>
>>At 11:20 PM 4/21/2007 -0500, you wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>I have been ignoring all the crap from the media looking to find
>>>negligence on the part of the University or the police.
>>>
>>>I was very alarmed today when you said that the police waited outside of
Norris Hall for 20 minutes AFTER shots had been fired.
>>>
>>>What is the source of this information?
>>>
>>>Thank you,
>>>
>>>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Tuesday, April 17th 2007 6:22PM
>>Campus security stirs feelings of safety
>>Michelle Rivera, CT News Reporter
>>
>>Today, whether for the security for the presence of high officials or to add a
reassuring presence to a community left in a state of shock, there is an
increase in security around campus. With President Bush and other high officials
present for the convocation at 2p.m. , there was a swarm of state troopers and
other security officers around Cassell Coliseum and Lane Stadium.
>>
>>"I actually just came to campus for the convocation," said Paige Barlow,
graduate student for the Department of Fisheries. "I saw tons of officers all
over Cassell and Lane." As she walked near the Squires Student Center to get a
late lunch, she felt safe. "We're all still a little shook up, but it's nice to
know that the issue is being dealt with," she said.
>>
>>Others agreed that the presence of high officials was at least one reason for
the heightened security.
>>
>>"I think there are so many officers on campus today one, because the president
is here and two, because of the scare of yesterday's events happening again,"
said De Monh, sophomore business major. "I don't think there are too many
officers here today."
>>
>>Virginia State Troopers are present on campus streets, outside of various
buildings, and near walkways across campus.
>>
>>"I believe it was partly for the (security of) high officials, but also for a
sense of security for the students," said Debbie Wilkins, Hokie parent of two.
>>
>>Though many felt that the purpose of security was for the protection of high
officials, others felt it was for a sense of safety for all those on campus.
>>
>>Sarah Sparks, senior theater major, was walking along Kent Street beside the
drillfield and passed a congregation of state troopers. "I think it's a great
idea that there are so many policemen on campus," Sparks said. "It makes us all
feel a lot safer, and having the visual of so much security adds to our feelings
of safety."
>>
>>Though the heightened security had the positive effect of helping students
feel secure, it also made it difficult to travel around campus. "Security made
it hard to get onto the grounds to get our child," said Wilkins. She however
stuck to her opinion that security was a positive measure. "A lot of the kids
still feel scared and insecure, and with security here, at least they know that
today nothing will happen," she said.
>>
>>-- end --

My Comment

I agree that the shooting probably took half an hour.

I was just being ultra cautious in my article.

Meanwhile, I'd like to enlist support for a FOIA request.

Any takers?

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