Tuesday, April 17, 2007

List Of Known Deceased Victim's So Far
R.I.P * R.I.P.* R.I.P.

This information is straight from MSNBC and their website says the "information has been compiled from The Associated Press, NBC News, CollegeMedia.com (the Virginia Tech student newspaper) and other media outlets."

* Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass. He was a sophomore English major who was gunned down in French class.

Alameddine's mother, Lynnette Alameddine, said Tuesday that she was "trying to get through the day here."

Alameddine was a graduate of Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Mass.

Friends created a memorial page on Facebook.com that described Alameddine as "an intelligent, funny, easy going guy."

"You're such an amazing kid, Ross," wrote Zach Allen, who also attended Austin Prep, according to his profile. "You always made me smile, and you always knew the right thing to do or say to cheer anyone up."

Lynnette Alameddine said she was outraged by how the events were handled. "It happened in the morning and I did not hear (about Ross's death) until a quarter to 11 at night," she said. "That was outrageous. Two kids died, and then they shoot a whole bunch of them, including my son."

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* Jamie Bishop, 36, an instructor in German and German literature. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Georgia.

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* Ryan Clark, 22, from Martinez, Ga., a biology, English and psychology major. He was a resident adviser on the fourth floor of the dorm where the rampage began.

Just a month from graduation, he was a member of the Marching Virginians Band and intended to pursue a PhD in psychology. Called "Stack" by his friends, Clark carried a 4.0 grade-point average, said Vernon Collins, coroner in Columbia County, Ga.

"He was just one of the greatest people you could possibly know," Gregory Walton, a friend who graduated last year, said as he fought tears. "He was always smiling, always laughing. I don't think I ever saw him mad in the five years I knew him."

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* Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, age unknown, a French language teacher and former Montreal resident, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. She taught at Virginia Tech along with her husband, Jerzy Nowak, a horticulture professor.

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* Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, a student from Peru who was studying international relations. He was shot during French class, according to his mother, Betty Cueva.

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* Kevin Granata, 46, an engineering science and mechanics professor. He had served in the military and later conducted orthopedic research in hospitals before coming to Virginia Tech, where he and his students researched muscle and reflex response and robotics.

Department chief Ishwar Puri said Granata was one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the country, working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy.

Engineering professor Demetri Telionis said Granata was successful, but also kind. "With so many research projects and graduate students, he still found time to spend with his family and he coached his children in many sports and extracurricular activities," Telionis said. "He was a wonderful family man. We will all miss him dearly."

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* Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French, according to officials at her former school district.

“She was just one of the most outstanding young individuals that I’ve had the privilege of working with in my 31 years as an educator,” said John Latini, principal of Minisink Valley High School, where she graduated in 2005. “Caitlin was a leader among our students.”

Minisink Valley students and teachers shared their grief Tuesday at a counseling center set up in the school, Latini said.

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* Jeremy Herbstritt, age unknown, of Johnstown, Penn., according to WJAC TV. A graduate student in engineering, he had received his bachelor's degree from Penn State, WJAC reported.

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* Emily Hilscher, 19, from Woodville, Va., according to family friend John McCarthy. She was a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences.

McCarthy said she was known as an animal lover. "She worked at a veterinarian's office, and cared about them her whole life," he said.

A friend, Will Nachless, 19, said Hilscher "was always very friendly. Before I even knew her I thought she was very outgoing, friendly and helpful, and she was great in chemistry."

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* Matt La Porte, age unknown, from Dumont, N.J., a freshman majoring in university studies. He had been an Air Force cadet at Virginia Tech, according to his former platoon leader, David Wheeler.

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* Jarrett Lane, age unknown, from Narrows, Va., a senior majoring in civil engineering.

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* Henry Lee, age unknown, from Roanoke, Va., a freshman majoring in computer engineering.

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* Liviu Librescu, 76, an engineering science and mathematics lecturer. He was born in Romania, immigrated to Israel in 1978 and moved to Virginia in 1985.

An Israeli citizen, he had taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years and was internationally known for his work in aeronautical engineering.

"His research has enabled better aircraft, superior composite materials, and more robust aerospace structures," said Ishwar Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.

Librescu's son, Joe, said his father's students sent e-mails detailing how the professor saved their lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the approaching gunman before he was fatally shot.

“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” his son Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. “Students started opening windows and jumping out.”

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* G.V. Loganathan, 51, an Indian-born lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, his brother G.V. Palanivel told the NDTV news channel in India.

“We all feel like we have had an electric shock, we do not know what to do,” Palanivel said. “He has been a driving force for all of us, the guiding force.”

Loganathan, who was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai, had been at Virginia Tech since 1982.

Married with two daughters, he won several awards for excellence in teaching, had served on the faculty senate and was an adviser to about 75 undergraduate students.

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* William O'Neil, 22, of Lincoln, R.I., according to WJAR TV in Providence, R.I., which spoke with the young man's father.

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* Juan Ortiz, age unknown, a graduate student in civil engineering.

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* Mary Karen Read, 19, of Annandale, Va., according to her aunt, Karen Kuppinger, of Rochester, N.Y.

She was born in South Korea into an Air Force family and lived in Texas and California before settling in the northern Virginia suburb of Annandale, said Kuppinger.

Read considered a handful of colleges, including nearby George Mason University, before choosing Tech. It was a popular destination among her Annandale High School classmates, Kuppinger said.

She had yet to declare a major.

"I think she wanted to try to spread her wings," said Kuppinger, whose niece had struggled adjusting to Virginia Tech's large campus. She'd recently begun making friends and looking into a sorority.

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* Reema Samaha, 18, from Centreville, Va., a freshman who also performed with the school's Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Her brother Omar, a Virginia Tech graduate, told NBC's TODAY show that she was shot dead while in French class.

Her sister Rhonda added that "she was pretty much my second half, we did everything together. I looked up to her, and she looked up to me."

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* Leslie Sherman, age unknown, a sophomore majoring in history and international studies.

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* Maxine Turner, age unknown, from Vienna, Va., a senior majoring in chemical engineering.

-- I, along with everyone else, am still in total shock. The pain these families and remaining students must be feeling is immeasurable. My heart and prayers go out to everyone.


---- This also brings back so many memories of the September 1-3, 2004, Beslan (Russia) school massacre when a group of pro-Chechen Muslims took over 1,200 school children and adults hostage for 3 days. Unbelievably, 344 civilians (at least over 331) were killed including 186 children (at least 176). 344 civilians and 186 children - it doesn't even seem real or possible.

If you haven't seen "Three Days In September" narrated by Julia Roberts - you absolutely must.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

R.I.P., to all the victims of this completely senseless massacre. My heart and sympathies go out to all family and friends of the victims.

Anonymous said...

Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved. Tragic.