BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Two people, including a police officer, were shot dead Thursday at Virginia Tech, where 33 people were killed in 2007 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, a university spokesman said.
Officials warned everyone to seek shelter while an armed suspect was at large on the campus.
"We don’t know if the suspect fled or the extent of the injuries to the suspect or to the officer," NBC News’ Pete Williams told msnbc cable TV earlier.
"This was a traffic stop on campus," Williams said. "It was not someone walking around firing shots."
A Virginia Tech alert described the suspected shooter as a white male wearing gray sweat pants, a gray hat with a neon green brim and a maroon hoodie, and carrying a backpack.
A Virginia Tech alertposted on the school's website said the suspect was last seen walking toward McComas Hall, which is the main gym on campus, about two blocks from Lane Stadium.
The shooting came the same day as Virginia Tech was appealing a $55,000 fine by the U.S. Education Department in connection with the university's response to the 2007 rampage.
In the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, 33 people, including the mentally ill gunman, were killed on the Virginia Tech campus on April 16, 2007. The massacre in a classroom building began at 9:40 a.m. when Seung-Hui Cho chained the doors and killed dozens before committing suicide.
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
