Beyond Sadness

Remembering Virginia Tech's Shooting Victims
NPR.org, April 17, 2007 · When a gunman opened fire in a classroom building on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, he took the lives of at least 30 people, including students and faculty members. Two more students died in an earlier shooting at a dorm. Here, a brief look at those victims whose names have been confirmed by NPR:


Ross Alameddine
Sophomore, English Major
Age: 20
Alameddine was from Saugus, Mass. A memorial page on Facebook.com describes him as "an intelligent, funny, easygoing guy." Alameddine was killed in the classroom building at Norris Hall, Robert Palumbo, a family friend, told the Associated Press. Photo from Facebook.com.





Christopher James Bishop
German Instructor
Age: 35
Bishop was teaching in a classroom in Norris Hall before he was killed. He moved to Virginia Tech in 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bishop, known as Jamie, also had worked as a freelance graphic artist, designing digital art covers for a number of books, according to his Web site. He enjoyed "working with and researching digital photography, designing websites and multimedia projects, and investigating new technologies," according to the Virginia Tech Web site. He was a graduate of the University of Georgia.


Jacques Morin, Who Worked With 'Jamie' Bishop at the University of North Carolina: Bishop Was Usually 'The Happiest Person You Will Ever Find'



Ryan Clark
Senior, Biology, English and Psychology Major
Age: 22
Clark, of Columbia County, Ga., was one of the first two victims killed at the Virginia Tech campus on Monday. He was a student resident adviser at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory, where he was gunned down. Known by the nickname "Stack," Clark was a senior, just a month away from graduation, with a triple major in biology, English and psychology. He was active in the school's "Marching Virginians" band. He had hoped to pursue a doctorate in psychology. Photo from Facebook.com


Denise Aspell on Her Friend Ryan Clark: ‘He Would Always Make You Smile’



Daniel Perez Cueva
Student, International Relations Major
Age: 21
Perez Cueva's mother, Betty, said her son, a native of Peru, was killed while in French class. His father, Flavio Perez, lives in Peru. According to an Associated Press report, Perez was trying to get a humanitarian visa from the U.S. consulate following his son's death.


Hugo Quintero: Daniel Perez Cueva 'Was a Great Friend'



Kevin Granata
Professor, Engineering Science and Mechanics
Age: 45
Granata had served in the military and later conducted orthopedic research in hospitals before coming to Virginia Tech. He and his students researched muscle and reflex response and robotics. Ishwar Puri, head of the school's engineering science and mechanics department, says Granata was one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the country, and was working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy.


Ishwar Puri on Kevin Granata: He Was a Top Researcher, 'a Good Husband and a Fine Father'



Caitlin Hammaren
Sophomore, International Studies and French Major
Age: 19
Hammaren, who graduated in 2005 from Minisink Valley High School in Slate Hill, N.Y., was a talented musician, said Dr. Martha Murray, superintendent of Minisink Valley Central Schools. Hammaren played the violin and sang. She also was a strong student and wanted to go into international politics, Murray said. "She actually has been described as someone who was like a magnet for other kids and a role model. Always very positive," Murray said. Students at the high school have talked about Hammaren in their classes, and school officials are trying to do what her father told Murray he wanted them to do: "Celebrate her." Photo from Facebook.com.


Dr. Martha Murray on Caitlin Hammaran: ‘She Was a Wonderful Music Student’



Emily Hilscher
Freshman, Animal and Poultry Sciences Major
Age: 19
A native of Woodville, Va., Hilscher was a 2006 graduate of Rappahannock County High School. She was known around her hometown as an animal lover, and had worked at a veterinarian's office there. On a memorial page on Facebook.com, Lauren Kintner of Virginia Tech recalled, "Emily was amazing. She was so filled with life and always had something wonderful to say or was always making me smile." Hilscher was one of two people shot at the Ambler Johnston dorm; the other was Ryan Clark. Photo from Facebook.com





Jarrett Lane
Student
Age: 22
Lane was valedictorian of his high school class in Narrows, Va. According to Lane's friend, Justin Waldron, the school put up a memorial to Lane that included pictures, musical instruments and his athletic jerseys. Lane played the trombone, ran track, and played football and basketball. Waldron said in a Facebook entry that Lane was "loved by all and hated by none." Photo from Facebook.com





Matthew LaPorte
Freshman, University Studies Major
Age: 20
LaPorte was a 2005 graduate of Carson Long Military Institute, a private boys' school in New Bloomfield, Pa., that offers military training, according to its alumni association's Web site. Photo from Carson Long Military Institute.





Henry Lee
Freshman, Computer Engineering Major
Age: 20
Lee attended William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Va. A high school friend of Lee told Roanoke.com that he was shy at first, but once he became your friend, "he was the most wacky and funny and spastic person," Amanda Theller said. Lee, who was the salutatorian of his class, was reluctant to speak at his graduation in June, friends and his principal, Susan Willis, told the Web site. But he was talked into giving the speech, which made Willis cry. Willis said the saddest thing about Lee's death is that "the world is going to miss what he had to offer."Photo from Facebook.com


Tequila Cooper, Henry Lee's Friend Since Middle School: He Was 'Always Smiling, Always Helpful'



AP Photo
Liviu Librescu
Professor of Engineering
Age: 76
Librescu, an engineering science and mathematics lecturer, was among the victims at Norris Hall. Students say Librescu tried to keep the gunman from entering the room so that others could jump out of the windows to save themselves.

Born and educated in Romania, Librescu was internationally known for his research in aeronautical engineering. He was a Holocaust survivor. Monday was Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. Engineering department head Ishwar Puri said Librescu, who was born in a communist country, had a "great thirst for freedom."


Ishwar Puri on Liviu Librescu: 'He Was a Giant' as a Scholar



G. V. Loganathan
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Age: 51
Loganathan was born in southern India and had been a professor at Virginia Tech since 1982. He taught courses in hydraulics, hydrology and water resources engineering and was a core adviser for undergraduates in the department. His students described him as one of their favorites, and he received several awards for excellence in teaching. On a Virginia Tech Web site, one colleague, Dr. William Knocke, described Loganathan as "truly one of the most outstanding classroom educators within the College of Engineering."


G.V. Loganthan's Colleague, Mark Widdowson, Says He Was ‘The Kind Of Person You Love to Work With’



Erin Nichole Peterson
Freshman, International Studies Major
Peterson was a basketball standout at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., and was inducted into the National Honor Society as a high school senior in 2005. Peterson's high school basketball coach, Pat Deegan, said she was a good student and excellent athlete, who "made it her business to make everyone around her a better person." He said members of the basketball team shared anecdotes about how Peterson reached out when they were new to the school or nervous about playing their first varsity game. Peterson played on the varsity team for three years and was captain her senior year. Seung-hui Cho, identified as the gunman by police, attended the same high school.


Pat Deegan on Erin Peterson: 'She Made It Her Business to Make Everyone Around Her a Better Person'



Reema Samaha
Freshman
Age: 18
Samaha was from a close-knit Centreville, Va., family of Lebanese descent. She loved acting, dance and drama and was studying French, said Luann McNabb, a family friend. Samaha was close to her older brother and sister, and her family traveled to Beirut to visit her mother's family almost every summer. Samaha had attended Westfield High School, where she won a talent show last year with a belly dance, McNabb said. Victim Erin Peterson and gunman Seung-hui Cho attended the same high school. Photo from Facebook.com


Luann McNabb on Reema Samaha: 'Reema Had a Love of Life That Was Infectious'



Leslie Sherman
Sophomore, History and International Relations Major
Sherman graduated in 2005 from West Springfield High School in Springfield, Va. Her friend Buddy Miller, also a sophomore at Virginia Tech, said Sherman wanted to join the Peace Corps after college. Sherman loved the Russian language and Russian history, Miller said. He described her as someone who was always happy and optimistic.


Leslie Sherman's Friend Buddy Miller: She 'Was So Selfless, Was Always Nice'



Maxine Turner
Senior, Chemical Engineering Major
Turner was from Vienna, Va.