COLLEGIATETIMES
friday november 14, 2008 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
‘Sounds of gun shots’ are pranksters’ work RUPTURED NAIL GUN CARTRIDGE SERVES AS REAL-LIFE TEST OF UNIVERSITY’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM, VT ALERTS, WITH MIXED RESULTS Thursday’s incident at Pritchard Hall did not turn out to be a threat, but it did serve as a very real test of the university’s new VT Alerts system. Officers were dispatched at 12:43 p.m. but the first word of the incident did not go out to the campus until at least 1:35 p.m. The first messages came through e-mail and electronic message boards in classrooms. Will Bulloss, a junior civil and environmental engineering major, said he thinks the events of today proved the VT Alerts system to be inefficient and untimely. “I don’t know when the alerts were actually issued, but the police call was at 12:50 and it was on the (Virginia Tech) Web site at 1:40 and I received a text at 1:48,” Bulloss said. “I feel that that is a very inefficient system.” Communication professor Sam Riley was teaching a class in Torgersen 1010. He released his class. “I saw the scrolling thing on the wall, and we left soon after that; we did what we needed to do and took off,” Riley said. “It’s what I was going to do anyway.” Freshman Erica Davis was in class in McBryde. She said her professor was not sure how to react. “She actually had no idea what to do,” Davis said. DANIEL LIN/SPPS
Police investigate a dumpster between Pritchard and Lee Halls yesterday after responding to what residents described as sounds of gunfire. Boomer, an explosive-sniffing dog, found a nail gun cartridge nearby. Police believe the explosion to be a product of two pranksters. At least one loud bang resonated through Pritchard Hall yesterday afternoon, leading some to believe they had heard gunfire and catalyzing a rapid response from emergency services. When the police lines came down, the reality was far less dramatic: The loud noise that resulted in a call to police at 12:43 p.m. on Thursday was likely the result of a prank. Instead of gunshots inside Pritchard, the origin of the sound was a the detonation of a nail gun cartridge in a dumpster between Pritchard and Lee Halls. Two young males were seen laughing and running from the scene shortly after, according to witnesses. The two are believed to have detonated the cartridge, but have not yet been identified. Not all Pritchard residents heard the noise. “I got a text from my roommate saying ‘you can’t leave the building.’ I went and looked outside and there’s police tape everywhere. I didn’t hear anything,” said freshman horticulture major Alex Barker said.
ON THE WEB Look on our Web site for a video featuring police and University reaction. Roy Cole, a sixth floor resident, was among those who did hear the sounds. He said it sounded like a handgun, but he was not alarmed enough to call the police. Cole’s room is on the side of Pritchard that faces Lee Hall and a set of dumpsters. University spokesman Larry Hincker said in a statement that police responded quickly. “Police were on the scene within three minutes and secured the building entrances within several more minutes,” Hincker said. The building was put on lockdown. Initially, no one was allowed in or out. By 2 p.m., students were allowed to leave the building after a police officer wrote down their student ID numbers. No one was allowed back in until slightly before 3 p.m. Students reported their rooms were searched
corrections In the article, “Relay for Life organizes ‘freeze’ to raise awareness,” (CT, Nov. 13) Chris Armstrong, co-director for Relay For Life meant to say that 60 percent of cancer is preventable, not curable. The word “phenomena” in the article “Author Thomas Laird shares lessons from Dalai Lama” (CT, Nov. 12) should have been “pneumonia.” The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
inside 2008 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Look inside to find out everything you need to know about Tech basketball . Look online for a photo gallery chronicling yesterday’s incident near Pritchard Hall.
index News.....................1 Features................2 0pinions................5
Classifieds..............7 Sports....................4 Sudoku..................7
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 105
one by one. “They searched the rooms and after that a bunch of cops came through with shotguns drawn,” Barker said. “That was probably the scariest part.” Freshman Seth Locklear, a third floor resident, said he was happy with the police response. “It’s good to know that they’ll react,” Locklear said. “They had tons of people out there. They did a good job.” Those searches turned up no weapons or suspicious items, but did generate information. Hincker, in his statement, said the key lead came from interviews during the search. “While searching the building floor-by-floor and room-by-room, (the police) also interviewed witnesses who saw two persons near a dumpster between Pritchard and Lee Halls at about the same time the sounds were heard,” Hincker said. By 2:15 p.m., focus had shifted to the dumpster between Pritchard and Lee Halls. The area bounded by Pritchard and Lee Halls and Washington Street was roped off. Freshman Owen Holmes watched as police investigated. “There were 40 cops upside down in the dumpster digging around,” Holmes said. However, police officers did not locate the cause of the sounds. Initially looking for fireworks, police turned to the newest member of Virginia Tech’s police unit: Boomer, an explosive-sniffing dog. Tom Foster, Deputy Chief of Virginia Tech police, said the dog quickly found what would have taken officers hours. “Boomer is brand new. He earned his keep today,” Foster said. “We’d of had to really sift through the leaves and the debris back there to find it, but Boomer went right around there and found it immediately.” What Boomer found was the cartridge of a common nail gun used in construction and signs that it was detonated as a prank. “The casing itself is actually split open on its side — so that it would give the indication (that)
it was detonated in a nonconventional manner — it’s split down the edge,” Foster said. Hincker said in an interview that the police have formed a theory about the incident. “The belief is that it was fired mechanically, possibly by slamming the lid of a dumpster. You don’t need a firing pin to do that. They have witnesses and reports of two people,” Hincker said. Those students were reportedly seen laughing and running away following the sound. Foster said Boomer’s reaction to the cartridge implied it was detonated recently. “The fact that the dog alerted on it very quickly, and in fact alerted on it twice, probably indicates that it hadn’t been there very long,” Foster said. Foster said witnesses were very forthcoming. Police have not identified the two students, but they identified the noise as a scare, not a threat. “The students did an outstanding job of coming forward and giving this information immediately, which was very important,” Foster said. Hincker said the university had one clear feeling. “The bottom line is we are relieved,” Hincker said.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL LIN AND KELLY HARRIGAN
Police found a nail gun cartridge, similar to those above, near a dumpster by Pritchard Hall. The shells can drive nails into concrete.
POLICE CONTACT INFO Virginia Tech Police ask anyone with information about yesterday’s incident to call (540) 231-6411. Scrolling message boards in classrooms activated between 1:35 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. Emails were received by students during the same time period. Text messages were received later. Others reported they did not receive the text messages for which they had signed up. Hincker said in a statement that the VT Alerts system did not operate as well as the campus system. “While the university communications systems worked well (university homepage, campus-wide e-mail, electronic message boards in classrooms), the VT Alerts system did not perform as expected, and some messages were not delivered,” Hincker said. Bulloss, who lived in Ambler Johnston on April 16, said that he feels that his resident advisor notified him that morning more quickly than he was notified by a text message yesterday. However, Bulloss said that he does not think there is such a thing as an effective alert system, and that students need to take responsibility in protecting themselves in emergency situations. “I think that concealed carry is the most efficient way to ensure your own safety in that situation,” Bulloss said. “Police can’t be there in a blink of an eye.” University spokesman Mark Owczarski said Tech’s multiple methods of distributing information served their purpose today. “I think (the alert system) worked well,” Owczarski said. “We send out lot of messages in a lot of different ways.” He did acknowledge that not every form of communication worked in a timely fashion, but said that is not always to be expected. “I will tell you, though, that each deliv-
Alert System Response Times
2-5 seconds:
Classroom message boards
10-15 seconds:
University Web site
3-5 minutes:
Campus e-mail
30 minutes:
Text messages DAVID HARRIES/COLLEGIATE TIMES
ery method takes a different amount of time. So, for example, the classroom message boards had it within two to five seconds,” Owczarski said. “This works so well because there are a small number of sites to reach.” Owzcarski said different types of media require different timeframes. “In the case of the university homepage black box that occurs, that also appears very quickly — within 10 to 15 seconds; it’s interacting with a single Web site,” Owzcarski said. The time it takes to distribute largely depends on the amount of different sites it has to interact with. “Campus e-mail takes approximately three to five minutes to send out all 36,000 e-mails because, again, of the volume,” Owczarski said. Tech’s text message alert system did not reach all of its intended recipients, but Owzcarksi said the system is still a work in progress. “The 3n system, when working properly, will take about 30 minutes to deliver all of its messages. And that’s in part because of the nature of the technology. Text messaging, is a very primitive technology,” Owzcarski said. “It’s a very simple technology and it’s not very robust.” In a test conducted earlier this year, the system, which costs Tech $200,000 a year, performed adequately. “When we did our test, and it did work, it took about 30 minutes for all the messages — all the text messages, all the voicemail messages, to be delivered,” Owczarski said. “It is inherently a slower system. That’s why we have multiple and redundant systems — not all technology is created equal.” Owczarski said that while one system did fail today, the overall goal of informing the campus was completed. “And we’re glad, because if one of them didn’t work, as the Virginia Tech Alert system didn’t work very today, the other three work very well,” Owczarski said. “People got the message.”
— These stories were reported by Gordon Block, Caleb Fleming, Meg Miller, Ashley Oliver, Candace Sipos and written by Zach Crizer.
Hurricanes dash Tech’s ACC hopes, 16-14 T.REES SHAPIRO
campus editor MIAMI — A perfect storm brewed in the ACC this week with two teams set to clash Thursday with identical records, matching dual quarterback systems and even shots at a bid in the ACC championship. But the Hokies could not keep afloat against the Hurricanes, losing their shot at a coastal division crown by losing 14-16 Thursday night in Dolphins Stadium. “I’m proud of our football team,” head coach Frank Beamer said. “I thought we hung in there. Defensively we hung there and offensively we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to win.” Ultimately, Tech fell short due to shoddy special teams play. Lou Groza award semi-finalist Matt Bosher scored nine points on the night for Miami with field goals from 21, 31, and 23 yards respectively in a 12-minute span in the late third and early forth quarters. Tech kicker Dustin Keys, also a Groza semi-finalist, hit two PAT’s but missed his longest attempt on the season from 51 yards. Redshirt senior Sean Glennon started the game, sophomore Tyrod Taylor finished it, but both of their latest efforts in the air proved futile against Miami’s speedy defense. “The big thing is that we did not capitalize,” on offense, Glennon said. “This puts us in a in a position we don’t want to be in. We want
to be able to control our fate and we don’t anymore.” After two weeks off nursing a high ankle sprain, sophomore Tyrod Taylor completed the night six for 12 for 75 yards through the air. Taylor rushed for 75 yards but lost 32 in sacks and broken running plays, netting only 43 yards. While Miami boasts dual threats at quarterback with redshirt freshman Robert Marve and freshman Jacory Harris, Tech struggled most attempting to contain the Hurricane’s running back tandem of sophomore Graig Cooper and junior Javarris James. The Hurricanes combined for 125 yards against the Hokies 86 yards. “They just beat us overall,” Taylor said. “They played harder than us, they played a great game.” After a 15-yard roughing the passer play on defensive end Orion Martin, James banged into the end zone late in the first quarter from three yards out for Miami’s first score. Almost a quarter later Taylor, apparently healed of his high ankle sprain, zigged and zagged 14 yards to the endzone for his third touchdown rushing touchdown on the season. Yet for Taylor’s limited magic, the Hurricanes subdued redshirt freshman star Darren Evans. Evans rushed for just 43 yards on 17 carries. Last Thursday night Evans set a Virginia Tech record rushing 253 yards on 32 carries. After Tech’s defense held Miami to three consecutive field goals in the late third and early fourth quarters, Taylor reached the endzone
STEVEN ROOT/MIAMI HURRICANE
Greg Boone is dragged to the turf at the hands of a dominating Miami Hurricanes’ defense in the first quarter. Miami’s defensive speed halted Tech’s offense for most of the night. on a six yard rush for touch down with 3:28 left in the game. Miami took over on their own 22-yard line but went three and out. Miami punted deep to corner Macho Harris who called a fair catch on Tech’s 32. After gaining 8 yards on first down, the Hokies would eventually turn the ball over on downs when Tyrod Taylor was sacked on fourth and three. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series with the Hokies 17-9.
Miami now leads the ACC’s coastal division at 4-2, and 7-3 overall, with two more games to play against Georgia Tech and NC State. The Hokies 5-4, and 3-3, play Duke next week at home on Saturday before Thanksgiving break. Duke, 1-4 in the ACC, 4-5 overall, is 1-8 versus Tech in the last nine meetings, and 0-4 since Tech joined the ACC in 2004. Kick off will be at 5:30 p.m. TV Coverage will be provided by ESPNU.
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