RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech said a police officer was shot Thursday and a possible second victim was reported at a parking lot near the campus, where 33 people died in 2007 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
A campus-wide alert told students and faculty to stay inside and lock doors. Authorities were seeking a suspect.
A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said initial reports indicated that the shooting occurred following a traffic stop.
The suspect was described as a white male wearing gray sweat pants, a gray hat with neon green brim, a maroon hoodie and backpack.
A message left with the university wasn't immediately returned. Campus police referred all questions to the university.
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, when a student gunman killed 32 students and faculty and then shot himself.