thedrifter
04-17-07, 07:35 PM
Air Force ROTC cadet killed in Va. massacre
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 17, 2007 17:11:44 EDT
A 20-year-old Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps sophomore was among those murdered Monday in the nation’s worst-ever campus massacre.
Matthew La Porte, of Dumont, N.J., was shot and killed in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shooting spree that left 32 others dead, including the gunman.
More details about La Porte will be available when university leaders clear the training corps office to speak, said Capt. Jennifer Amato of Virginia Tech’s Air Force ROTC program.
According to the profile La Porte created on MySpace, a popular online socializing network, he was a heavy metal fan, former lifeguard and military school graduate.
La Porte attended Carson Long Military Institute starting in 1999 and, according to the Web site, was still close with other alumni. He enrolled at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, after graduating in 2005.
The cadets and cadre of the Virginia Tech Army ROTC program were unharmed in the shooting, program commander Col. Christopher St. Jean said.
Police at Virginia Tech believe the gunman was Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English major undergraduate and resident alien born in South Korea. Authorities say he shot and killed 32 students and faculty — likely with handguns — before committing suicide as police closed in. Officers are still establishing a motive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ellie
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 17, 2007 17:11:44 EDT
A 20-year-old Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps sophomore was among those murdered Monday in the nation’s worst-ever campus massacre.
Matthew La Porte, of Dumont, N.J., was shot and killed in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shooting spree that left 32 others dead, including the gunman.
More details about La Porte will be available when university leaders clear the training corps office to speak, said Capt. Jennifer Amato of Virginia Tech’s Air Force ROTC program.
According to the profile La Porte created on MySpace, a popular online socializing network, he was a heavy metal fan, former lifeguard and military school graduate.
La Porte attended Carson Long Military Institute starting in 1999 and, according to the Web site, was still close with other alumni. He enrolled at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, after graduating in 2005.
The cadets and cadre of the Virginia Tech Army ROTC program were unharmed in the shooting, program commander Col. Christopher St. Jean said.
Police at Virginia Tech believe the gunman was Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old English major undergraduate and resident alien born in South Korea. Authorities say he shot and killed 32 students and faculty — likely with handguns — before committing suicide as police closed in. Officers are still establishing a motive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ellie