My brother was supposed to start college today, but his first days of classes at Virginia Tech were cancelled because an escaped inmate (allegedly) shot and killed Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Sutphin and hospital security guard Derrick McFarland. The inmate also shot another police officer. The Virginia Tech campus is in lockdown, as a result. Welcome to college.
I don’t say that to be flippant or funny. It’s not funny. Sitting in my hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, I’m watching the news show Hokies running from Squires Student Center after an alleged sighting of the inmate. That turned out to be false. I barely remember my first day at Virginia Tech, but now the 2010 class of Virginia Tech has the memory of being forced indoors to their dorms under guard of a SWAT team because this scumbag would rather kill police officers than face charges of attempted robbery.
My thoughts today are with the deceased men and their families.