7:10 p.m.
From Jenna Zibton, WSLS reporter in the field
Thousands of people attended the candlelight vigil in honor of Officer Deriek Crouse, on the Virginia Tech Drillfield tonight.
The vigil was held in front of the War Memorial Chapel.
After the vigil ended, dozens went to the April 16th Memorial on the Drillfield, and paid respects to the 32 victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy.
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6:10 p.m.
Radford University sent out a statement about Ross Ashley.
The entire Radford University community sends heartfelt condolences to everyone impacted by this tragedy and offers its full cooperation with the law enforcement agencies conducting the investigation.
Click here to read the entire statement.
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6:02 p.m.
State Police named the suspect in the Virginia Tech shootings as 22-year-old Ross Truett Ashley. He was a part-time Radford University student.
Click here for the story.
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5:34 p.m.
Virginia Tech just sent out information for the public funeral for Officer Crouse:
The family will receive friends at the Horne funeral home, 1300 North Franklin Street, Christiansburg, on Sunday, Dec. 11 from 3 to 8 p.m.
The funeral service will be held Monday, Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum.
Online condolences may be left by visiting www.hornefuneralservice.com
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5:20 p.m.
Virginia Tech says President Charles Steger has ordered state flags at all university facilities to be lowered to half-mast to honor the life and service of Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek Crouse.
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5:10 p.m.
From Aaron Martin, WSLS reporter in the field
Virginia Tech vigil moved from in front of April 16th Memorial, to the War Memorial Chapel on the Drillfield.
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3:22 p.m.
WSLS's Jenna Zibton spoke with Virginia Tech students as they gathered at makeshift memorials around campus today.
Click here for the story.
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2:28 p.m.
From Scott Leamon, WSLS reporter in the field
The Virginia Tech shootings investigation has expanded into Radford and Spotsylvania County (borders Fredericksburg).
Also, the SUV stolen from a person at Radford's Gilbert Realty on Wednesday has been returned. The owner of the realty company declined an interview. Radford Police say the office was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday.
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2:21 p.m.
WSLS's Lindsey Ward takes a closer look at the national media flooding into Blacksburg to cover the shootings, and Virginia Tech's reaction.
Click here for the story.
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11:09 a.m.
More organized notes from the news conference:
State Police and Virginia Tech revealed new information about the investigation into the deadly shootings on campus Thursday.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said ballistics evidence showed the same handgun was used to kill Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek Crouse, and the second man found dead in "The Cage" parking lot. State Police asked the ATF for help to track down when and where the gun was purchased.
Geller added that a backpack was found outside the greenhouses near the sight of the officer's killing, and inside that backpack were the clothes that witnesses saw the gunman wearing. Investigators are confident that the shooter acted alone, but are still working to figure out the motive.
Geller revealed that the second victim was first spotted by a Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy, who was helping patrol on campus for the shooter. Geller said the deputy spotted a man acting "suspiciously" in "The Cage." Geller said the deputy described man "walking around, looking unusually," and that drew the deputy's attention. Geller said that the deputy lost sight of the suspicious man, as he drove toward the man's location. By the time the deputy arrived, the man had shot himself, Geller said.
Geller confirmed that the second victim was not a Virginia Tech student, but investigators are not releasing the man's name until the Medical Examiner's Office confirms it.
Virginia Tech Police say there are no surveillance cameras in the area where Officer Crouse was killed, and Chief Wendell Flinchum added that the police department did not receive any reports of students being threatened. Flinchum said he had met with Officer Crouse's family on Thursday, and planned to meet with them again today, along with Virginia Tech President Charles Steger.
Virginia Tech set up a memorial fund for Officer Crouse's family through the National Bank of Blacksburg, and planned to put additional information about the memorial fund on the university's website. The www.vt.edu website has been overloaded by web traffic for much of the past day.
On questions regarding a tie to robbery at a real estate office in Radford this past Wednesday, Geller said there is "likelihood" that the Virginia Tech shooting suspect is linked to the stolen vehicle in the Radford case, but as of Friday morning there was not enough evidence to definitively connect the two cases yet. Geller added that the stolen vehicle from the Radford case has been found, but would not say where the vehicle was located.
Chief Flinchum added that there will likely be a visible police presence on campus, as State Police and other law enforcement agencies help the Virginia Tech Police Department.
Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said the VT Alerts system worked as expected. Hincker estimated that the first alert was sent out six minutes after the Virginia Tech Police Department received the first phone call about the shooting near McComas Hall.
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10:08 a.m.
Quick notes from the news conference
Virginia Tech says the man suspected of killing officer Crouse was not a Virginia Tech student. Hincker confirms that there will be a vigil at 6:30 p.m. tonight on the drillfield. Virginia State Police ballistics tests determined that the same handgun killed officer Crouse and the male subject in the "cage" parking lot.
Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller gave an update on the investigation. The male subject apparently changed clothes near the campus greenhouses, leaving a backpack containing some clothes outside the greenhouses. A Montgomery Co. Sheriff's deputy spotted a male suspect in the cage parking lot, drove towards him, lost sight of him, and later found him on the ground, suffering from a gunshot wound that was apparently self-inflicted.
Geller added that additional forensics and toxicology tests are ongoing. The investigation is working to determine motive for these events. VT Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said that he met with Crouse's family yesterday. Funeral arrangements are underway. The National Bank of Blacksburg has set up a memorial fund; VT.edu will have a link to that fund later today. He thanked the community for their support. Larry Hincker added that VT has made counselling available to students and faculty in response to this event.
State Police know of no connection between Crouse and the shooter at this time. Police say there is "a likelihood" that the suspect is connected to a car stolen in Radford. That car has been recovered. Geller added that Crouse did not return fire with his assailant. Crouse had stopped a male Virginia Tech student in a silver Honda. Geller said that male student had no connection to the assailant, and has been "very cooperative" with the investigation.
Larry Hincker said the VT alert system worked exactly as expected yesterday. The first warning sent yesterday was by Virginia Tech police, approximately 6 minutes after they got the first report of an incident. Geller would not comment on the mental state of the suspected shooter. Geller said they are still working on the history of the shooter, but have found nothing so far to connect him with Virginia Tech. She added that the Sheriff who spotted the suspected shooter in the parking lot did not see him shoot himself, having lost visual contact while approaching his location. The suspected shooter was not carrying any identification.
Crouse was driving an unmarked Crown Victoria yesterday. The dash cams in the car are activited whenever the car's police lights are turned on. Geller could not confirm any details of the shooter's identity, including age, connection to the area, etc. Police are working to positively identify the suspected shooter, contact his family, and provide his identify to the public. Geller pointed out that additional calls about shots fired and suspicious activity came in yesterday, even after the shooter apparently took his own life. That's one reason why officers were searching buildings on campus, talking to students, etc. The dash cam on Crouse's car has a microphone, it's unclear at this time what sound it captured.
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10:05 a.m.
News conference is running a bit late. We'll carry it live as soon as it starts.
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9:37 a.m.
Blacksburg Transit schedules for the day have changed slightly. http://www.blacksburg.gov/index.aspx?page=791 for more.
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9:25 a.m.
Virginia Tech is holding a news conference at 10 a.m. WSLS-TV and WSLS.com plan to have live video of that event.
There's a Facebook drive to get presents donated to the Crouse family. Click here for more information on that.
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8:16 a.m.
State Police say they will hold a press conference mid-morning Friday concerning Thursday's deadly shooting at Virginia Tech.
New details emerged overnight. State police confirm the two victims were shot with the same handgun. Police tell us there are no threats to students or staff at Virginia Tech. Investigators recovered a backpack near the greenhouses on campus.
State police say the clothing found inside is similar to what a man was seen wearing in the officer's dash cam video. Here is what else we know happened.
The shooting took place around noon, after a campus police officer made a routine traffic stop in a parking lot near McComas Hall.
During the stop, a gunman unrelated to that stop walked up to the officer, shot and killed him. That officer has been identified as Deriek Crouse of Christiansburg.
He's a 39-year-old army veteran who joined the Virginia Tech police department back in 2007.
A second person was later found dead in the "cage parking lot," along Duck Pond Road.
Officials have alluded that this is the suspect but that information is not confirmed. The body has been sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
We do want to point out that police do not have a motive at this time. It's still unclear if Crouse was targeted.
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