Parenting

Virginia Tech Victims List

They came to Blacksburg, Va., from all over the country — and all over the world. They came to study and they came to teach. They had plans. They had friends. They had families.

As the list of confirmed victims in Monday’s massacre on the Virginia Tech campus grew, so too did the number of stories about the individuals who fell victim to the gunman, 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui of Centreville, Va.

Here is a list of the victims and some information about each person. There are some names missing from this list. They may not have been released yet.

Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, of Saugus, Mass. He was a sophomore English major who was gunned down in French class.

Jamie Bishop, 35, an instructor in German and German literature. According to his Web site, Bishop spent four years living in Germany, where he “spent most of his time learning the language, teaching English, drinking large quantities of wheat beer, and wooing a certain fraulein.”

Brian Bluhm, age unknown, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a civil engineering graduate student.

Ryan Clark, 22, from Martinez, Ga., a biology, English and psychology major. He was a resident adviser on the fourth floor of the dorm where the rampage began.

Austin Cloyd, age unknown, was a freshman majoring in international studies and French.

Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, a student from Peru who was studying international relations. He was shot during French class, according to his mother, Betty Cueva.

Kevin Granata, 45, an engineering science and mechanics professor who was married and had three children. He had served in the military and later conducted orthopedic research in hospitals before going to Virginia Tech, where he and his students researched muscle and reflex response and robotics.

Matthew Gwaltney, age unknown, of Chester Va., was majoring in environmental engineering.

Caitlin Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y., was a sophomore majoring in international studies and French, according to officials at her former school district.

Jeremy Herbstritt, 27, of Bellefonte, Pa. A graduate student in engineering, he had two undergraduate degrees from Penn State, one in biochemistry and molecular biology from 2003, and another in civil engineering from 2006.

Rachael Hill, 18, of Richmond, Va., a freshman. She had graduated from Grove Avenue Christian School. Rachel, an only child, was popular and funny, had a penchant for shoes, and was competitive on the volleyball court.

Emily Jane Hilscher, 19, from Woodville, Va., according to family friend John McCarthy. She was a freshman majoring in animal and poultry sciences and equine science. “Emily was a beautiful, talented, sweet kid who had a world of potential,” he told MSNBC.com.

Matthew La Porte, age unknown, from Dumont, N.J., a freshman majoring in university studies. He had been an Air Force cadet at Virginia Tech, according to his former platoon leader, David Wheeler.

Jarrett Lane, 22, from Narrows, Va., a senior majoring in civil engineering who was valedictorian of his high school class.

Henry Lee, age unknown, from Roanoke, Va., a freshman majoring in computer engineering.

Liviu Librescu, 76, an engineering science and mechanics lecturer. Born in Romania, he survived the Nazi Holocaust and emigrated to Israel in 1978 before moving to Virginia in 1985.

G.V. Loganathan, 51, was an Indian-born lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Lauren McCain, age unknown, of Hampton, Va. An undergraduate majoring in international studies.

Daniel O’Neil, 22, of Lincoln, R.I. A graduate student in environmental engineering, he also played guitar and wrote his own songs, which he posted on a Web site, www.residenthippy.com.

Juan Ortiz, 26, a graduate student in civil engineering from Puerto Rico, was killed while teaching a class, his father said.

Erin Peterson, age unknown, graduated in 2006 from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., along with a second victim, Reema Samatha. That is the same high school that the alleged gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, graduated from three years earlier. It was not known if Cho knew the victims.

Mary Read, 19, of Annandale, Va., according to her aunt, Karen Kuppinger, of Rochester, N.Y.
She was born in South Korea into an Air Force family and lived in Texas and California before settling in the northern Virginia suburb of Annandale, said Kuppinger.

Reema Samaha, 18, from Centreville, Va., a freshman who also performed with the school’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Her brother Omar, a Virginia Tech graduate, told NBC’s TODAY show that she was shot dead while in French class.

Leslie Sherman, age 20, a sophomore majoring in history and international studies.
“Leslie Sherman was a remarkable young lady,” an anonymous poster wrote to MSNBC.com. “Everyone looked up to her.”

Maxine Turner, age unknown, from Vienna, Va., a senior majoring in chemical engineering.

Nicole White, age unknown, of Carrollton, Va., a junior majoring in international studies and German.

All of these victims are someone’s child, sibling, spouse, or friend. EVERY person that was killed at Virginia Tech yesterday will be missed dearly. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families of all of these victims.

No one will ever know the great achievements that these victims could have achieved.

About the author

Lisa Arneill

Founder of Growing Your Baby and World Traveled Family. Canadian mom of 2 boys, photo addict, lover of bulldogs, and museumgoer. Always looking for our next vacation spot!

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