 |
 |
 |
|
|
Prof. Liviu Librescu (photo: Virginia Tech site)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By israelinsider staff and partners April 17, 2007 |
|
| |
 Bookmark to del.icio.us |
| |
A 75-year-old Israeli professor and Holocaust survivor was killed in the massacre at Virginia Tech on Holocaust Memorial Day, Monday when he leaped between the gunner and his students.
According to eye witnesses the heroic action of Liviu Librescu, a lecturer in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, saved the lives of an unknown number of students in his class. Asael Arad, an Israeli Virginia Tech student told Army Radio that "all the students lived -- because of him," The Jerusalem Post reported.
Librescu's wife told the NRG Web site that her husband had loved his job with "all his heart and his soul."
Librescu was a gifted scientist in Communist Romania, and the government tried to prevent him from moving to Israel. He was eventually allowed to leave the country after then Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin made a special appeal to President Nicolae Ceausescu, Ynetnews reported.
Librescu immigrated to Israel from Romania in 1978 but moved to Virginia in 1986 for his sabbatical and had remained their ever since. The professor has two sons, one named Arieh who lives in Israel, and another, Joe, who resides in the US.
Librescu was described by his colleagues as a "true gentleman."
He was one of 32 people killed in what has been described as the biggest single shooting attack in US history. The attacker, who has yet to be positively identified, but who has been described by some witnesses as a young Asian man, went on a killing spree in two attacks. It is unknown whether the gunman was a student and in investigators gave no motive for the attack.
Virginia Tech reported shootings on two sides of the 2,600-acre campus, the first at about 7:15 a.m. at a co-ed residential hall called West Ambler Johnston, and resuming about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.
According to students, at around 7:15 a.m. the gunman appeared in West Ambler Johnston and began searching rooms for his ex-girlfriend. He killed two people, Ryan Clark, and a freshman identified by students as Emily Hilscher.
In the second attack, the gunman shot professors and students in classrooms and hallways of the engineering building, killing around 30 people.
The carnage ended Monday with the gunman shooting himself in the face. There were 33 deaths in total.
Students complained that the university did not adequately warn them about the gunman until over two hours after the first incident and around the time that the second round of killings began. At that time, an e-mail was sent.
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger defended the university, saying authorities believed the shooting at the dorm was a domestic clash and an isolated incident. They also mistakenly thought the gunman had left the campus.
"We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," Steger said.
He added, "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don't have hours to reflect on it."
Steger explained that it was difficult to inform everyone at Virginia Tech because there were thousands of people arriving to the campus on Monday morning.
"Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."
Jerusalem Newswire contributed to this article. |
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
