Grad student killed at Va. Tech; suspect in custody

A female graduate student was killed yesterday evening in the Graduate Life Center at Virginia Tech and a suspect is in custody, school spokesmen have confirmed.

Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum and university spokesman Larry Hincker said the victim was an Asian international graduate student as is the male suspect. The victim lived at the graduate center and was stabbed to death, they said. Authorities identified the suspect as Haiyang Zhu, 25, of China. He was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond, Hincker said.

The assault took place in the center’s cafe, Au Bon Pain.

Officials are trying to notify families of both the victim and the suspect, they said.

“The murder weapon, a knife, was left at the scene and retrieved by police,“ Hincker said in a Tech release. “Virginia Tech Police are currently interviewing witnesses. Preliminary indication is that the victim and the suspect knew each other.“

Hincker said police got the call at 7:06 p.m. An officer arrived at 7:10 p.m. and found the suspect there and the victim dead, Hincker and Flinchum said. Police took the suspect into custody then.

Hincker said he found out about the slaying at 7:30 p.m. and sent a text alert at 7:44 p.m. He said about 40,000 e-mail and text alerts were sent and it took about 15 minutes for all to be sent. The 7:44 p.m. e-mail message said:

“VT Police have confirmed a murder in the Graduate Life Center. A suspect is in custody. Stay where you are and stay vigilant. Stay away from the GLC.

“More later as we determine more.“

Hincker said the campus was not locked down. He said that the Graduate Life Center’s first floor is currently secured, and that residents of the hall will be allowed to enter and leave their rooms but others are asked to stay away from the area during the night. The building will be open Thursday.

Tech also announced the homicide on its Web site under the title, “Murder on campus.“

An 8:37 p.m. announcement on Tech’s Web site, vt.edu, under the title, “Suspect in custody on campus murder,“ advised:

“The VT PD have a suspect in custody. Please avoid the vicinity of the Graduate Life Center. Otherwise, resume your normal activity.“

Additional information will be posted on the Tech homepage, Hincker said. The Graduate Life Center will have counselors available beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday. Help is also available for students through the Cook Counseling Center and the Dean of Students Office.

The Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown houses 115 graduate or professional students. The center was converted from a hotel and conference center. It is next to the university book store and is about a quarter-mile from Norris Hall, the primary site of the massacre nearly two years ago.

On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and faculty members before shooting himself in what is considered the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“I was here for the April 16 shootings and I think this has affected me more because of that - just like, not again. This already happened here,“ Jessica St. Clair, a graduate student at Virginia Tech, told WSLS in Roanoke.

“I just can’t really believe this happened again.“

—Karin Kapsidelis and Rex Bowman