4/16/07

Professor Librescu Survived the Holocaust to Die at Tech Saving His Students

Photo of Professor Librescu from his grandson's 2004 brit at Israel News.

Two shooting incidents on the Virginia Tech campus today have left 33 dead. Thirty-one, including the gunman, died at Norris Hall; two died at West Ambler Johnston Hall. Fifteen other victims from Norris are being treated at area hospitals.

The university will remain closed Tuesday. Essential personnel are to report for work. Classes are canceled.

A public gathering will be held Tuesday at Cassell Coliseum at 2 p.m.

Ironically, April 15 was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, set on the 27th of Nissan in honor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. One of the engineering professors killed, Liviu Librescu, 76, had survived Hitler only to receive five bullets shot through the door, after he barricaded his classroom and blocked the shooter from entering, giving all but one of his students time to climb out of the window and escape. Said his son Joe, "This was typical of him. He did not fear death and at all times tried to do the right thing."