A terrible, terrible tragedy.

[Nystul]

You're talking a matter of degree, of scale. Locking down a city is no small task. It can take days to pull off effectively. Locking down a school, even a large one like that? Hours, within a single day.

What would it mean to lock down the campus? I see CNN using the term, but I have no idea what it even means. The campus is apparently about 4 square miles, including an airport and 9000 residents. Is this lock down simply a matter of canceling classes, or is it something that would require the national guard setting up a tent city in Blacksburg?

In any case, you have two people shot dead in the room where they live. The police are looking at it as some kind of domestic quarrel or something. And then a couple hours later, they find out that maybe they were wrong. Maybe the university could have done something better in that time. I don't know. You could clear the whole place, and the killer goes down the street and kills 30 college kids eating Egg McMuffins or breakfast burritos.