She came to Virginia Tech from rural Rappahannock County and was majoring in animal and poultry sciences.
He came to Blacksburg from a small town outside Augusta, Ga., and was a popular leader in the Tech marching band and a resident adviser.
This year, Emily Jane Hilscher and Ryan Clark lived next door to each other on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall — in rooms 4040 and 4042.
And yesterday morning, they may have been the first of more than 30 people murdered in a shooting event that is unparalleled in the history of U.S. colleges and universities.
Authorities last night were still trying to settle on a motive for the early-morning attacks, which left two dead at 7:15 a.m. on the fourth floor of the residence hall where Hilscher and Clark lived, and at least 30 others gunned down across campus in Norris Hall two hours later.
Heartbreaking.
If I were a tinfoil hat type, this would make me think about another Chinese export in the news recently, that tainted wheat gluten.