BLACKSBURG, Va. -- I am not sure how to respond to this.

I am so shocked that I can’t even cry, I’ve just been sitting in front of the television mortified.

People from home have called, I’ve been calling all of my friends here to make sure they are ok. I haven’t heard anyone that I know has been hurt, but when 22 people have been killed I feel that I am bound to know someone.

I don’t know when names will be released but I am hoping and praying that I will not know any names on that list. Even so, this is tragic. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the situation, since I live off campus and haven’t left my apartment.

VIDEO: Students Speak About Campus Massacre

My only real check with reality has been talking with a friend. She is a freshman and lives in West AJ and was awakened by the gun shots this morning.

I’ve been hearing rumors that the shooter was in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend and was physically abusing her. The RA allegedly stepped in and then the gunman shot her and his girlfriend, and then proceeded to go on a killing spree ending in taking his own life. I’m not sure if this is what happened, but something had to have struck a chord in this person to open fire in a classroom. It seems so unnecessary to take the lives of students, the majority he could not have known.

Watching the White House give a reaction to something that occurred less than 5 minutes from my home is surreal. At first, when I woke up I wasn’t very concerned, because we have had bomb threats for the past two weeks and the incident earlier this year was a very confined event.

When I realized that the shooting occurred within West AJ, I immediately called my friend who lives on the 5th floor, a floor above the first shooting and another friend who has been locked inside a windowless room in another academic building. When she answered I thanked god that she was still alive, but the sound of her voice was terrifying for me.

I took on a mother-like instinct and immediately found out what had been going on over there and talked to her while she was told over the loudspeaker to close and lock windows and get down on the floor. Cell phone reception has been off and on, so we have been talking over instant messenger for the past 3 hours.

The police are now beginning to move the students in the dorms to the Inn at Virginia Tech, and I am picking my friend up as soon as possible. She is gong to sleep at my apartment for the rest of the week so I can make sure she is ok. I can’t imagine how she feels after going through something like this.

At one point, she was telling me about an incident on the tennis courts across Washington Sreet that has not been reported on the news.

Here's how our Instant Message conversation went. My messages are in bold print.

blair im trying to call you blair

i wish i could come get you

come get me im freaking out they are at the tennis courts 7 people have died blair i am watching them crawl on the ground

are the police over there!!!

they have someone on the tennis courts yes blair they are going to kill this shooter i can see this

omg they have only released that one person has died

blair do u see the shooter one is on the tennis courts!

omg. how do u know seven people have died

they just announced it on the local news

omg

blair they are in the tennic courts blair i don't want to sleep here tonight

ok if i can come get you i will as soon as they let you leave

omg thank you soo much

of course i cant believe this is happening

are they saying anything about the tennis courts

nothing like this has ever happened

omg blair 7 people are confirmed dead

no

is cae ok?

im calling her now

ok

shes ok

ok blair how many shooters are there there is one over here and they caught one

the one from the tennis courts?

no they are still over here surrounding everything

are the police shooting

no they are on the ground

do u see the shooter

blair omg they just got over the loud speaker

wat did they say

and said please, residents of EAJ close the windows and close your blinds they are shooting

get on the floor

For now, there isn’t much I can say, but that everyone here is thinking of those who went through this tragedy and our thoughts go out to the victims and their families. I have been online and on the phone all morning, talking to family, friends from home, and making sure to call everyone I can as to make sure they are ok. All we can do now is wait for the worst: the news of those killed and injured.

To say that this incident is worse than Columbine is a stone cold fact that chills my soul.