First, let me say that we’re providing these updates because it involves a significant member of the college football community. To pretend it doesn’t exist or isn’t relevant would be foolish. It’s not the normal focus of this blog, but we’ll try to find every imaginable angle we can.

Second, we’re thinking of setting up a paypal fund for bloggers and readers to contribute funds to, but would like to test out the idea first. Leave comments regarding your feelings on this.

Updates:

–The first speculation on the gunman’s identity we’ve seen. Again, just speculation from a blog, but it’s there.

–ABC has at least 29 dead. The AP has at least 30 dead.

Either way, the Virginia Tech shooting is now likely the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States.

Chilling details emerge from the AP report linked through the Guardian, the most thorough we’ve read yet. The shooting occurred in two stages, perhaps hours apart. Communication seemed to break down as the campus struggled to take account of what was happening.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode’s resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

“They had us under lockdown,” Kanode said. “They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again.”

“We’re all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what’s going on,” Kanode said.

College Media has a map showing the location of the two incidents.

–Frank Beamer to ESPN’s Joe Schad: “How could one person cause so many senseless deaths? I’m in shock,” Beamer told ESPN’s Joe Schad. “This is such a caring, friendly place. This is a college town. And now one person has an impact like this?” He sounds understandably heartbroken.

–Greg Auman of the St. Pete Times has his thoughts.

Again, we’ll keep updating. Let us know about the memorial fund from the blogosphere idea.