NORFOLK, VA — A typical Sunday night in the library for students turned into a 10-hour lockdown for some. Instead of focusing on homework and upcoming tests, some students stayed up most of the night waiting for the 'ok' to safely go home to their dorms.
As police at the University of Virginia searched for the suspect accused of shooting and killing three students on campus Sunday night, students on and off of the school grounds experienced a different kind of all-nighter. Instead of studying for exams, the campus was locked down and students were forced to stay in place.
Vivian Wermers, a junior, says she got the notification to stay put at 10:30 Sunday night.
"We got an email alert saying there was an armed and dangerous suspect at large around campus," she said. "So we were obviously all very scared."
In her sorority house, Wermers and her roommates locked their doors and windows, and they turned off their lights as police searched for the suspect.
During a twelve-hour lockdown, some students were stuck in the library until the early hours of the morning. Among them were two of Wermers' friends.
"Late on a Sunday night there weren't a ton of people in the library but there were definitely a fair amount of students," Wermer said. "I know her and another one of my friends was with her and they were in the bathroom on the library floor just huddled up waiting to hear what happened and I think that was really scary."
Wermer said she kept her phone ringer on all throughout the night in case she fell asleep. She found out the next morning, her friends were rescued around 4 a.m.
"The boyfriend of one of the friends that she was with pulled up in a car and picked her up and she was able to make it home safely," Wermer said. "But I knew some people who were there until eight in the morning."
Classes were canceled on campus Monday as police searched for the person responsible. Classes were also canceled Tuesday so students could mourn. Students were told classes would resume Wednesday.
Now that the alleged shooter, Christopher Jones is in custody, Wermer said it's time to rest and mourn the loss of her peers who never got the opportunity to hide and eventually go home to their dorms.
"I'm sad and I'm frustrated because I think a lot of this gun violence is senseless and it's preventable—and it's heartbreaking that it just keeps happening," says Wermer.
