BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech alerts and good Samaritans are getting praise for helping keep students and the community safe during Friday’s Blacksburg deadly shooting.
On Friday night, Nick Gallis, the Hokie Mart shop owner, got a frantic call from his employee.
Four Virginia Tech students were shopping when gunshots went off and the employee jumped into action.
The employee locked the doors and pushed all the customers into a small bathroom to keep themselves safe.
“Yeah, she’s amazing,” Gallis said. “She’s a Radford student and works here. But she is awesome.”
Sheltering in place is exactly the message Virginia Tech was pushing with their alerts.
Nearly every thirty minutes, a text message would pop up to urge students to stay away from downtown Blacksburg.
With no crowds on the streets, it looks like the alerts were effective.
“We understand the concerns, the fears, the worries that people will have,” Virginia Tech’s Spokesperson Mark Owczarski said. “Totally get it. But in this case the alert system worked perfectly. People sheltered in place and avoided the area. And if they had any fears or concerns they called 911.”
Gallis said Monday morning, parents of those customers called to thank them for protecting their children.
He said there will be some thank you gifts coming in the mail for the employee.
“This [shooting] doesn’t represent us or our community,” he said. “We are going to bounce right back. I feel for the families involved with the situation. This town is full of champions, and I think it’s one of the greatest small towns in the country.”
As for the suspect in custody, Jamel Flint is looking at six felony murder charges.
However, Flint went live on Facebook Saturday night claiming his innocence while turning himself in.
He is set to be arraigned Tuesday in Montgomery County General District Court.