Virginia Tech Pays Fines from 2007 Mass Shooting
Fines totaling $32,500 stemmed from the 2007 mass shooting at the school where 33 people died and many more were wounded.
Virginia Tech has agreed to pay fines totaling $32,500 that were levied against it by the U.S. Department of Education. The fines stemmed from the 2007 mass shooting at the school where 33 people died and many more were wounded.
The school has paid $27,500 for failure to issue a timely warning. Another $5,000 was paid for the campus not correctly stating its timely warning policy.
The agreement ends seven years of appeals by the university.
“The university paid the fine in February to close this chapter on the tragedy of April 16, 2007,” Lawrence Hincker, Virginia Tech’s associate vice president for university relations said in a statement. “While we believe that the department’s actions against Virginia Tech are inconsistent with their earlier guidance and policy, further litigation was not prudent in light of the various costs – emotional impact on the community, time lost, as well as financial.”
S. Daniel Carter told Campus Safety magazine that, “VTV is pleased that this issue has been resolved and that we – and all members of the Virginia Tech community – can now continue-on together in our efforts to make colleges and universities safer.” Carter is the director of the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative, VTV Family Outreach Foundation, which is an organization representing the victims’ families of the 2007 mass shooting.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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