CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- As Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Whitt raced toward the Virginia Tech massacre, his thoughts turned to his children. Like him, they were all about to play a firsthand role in responding to one of America's deadliest tragedies.
At 7 a.m., minutes before the first shots rang out, Whitt's 20-year-old son, Blake, had started his first unsupervised shift as a Virginia Tech police dispatcher.
Another son, T.J., a 23-year-old Virginia state trooper, was part of a small army of officers speeding toward the campus.
Just south of the university, Whitt's daughter, Lisa, 25, an operating room technician at Montgomery Regional Hospital, would soon be dealing with the arrival of victims. In all, the gunman and 32 others died.
Only hours later did the sheriff recognize how deeply his family was touched by the tragic shootings here. It will likely take much longer to measure how the April 16 massacre will affect the surrounding communities tucked in the mountains of southwest Virginia.
"Our hearts still break for the losses suffered by these families," Whitt said. "I think all of us have experienced a flood of emotions, running from sadness to anger."
For Whitt, the tragedy was intensely personal. Never in 31 years as a law enforcement officer had he experienced such conflict between his duty as a cop and his responsibility as a parent. "Obviously, there is inherent danger in what we have chosen to do," he said. "The mental and emotional stress was unprecedented."
Working on his birthday
When he arrived for his early-morning dispatch shift at the Virginia Tech Police Department, it was Blake Whitt's 20th birthday. Within minutes, the day would be defined by the unthinkable.
Whitt fielded the first calls for help from the first shooting at West Ambler Johnston residence hall, where Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark were shot to death. Whitt said he handled it like any other rescue call.
"You do what you need to do to get people assistance," the dispatcher said. "But I had no idea what it would turn out to be."
Later in the morning, more calls streamed in and the pleas became more desperate for help at Norris Hall, a campus classroom building where gunman Seung Hui Cho killed 30 people. Cho has also been linked to the slayings of Hilscher and Clark.
"The thing that will stick with me the most is hearing those voices (on the calls for help)," he said. "The terror in those voices is something I won't forget. From now on, my birthday will be my remembrance of the families of the victims."
Virginia state trooper T.J. Whitt was off-duty when he heard the reports of a campus shooting. In minutes, he was on his way to the campus where, like his younger brother, he once served as a Virginia Tech police dispatcher.
"On the way there, I remember thinking that my brother was taking the calls and that my Dad is already there," the trooper said.
At the campus, Whitt said he did "about 500 things" that day, including assisting in searches and helping people leave the campus. Because of his familiarity with the campus, the trooper said, he was able to help direct many colleagues.
"Just the absolute horror of the day is something that will stick with me," Whitt said.
The full scale of the emergency didn't fully register with Lisa Whitt until she arrived at the hospital about 11 a.m.
"All of us jumped right in and went to work," she said, adding that it was difficult to focus knowing that her father and two brothers also were in the thick of the response.
The technician said the "hardest thing was to put all emotion aside and do the job."
"As we worked, the (emergency) seemed to get bigger with more victims," she said.
"Just seeing the volume of people working and being helped, it is something that I won't forget."
In the blur of activity, Whitt said she spent her time ensuring that the operating rooms were stocked with supplies and the appropriate equipment.
It wasn't until 5 p.m. that she learned that all was well with her father and brothers.
"Honestly, I think we all walked away united as a family," she said. "I know I feel closer to the people I work with. And I think the whole community is more united."
'I'm very proud of them all'
Sometime after he arrived at the campus, Sheriff Whitt said he found both of his sons. He met up with his daughter at home much later.
"I'm very proud of them all," he said.
The sheriff's eldest son can't explain how the children were drawn to the family business of emergency response.
T.J. Whitt said his father never urged the children to follow his lead.
"But as a kid I do remember my dad being called out at night. I remember him putting on his gun belt and (the) rest of his gear. That made an impression on me," he said.
"My dad has always been my hero."
