8:04 p.m., War Memorial, Virginia Tech
On the ledge overlooking the Drillfield, a crowd gathers.
"Dude, this is tight. You can see everything," one man explained into his cell phone.
On the Drillfield below, the crowd grows by the minute, a living mass of maroon and orange.
A few people wear suits as if going to church. A young woman, sitting on the gray stone ledge, wraps herself in a blanket. Across the crowd below, cameras wink like fireflies. A young student in a white ball cap takes in the scene.
"They're just piling in," the student said.
Submitted by Erinn Hutkin | The Roanoke Times