This story will not help the grief, and it will not help us understand what happened. But this is America, and in tragedy we are lifted up by the heroes of the day. There is a story on FoxNews.com that tells of such a hero, Prof. Liviu Librescu.
JERUSALEM — An Israeli lecturer who died in the massacre at a U.S. university saved the lives of several students by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the approaching gunman before he was fatally shot, his son said Tuesday.
Students of Liviu Librescu, 76, a holocaust survivor who was an engineering science and mathematics lecturer at Virginia Tech for 20 years, sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he blocked the gunman's way and saved their lives, said the son, Joe.
It does nothing to ease the pain, but there is some comfort in knowing that a hero like this man knowingly sacrificed himself so others could live.
What an amazing life. He responded in a moment in the way we all hope that we would but in truth very few of us actually would. His family should be very proud.
Posted by: brimur | April 17, 2007 at 09:55 AM
My roomate is a teacher, and this is the protocol--they go over it. If someone with a gun gets into a school, the teacher stands at the door and the kids either hug against the wall or bail out of the window.
Not sure if I could do that though. Again, it doesn't make the pain go away, but its stories that will help us get through this.
Posted by: Chris | April 17, 2007 at 10:01 AM
Wow. Bless him for his bravery and heroism.
Posted by: George Templeton | April 17, 2007 at 02:24 PM