[UPDATES BELOW] The campus of Virginia Tech, where a student fatally shot 32 people and wounded dozens of others in 2007, is again besieged by an armed gunman. According to the campus newspaper a police officer has been shot and killed, and there are other reports that a second person has been wounded. Students and faculty are being advised to stay indoors, and a campus bulletin obtained by the Times says the shooter was last seen traveling on foot in the direction of a recreational sports. He's described as a “white male, grey sweatpants, grey hat w/neon green brim, maroon hoodie and backpack.” more ›

A St. John's student was arrested after threatening to "do some Virginia Tech shit" as his Facebook status. Radames Santiago, an 18-year-old from Washington Heights, posted the vague threat on Monday and then followed up the next day with a status that he “knows he will do it. You know I will, and to make sure that people watch CNN or something every day after” he kills everyone. Instead of tuning in, "friends" of Santiago dialed up St. John's officials, who informed police. Santiago justified "what he was doing" by giving the same reasons that many people leave a Facebook status that causes their friends to banish them to their hidden lists—he told cops that he was drunk and depressed "about everything" when he left them. Now that's a status that may have gotten some Likes. Instead Santiago could now face up to 7 years in prison. Queens DA Richard Brown said, “If a defendant posts a threat on a social networking site it will be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly." Two years ago, the campus was locked down when a student brought a rifle to campus; he was apparently schizophrenic. more ›

Never one to shy away from an anti-gun message—especially in a state that once had a "Bloomberg Gun Giveaway"—Mayor Bloomberg was in Virginia to unveil a TV commercial aimed at closing a loophole in the state's gun law that allows gun sales without background at gun shows. And with him were relatives of Virginia Tech shooting victims as well as the mother of NYPD cop Russel Timoshenko, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop. Here's the ad from Americans United For Safe Streets, a political action committee almost entirely funded by Bloomberg, which features the brother of a victim: more ›

With all the talk in the past week of the Yankees' lowering themselves -- by starting a fight and by allowing a 59-year-old Billy Crystal to take an at-bat -- cynics Tuesday had a tough time knocking the Yankees down another peg. That's because the team flew up to Blacksburg, Va., site of Virginia Tech and the shootings that took place April 16, 2007. While there, players and coaches viewed the memorial and won an exhibition game against the Hokies, 11-0. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg still claims he's not running for President, but he's spending thousands of dollars to run a full page ad in The Des Moines Register--Iowa's largest circulation local paper--with his face on it. One can see the full ad here. The Mayor also placed an identical ad in The New Hampshire Union Leader. We're running this ad to the Bat Cave, to see if there are any subliminal "Mike Bloomberg '08" messages! more ›

The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that the Reverend David Ajemian was arrested on charges of stalking and threatening Conan O'Brien. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston placed Ajemian, a 46-year-old priest in Stoneham, Massachusetts, on leave. The DA's office says that Ajemian had sent letters (some on parish letterhead!) to O'Brien's offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and home, contacted his parents, and tried to attend tapings of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was... more ›

A student carrying a single shot .50 caliber rifle was arrested on the Queens campus of St. John's this afternoon. WNBC reports that the male student had the gun in a bag, as well as a President Bush mask. Also:

Police sources said the man is a student of Guyanese descent who lived in a campus dorm. Sources said the student takes medicines for psychiatric issues and that police were investigating whether he had gone off his meds.

Two teen-aged males were arrested on Long Island yesterday after a notebook was found that described their desire to plan a Columbine-like attack on their high school. It's hard to determine whether to take this incident seriously, as the younger half of the hapless pair left a notebook containing their terror blueprints in a McDonalds parking lot, where it was found by someone who turned it over to police. 17-year-old Michael McDonough was the older of the duo, and was arrested with his 15-year-old accomplice, who was on long-term school suspension. The pair wrote about recreating a high school massacre like the one that occurred in Colorado years ago. more ›

The authorities gave details about the Philadelphia apartment of Rebekah Johnson, the woman suspected of shooting a Staten Island commune leader last year. Like how they found an AK-47 rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammo. more ›

A Para-Ordnance pistol and a Varmint Stalker rifle were the prizes two people won in a Virginia gun giveaway raffle to raise money for gun shop owners who Mayor Bloomberg alleges sell guns illegally and who the Mayor has filed a federal lawsuit against. The event, organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, was open to everyone except for Mayor Bloomberg and his immediate family. The Fairfax County government building attracted Bloomberg haters as well as the parents of some Virginia Tech shooting victims. more ›

Day three of the Peter Braunstein trial brought information about places and things, as well as a look at evidence and the now common debates about the defendant's mental state. Lawyers for Braunstein, a journalist who is on trial a 13-hour attack on a former colleague that occurred on October 31, 2005, contend that their client is schizophrenic and that leaving some much evidence behind is not normal. Whereas prosecutors say his actions show premeditation and a clear mind. more ›

Middle College High School in Queens decided not to leave things to chance when a senior wrote a note saying, "So you think Virginia Tech was bad? Just wait for the MCHS Prom! Unlike VTech there won't be any injured, I'll get the job done." The student, 17-year-old Michael DiGiovanni, was found out because the note and fliers made from it were found in the school computer lab on Monday. And the city wants us to be impressed with high school graduation rates? more ›

As the Virginia Tech story broke last Monday, cable news, as always, took the lead with their normal oversaturated speculative coverage transferring the energy and resources normally reserved for non-story stories like the Anna Nicole Smith saga into covering a real story. more ›

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. more ›

The Sanitation Chronicles, a new play by and about New York’s Strongest, premiered on Wednesday. Actor/playwright Paul Brno, who’s been moonlighting for the Department of Sanitation for the past 17 years, says “every day is still a great day to be on a garbage truck.” The “slice of life” play explores the daily prejudices, anger and violence faced by “Sanmen”, all of which is exacerbated when one of the guys shows up for work dressed as a lady. [Tickets.] more ›

Hundreds of Virginia Tech alumni, NYU students and other New Yorkers gathered for a candlelight vigil in Washington Square Park last night. Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, who had traveled to Virginia Tech earlier in the week, brought back a candle from a vigil there and used it to light candles last night. And today, many people are also wearing orange and maroon, Virginia Tech's colors, for "Orange and Maroon Effect" day to show support for the school. more ›

Sad news about Sludgie the whale: The baby minke whale, who captivated our attention as he frolicked in the Gowanus Bay, died yesterday afternoon. He beached himself near Clinton Street around 5PM. more ›

Yesterday, NBC News revealed that Virginia Tech shooting gunman Cho Seung-Hiu sent them a package of photographs, writings, and video - a "multimedia manifesto." The network turned over the materials to the authorities but also shared the package's contents during the evening news last night and on its website. more ›

Update: WNBC reports that Cho Seung Hui sent a "box containing a manifesto of sorts, photographs and other material" (including videos) to NBC News. NBC News received it today and president Steve Capus turned the box over the FBI, but MSNBC says that the box was sent between the two shootings.

The package included a long, “rambling, manifesto-like statement embedded with a series of photographs,” Capus said. The material is “hard-to-follow ... disturbing, very disturbing — very angry, profanity-laced,” he said. more ›

The man who shot 32 people at Virginia Tech yesterday morning was identified by authorities as Cho Seung Hui. He is described as a 23-year-old student, a senior majoring in English, who lived in one of the dorms. He is also a legal resident from South Korea. more ›

This morning, 33 were killed and at least 29 more were injured during shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech. The NY Times reports that it "appears to be the deadliest shooting rampage in American history." more ›

Loyal Gothamist readers will notice that there is little change in our rankings this week - there simply weren't many upsets or games involving top 25 teams last week. That will certainly change this weekend with several top matchups including LSU vs. UGA, Aub vs. Tenn, and Purdue vs ND. It will be a great weekend for college football junkies/coach potatoes! Naturally Gothamist will be watching every televised game from Noon until 2 am in order to provide you with rankings slightly more accurate than a dart throwing monkey! more ›