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By Charlie Spiering
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Rappahannock County has lost one of its own.
Nineteen-year-old Emily Jane Hilscher, a freshman
at Virginia Tech, was killed during the shooting that occurred Monday at the college in Blacksburg.
Rappahannock County Sheriff Larry Sherertz confirmed Tuesday morning that the 2006 graduate of Rappahannock County High School was among the dead.
Hilscher, a Woodville resident, was apparently the first victim of the shooting as the gunman opened fire in a dorm before continuing his rampage at an engineering classroom located on the Virginia Tech campus.
Rappahannock County Administrator John McCarthy said it appears that Hilscher was an innocent bystander. “From what I understand, she was standing in the hall when the shooter approached,” he said.
The shooter has been identified as Cho Seung-Hui of Centreville. Cho, 23, a South Korean native, was enrolled as an undergraduate student in his senior year as an English major at Virginia Tech.
The campus shooting is the deadliest in U.S. history as Cho killed at least 32 people and then took his own life. At least 15 people were injured, some seriously, police said.
Currently there is no information that indicates Hilscher had a relationship with the shooter. One student from Rappahannock County High School stated that her current boyfriend was Karl Thornhill, also a graduate of RCHS and her prom date last year.
Thornhill reportedly was seen leaving the dorm before the first shooting occurred, making him a “person of interest” under investigation.
Although Thornhill was taken into custody and investigated by law enforcement officials, the Virginia State Police released a statement late Tuesday clearing Thornhill of any involvement in the shooting.
The road to Blacksburg
After Beth and Eric Hilscher were alerted to their daughter’s fate, Gary Ford, a Fed-Ex driver from Culpeper volunteered to drive them to Blacksburg. RCSO Major Christopher Williams also spoke with the family and obtained their cell phone number to notify them of any news.
While the parents were still traveling, Williams
See EMILY, Page A2
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