NoVa High School Quietly Marks Tech Shooting Anniversary

THE ANNIVERSARY OF the shootings at Virginia Tech received somber acknowledgment at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., today. The Northern Virginia school has a unique tie to the incident — shooter Seung Hui Cho and two of his victims were Westfield alumni.

Westfield's principal, Tim Thomas, issued a short statement on the school's closed-circuit-television system this morning about the anniversary of the shootings in which 32 people were killed, according to Paul Regnier, coordinator of community relations for Fairfax County Public Schools. But no major events are planned.

"What [the school system has] said, and I think the schools are happy with this, too, is to keep any activity that they do among the students and within the school communities, and not have a big public remembrance." Regnier said.

The victims from Westfield included:

» Erin Peterson, an 18-year-old freshman, who was the captain of the Bulldogs' basketball team. She was majoring in international studies at Virginia Tech — and even after leaving for college, Peterson attended her old team's games to cheer them on.

» Reema Samaha, an 18-year-old undeclared freshman, who was a popular student at Westfield and a member of the school's dance team. As a senior, she was awarded a $5,000 theater scholarship.

Cho was a 2003 graduate. Regnier said that fact is not forgotten at the school.

"Everybody obviously knows that. [People understand] they had two that were shot, and then one shot himself," Regnier said. "To some extent, the community feels like there are three victims."

A year later, Regnier said, support systems are still in place for students and parents who are still trying to come to terms with the incident.

"It's obviously been very difficult — particularly [for] those who knew those that were killed," Regnier said. "We certainly are aware that there are some kids that are still upset. And that's really where we are with that."