Apr 18, 2007 6:00 am US/Eastern
Tri-State Students Among Dead In Va. Tech Shooting
Communities Near And Far Are Trying To Come To Grips
by Andrew Kirtzman
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Caitlin Hammaren, a graduate of Minisink Valley High, was among the students killed in the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16.
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Matthew La Porte, of Dumont, was among those killed in the Monday shootout, according to the private boarding school in Pennsylvania he attended from 1999 to 2005.
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Julia Pryde of Middletown, N.J., was killed on April 16 in the Virginia Tech massacre.
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We are learning more about those who were killed for seemingly no reason at all, not just their names but also their backgrounds. They were language majors, engineering hopefuls, political science junkies, German professors and even a Holocaust survivor.
Also among them, people from our area.
Two years ago, Caitlin Hammaren was singing in the choir. On Tuesday, her memory was fresh on the minds of students at Minisink Valley High, everyday people who were trying to come to grips with her cold-blooded murder.
"It didn't really hit me for a while," junior Travis Jackson said. "It's kind of like I just expected her to just walk up and say hi, like normal."
In 2005, Hammaren graduated in the top 10 percent of her class and headed to Virginia Tech to study international relations. Students and teachers recall a poised and optimistic woman.
"She was a happy young lady and a very positive kid," Minisink Schools superintendent Martha Murray said.
Caitlin's parents were in Virginia on Tuesday, planning her funeral. Her father told the schools superintendent he wanted her former classmates here to celebrate her life.
But Hammaren wasn't the only area resident killed at Virginia Tech.
In Dumont, N.J., neighbors of Matt LaPorte were stunned by the senseless killing of the 20-year-old drum major.
"Oh my god, help us Jesus!" said neighbor Marie Grieco.
And In Middleton, N.J., a community mourned the loss of Julia Pryde, a 23-year-old grad student.
They had just emerged into adulthood, fueled with hope.
Caitlin Hammaren's yearbook page quoted Eleanor Roosevelt. It read:
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
Also killed on Monday was 23-year-old Michael Pohle of Raritan Township, N.J. Pohle was a senior at Virginia Tech majoring in biological studies, and also played on the lacrosse team.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Special Coverage: Massacre At Virginia Tech
Slideshow: Deadly Rampage At Virginia Tech
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