BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- Four days after the deadliest shooting on a U.S. college campus, Americans remembered victims of the Virginia Tech massacre with moments of silence and the tolling of bells.
Crowds stopped what they were doing Friday to gather silently throughout the university grounds. Forming a sea of school colors, orange and maroon, most mourners stood and listened solemnly, some embraced each other.
In addition to the day of mourning, which was declared by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, school alumni have organized a "Hokie Hope" day, asking all alumni, students and friends of the school to wear the university's colors.
A salesperson at the Christianburg, Virginia, Wal-Mart said Hokie merchandise has been in high demand this week, as shipments continued to arrive at the store.
Amid the remembrances, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger announced that classes will resume on Monday.
"We will move forward in a way that will honor the memory of those we have lost," said Steger in a letter to students.
At noon, mourners will pause for a bell-ringing and a moment of silence across the university grounds, including the Drill Field, where a makeshift memorial honors the 32 students and faculty who were killed. Mourners continued to gathered at the memorial Friday morning.
Some of them wrote messages of hope, love and support on large boards that had been moved beneath tents due to Thursday's rain. Nearby, a handful of students relit candles. (Honoring the victims)
Reading the messages on the boards moved many visitors to tears.
"I'm glad I hugged you at our last practice," read one message to slain student Reema Samaha, a dancer. (Watch how the memorial has become the campus' center of gravity )
Another victim, engineering professor Kevin Granata, will be remembered at a public memorial service at 2 p.m. ET at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
Granata was the father of three children: two sons, ages 13 and 12, and a daughter, 10. (Read how Granata was a top biomechanics researcher working on cerebral palsy)
Source: Cho fired more than 100 rounds
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed Friday that Cho Seung-Hui, who police blame for the massacre, fired more than 100 shots during his rampage. Most victims were shot at least three times, the official said. Cho is believed to have used two pistols during the attack. The official said Cho used "a lot" of clips of ammunition during the shootings.
A woman who was wounded in the attack left Montgomery Regional Hospital on Thursday night, leaving a total of eight other gunshot victims recovering in three area medical facilities. The hospital expects to release one or two more patients later Friday or early Saturday, a spokesman said.
Kaine has invited communities across the nation to organize their own ceremonies Friday to remember those killed in the nation's worst shooting spree.
Memorial services were scheduled in cities across the nation, including Arlington, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Georgetown, Kentucky; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Washington.
Candlelight vigils were set for Santa Monica Beach, California; Vancouver, Washington; Middletown, Pennsylvania; Charleston, West Virginia; and St. Mary's City, Maryland.
Bells will toll to honor the victims across the states of Georgia and Colorado at 12 p.m. ET, and residents are being asked to observe a moment of silence.
The observances coincided with Friday's eighth anniversary of the massacre by two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. (Read more about how Colorado plans to join Friday's day of mourning)
For some, sorrow was mixed with anger, not only at Cho for his rampage and his multimedia screed, but also at the media for airing his last recorded words and images.
News outlets were urged to focus on the victims of the shootings rather than the twisted ramblings of the man who gunned them down before killing himself as police closed in.
Peter Read, father of victim Mary Read, pleaded for media outlets to stop broadcasting the images that Cho mailed between the day's two shooting incidents.
"It's a second assault on us," he said. "It's a second assault on our children. Please put the focus back where it belongs: on these wonderful, vibrant, young human beings who were bringing so much to this world." (Watch how the airing of Cho's messages sparked an uproar )
Great-aunt calls Cho 'idiot'
In 2005, Cho was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice, who found he was "an imminent danger" to himself, a court document states. (Read more about "the kid who never spoke")
Cho's great-aunt, Kim Yang-soon, described Cho as "very cold" and said her niece was constantly worried about him, according to a translation from The Associated Press.
"Who would have known he would cause such trouble, the idiot," Kim said from her home in South Korea.
Cho's family left South Korea when he was 8 years old, settling in Centreville, Virginia. Some there said that Cho was picked on in his younger years, but that he wasn't alone in that respect.
"We called him the trombone kid, because he would just walk with his trombone all alone," Centreville resident John Williams said, adding that Cho was so quiet that he was an "easy target."
But experts said that Cho's messages provide evidence of a much bigger problem.
"The grandiosity, the persecutory beliefs that he expressed certainly are consistent with psychosis that we usually will see as part of a mental illness," said Dr. Todd Cox of Johns Hopkins University. (Watch why warning signs don't always predict behavior )
In the messages he mailed to NBC, Cho referred to the two students responsible for the Columbine killings in 1999 as "martyrs."
Law enforcement agencies across the nation have received about a dozen copycat threats to schools across the country in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, according to the FBI.
The university said Thursday that it will award posthumous degrees to the slain students at the scheduled May 11 commencement.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Crowds stopped what they were doing Friday to gather silently throughout the university grounds. Forming a sea of school colors, orange and maroon, most mourners stood and listened solemnly, some embraced each other.
In addition to the day of mourning, which was declared by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, school alumni have organized a "Hokie Hope" day, asking all alumni, students and friends of the school to wear the university's colors.
A salesperson at the Christianburg, Virginia, Wal-Mart said Hokie merchandise has been in high demand this week, as shipments continued to arrive at the store.
Amid the remembrances, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger announced that classes will resume on Monday.
"We will move forward in a way that will honor the memory of those we have lost," said Steger in a letter to students.
At noon, mourners will pause for a bell-ringing and a moment of silence across the university grounds, including the Drill Field, where a makeshift memorial honors the 32 students and faculty who were killed. Mourners continued to gathered at the memorial Friday morning.
Some of them wrote messages of hope, love and support on large boards that had been moved beneath tents due to Thursday's rain. Nearby, a handful of students relit candles. (Honoring the victims)
Reading the messages on the boards moved many visitors to tears.
"I'm glad I hugged you at our last practice," read one message to slain student Reema Samaha, a dancer. (Watch how the memorial has become the campus' center of gravity )
Another victim, engineering professor Kevin Granata, will be remembered at a public memorial service at 2 p.m. ET at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
Granata was the father of three children: two sons, ages 13 and 12, and a daughter, 10. (Read how Granata was a top biomechanics researcher working on cerebral palsy)
Source: Cho fired more than 100 rounds
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation confirmed Friday that Cho Seung-Hui, who police blame for the massacre, fired more than 100 shots during his rampage. Most victims were shot at least three times, the official said. Cho is believed to have used two pistols during the attack. The official said Cho used "a lot" of clips of ammunition during the shootings.
A woman who was wounded in the attack left Montgomery Regional Hospital on Thursday night, leaving a total of eight other gunshot victims recovering in three area medical facilities. The hospital expects to release one or two more patients later Friday or early Saturday, a spokesman said.
Kaine has invited communities across the nation to organize their own ceremonies Friday to remember those killed in the nation's worst shooting spree.
Memorial services were scheduled in cities across the nation, including Arlington, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Georgetown, Kentucky; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Washington.
Candlelight vigils were set for Santa Monica Beach, California; Vancouver, Washington; Middletown, Pennsylvania; Charleston, West Virginia; and St. Mary's City, Maryland.
Bells will toll to honor the victims across the states of Georgia and Colorado at 12 p.m. ET, and residents are being asked to observe a moment of silence.
The observances coincided with Friday's eighth anniversary of the massacre by two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. (Read more about how Colorado plans to join Friday's day of mourning)
For some, sorrow was mixed with anger, not only at Cho for his rampage and his multimedia screed, but also at the media for airing his last recorded words and images.
News outlets were urged to focus on the victims of the shootings rather than the twisted ramblings of the man who gunned them down before killing himself as police closed in.
Peter Read, father of victim Mary Read, pleaded for media outlets to stop broadcasting the images that Cho mailed between the day's two shooting incidents.
"It's a second assault on us," he said. "It's a second assault on our children. Please put the focus back where it belongs: on these wonderful, vibrant, young human beings who were bringing so much to this world." (Watch how the airing of Cho's messages sparked an uproar )
Great-aunt calls Cho 'idiot'
In 2005, Cho was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice, who found he was "an imminent danger" to himself, a court document states. (Read more about "the kid who never spoke")
Cho's great-aunt, Kim Yang-soon, described Cho as "very cold" and said her niece was constantly worried about him, according to a translation from The Associated Press.
"Who would have known he would cause such trouble, the idiot," Kim said from her home in South Korea.
Cho's family left South Korea when he was 8 years old, settling in Centreville, Virginia. Some there said that Cho was picked on in his younger years, but that he wasn't alone in that respect.
"We called him the trombone kid, because he would just walk with his trombone all alone," Centreville resident John Williams said, adding that Cho was so quiet that he was an "easy target."
But experts said that Cho's messages provide evidence of a much bigger problem.
"The grandiosity, the persecutory beliefs that he expressed certainly are consistent with psychosis that we usually will see as part of a mental illness," said Dr. Todd Cox of Johns Hopkins University. (Watch why warning signs don't always predict behavior )
In the messages he mailed to NBC, Cho referred to the two students responsible for the Columbine killings in 1999 as "martyrs."
Law enforcement agencies across the nation have received about a dozen copycat threats to schools across the country in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, according to the FBI.
The university said Thursday that it will award posthumous degrees to the slain students at the scheduled May 11 commencement.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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