Our Deepest Condolences to Virginia Tech

The Muslim Student Association of Virginia Tech

For Immediate Release: How Waleed Shaalan saves a classmate's life Story is narrated by Dr. Hesham Rakha, a professor in the Civil Engineering Department. At this time, we DO NOT have the name of Waleed's classmate who survived. "I would like to share with you some additional information that I received from a colleague in the CEE Dept. This colleague of mine is the supervisor of a graduate student who was with Waleed in the class and survived the massacre. I should mention that the description is graphical so I apologize in advance. The student mentions that Waleed saved his life and wants to convey this to Waleed's family. Apparently, the murderer came into Norris 206 and shot Dr. Loganathan and a number of students injuring Waleed. Waleed was sitting in the front row where he always sat. Everyone jumped to the floor after hearing the gun shots including the person narrating the story. The murderer then left Norris 206 to go to another classroom. The student that narrates the story was not shot but pretended to be dead and lay on the ground beside Waleed who at that time was only injured. The murderer then re-entered the classroom and was checking for alive victims. He had approached the person narrating the story who mentions that his heart was pounding out of fear. Waleed at that instant made a movement to distract the murderer's attention and was shot for the second time. At that time Waleed died and the murderer left the narrator to search for other victims." Read more about this story in the links below: New York Times FOX News BBC News in Arabic To Allah we belong and to Allah we will return. We ask Allah to forgive Waleed and all of his sins and grant him paradise. For Immediate Release: Brother Waleed Shaalan, a victim of the Virginia tech shootings. Waleed Shaalan, 32 years old, first stepped onto the Virginia Tech campus in August 2006. An international student originally from Zagazig, Egypt, with no family members in the United States, Waleed quickly became an essential member of the Blacksburg Muslim community. Among those mourning his death are his two roommates (Fahad Pasha and Irfan Waseem) to whom Waleed was their loving older brother, cook, academic and spiritual mentor. Waleed initially began his PhD program in Egypt, but when Virginia Tech offered him an assistantship position, he chose to leave his original degree path and continue it in Blacksburg. Following in the footsteps of his father, Waleed was a dedicated and passionate student of Civil Engineering. Though he had a hectic schedule, juggling classes, PhD research and TA responsibilities, he always made time for the people around him. Waleed was known for his broad smile and wave that he gave everyone. "He was the simplest and nicest guy I ever knew.We would be studying for our exams and he would go buy a cake and make tea for us," said Fahad, Waleed's roommate. Fahad was the last person to have spoken to Waleed, he remarked "He was studying late for an exam the morning of the incident; it was about 4 am when I last saw and spoke to him. We were talking about how amazing it would be once he brought his wife and son to Tech after the summer. I could never have imagined that in 5 hours he’d be gone forever." Waleed left behind Amira, his wife for 3 years, and Khaled his one-year old son. As we express our grief and sympathy for the families of all those directly affected by this senseless tragedy, we honor them through memory and reflection; and Waleed will always be smiling in our hearts. We have set up a fund to support Br. Waleed Shaalan's family. Click this link http://www.msanational.org/finance/vt07donate.html to donate. MSA Official Statement about the VT Massacre Monday, April 16, 2007. Peace to all. The Muslim Students Association, along with the wider campus of Virginia Tech, extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of those victims affected by today's events. We are shocked at this senseless loss of life and we feel the pain and outrage of the student body. We open our hearts and ears to anyone wishing counsel or comfort and pray that our collective pain will be eased through patience and sharing. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tells us, "Patience comes only at the first moment of grief." The Hokie family is in our prayers.