Beamer says school handled gunman situation well

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Virginia Tech's first football practice of the preseason was delayed for an hour Thursday after reports of a gunman on campus.

No gunman was found despite a massive search of the sprawling campus. A lockdown put in effect after the initial report of the possible gunman was lifted at 2:42 p.m., just more than an hour before the scheduled 4 p.m. start of practice.

Classes also were canceled after the initial alert at 9:37 a.m.

Coach Frank Beamer thought the school handled the situation well.

"I thought everything went pretty smooth to be honest with you," Beamer said after practice wrapped up at about 7:15 p.m. "We just moved things back an hour. The kids adapted to the deal. I thought everything went good."

New quarterback Logan Thomas agreed and said the players used the time in lockdown to their advantage. Most of the team was lifting weights when the first alert was broadcast.

"We just lifted and we were able to leave the weight room. Most of us just hung around the locker room and talked and just conversed about having practice. We just had some pretty good team camaraderie right there," Thomas said.

He also gave high marks to the police, who the school said would continue to have a large presence on campus.

"I think the campus police and the Blacksburg police handled it very well," Thomas said. "Everything was on lockdown quick. They sent texts out, emails out. So it was real good to see how fast they responded."