Waleed Mohamed Shaalan, a 32-year-old Egyptian doctoral student in civil engineering, was a cherished member of the Blacksburg community. He had come to Virginia Tech in August 2006, leaving behind his wife and one-year-old son in Egypt to further his education, following in the footsteps of his father. Though he had no family in the United States, he quickly became an integral part of the local Muslim community and was a beloved mentor and friend to his roommates, who saw him as an older
brother. Known for his warm smile and friendly wave, he was a dedicated student who, despite a demanding schedule, always found time for others. The night before his death, he was up late studying for an exam, talking with his roommate about the exciting prospect of his wife and son joining him in Blacksburg at the end of the summer.
On the morning of April 16, 2007, that future was tragically cut short. Waleed was in his advanced hydrology engineering class in Norris Hall when a gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, entered the room and began shooting. The professor was killed first, followed by a number of students. Waleed was among those who were shot and wounded in the initial barrage of gunfire. As he lay injured on the floor, he was next to a fellow student who was pretending to be dead.
When the shooter returned to the classroom to search for any signs of life, he noticed the student who was playing dead. In a final act of selflessness, Waleed made a move to distract the gunman. His heroic action drew the shooter's attention, and he was shot a second time. This final act cost him his life, but it saved the life of his classmate. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, later died by suicide after killing 32 people and wounding many others in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at the time.
