$100K Virginia Tech Offer Slammed as 'Insult' to Victims

Proposed settlement aims to head off lawsuits over university massacre

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 25, 2008 3:20 AM CDT

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$100K Virginia Tech Offer Slammed as 'Insult' to Victims — New York Yankees' Derek Jeter, center, looks over the memorial for the April 16th shooting victims on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, March 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The state of Virginia is offering $100,000 to each family of the 32 students and teachers killed by a lone gunman in the Virginia Tech massacre, the Virginian-Pilot reports. If accepted, the settlement would prevent families from suing the state for negligence. One attorney called the offer "for a human life an insult, an absolute insult."

Families of some of the victims of the deadliest school shooting in American history blame Virginia Tech for failing to adequately warn or protect people after the rampage began. The state's proposed settlement also offers to pay medical and counseling costs for survivors, and would allow family members to personally quiz the governor and university officials about the tragedy. (More PTSD stories.)

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