RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Friday he hopes to assuage angry and heartbroken Virginia Tech parents with offers of additional financial assistance.

But he acknowledges that may not be enough to avoid lawsuits seeking damages from the April 16 massacre that left 32 students dead and another 25 injured.

If they do sue, a spokesman for Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Friday the office would defend the university and the state.

“The fact that lawsuits would be filed was a natural,” Kaine said in an interview. “We are having some preliminary discussions with families to see is there something reasonable that the state and Virginia Tech might be able to do, in response to the families’ legitimate needs going forward, that might avert the need for that.”

Gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and professors and injured another 25 on April 16 in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

Six families have retained a pair of prominent Washington attorneys with broad experience in litigation related to school and college tragedies.

Kaine said he is prepared to assist Virginia Tech if a lawsuit is filed, saying the “possibility is very real.” David Clementson, a spokesman for McDonnell said his office would represent the university.

Kaine was praised for his swift reaction and empathy in the wake of the gruesome killings. He rushed back from Tokyo, where he was on a trade mission, and comforted families at a memorial convocation with an unscripted speech that drew on his religious faith.

The families say university officials could have saved lives if they had issued a prompt warning after Cho killed his first victims in a student dormitory, an opinion echoed in the panel report. They also believe the tragedy could have been averted if Tech leaders had reacted to signs that Cho was becoming mentally unhinged.

Finally, families have heaped criticism on Tech President Charles Steger for failing to reach out after the shooting.

“In terms of compassion, Kaine’s been miles above Steger,” said William O’Neil.

He said Steger’s office sent him two e-mails and arranged a 10-minute phone call with the president on Aug. 9, four months after O’Neil’s son Daniel was killed. “He’s never said, “I’m sorry for your loss,”‘ O’Neil said.

In an interview earlier this month, Mike White, who lost his daughter Nicole, said university leaders “have done nothing but hold us at arm’s length. Hokies shouldn’t treat Hokies like this.”

The tension has put pressure on Kaine as he defends Steger while trying to maintain good relations with the families.


Kaine is planning a weekend visit to Blacksburg, where he will visit the memorial to the shooting victims this morning and mingle at tailgate parties in the afternoon. He will watch Tech’s first football game of the season in Steger’s private box.

Kaine said he will not distance himself from the college president, noting that Steger has the overwhelming support of students and faculty.


The governor pointed out that most of the students injured in the shooting, and even some siblings of those who died, have returned to Tech.

“Why is that?” Kaine asked. “It’s because Tech is a very good institution and Charlie Steger has a lot to do with that.”

” “The problem needs to be fixed and a guy like Charlie whose whole life has been devoted to Virginia Tech. I think, is in an excellent position to do everything possible on that campus.”

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(c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.).

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-08-31-07 1913EDT