CAIRO: The death of Waleed Shaalan, the 32-year-old Egyptian victim of the Virginia Tech shooting struck Egyptian society in the heart. Shaalan traveled to the USA last August, to study towards his PhD in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech University. Shaalan graduated from Zakazik University, Faculty of Engineering with a Master s degree in Water Engineering. He was following in his father s footsteps, establishing a career in water resources and irrigation, as his father is an ex-first undersecretary in the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. Shaalan used to work as a researcher in the institution of water resources before he traveled to the USA, according to El-Wafd newspaper. He is originally from Sharkia, but his family lives in Zakazik. Shaalan has been married to engineer Amira Ahmed for three years and has a 1-year-old son named Khaled. Shaalan s friends established a group for him on the Facebook social networking website, titled "In Memory of Waleed Shaalan that included Shaalan s biography and five pictures of him. The Facebook group described Shaalan as a dedicated and passionate student of Civil Engineering. Though he had a hectic schedule, juggling classes, PhD research and TA [teaching assistant] responsibilities, he always made time for the people around him. Waleed was known for his broad smile and wave that he gave everyone. Shaalan s roommate, Fahad Pasha, as indicated on the Facebook group, was the last one to have spoken to Shaalan before the tragic accident. 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. 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 five hours he would be gone forever, said Pasha on the Facebook group. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Egyptian embassy in Washington followed all the necessary regulations to guarantee the safe return of Shaalan s body. Shaalan was one of the 31 victims who died in the massacre committed by a 23-year-old South Korean student, Cho Seung-hui, who killed himself after the incident. This crime is not the first of its kind to take place in the USA, as the BBC World web site reported three other similar crimes committed in the past. On Aug. 1, 1966, Sniper Charles Whitman murdered 14 and injured dozens at the University of Texas, on April 20, 1999, two teenagers at Columbine High School, Colorado, murdered 13 other students and on March 21, 2005, a teenager killed nine in Minnesota, according to the BBC World web site.
