Tuesday marks sixth anniversary of Virginia Tech massacre

VIRGINIA (WITI) -- Tuesday, April 16th is the sixth anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting rampage.

It comes a day after bombs went off near the finish line at the Boston Marathon -- killing three people and injuring nearly 150 others.

As the nation mourns this fresh tragedy, the state of Virginia is pausing to honor its victims from April 16th, 2007.

That's when a 23-year-old college student went on a shooting spree at the campus in Blacksburg. 32 were killed, and the gunman took his own life.

The Virginia Tech massacre is considered the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

Virginia's governor has named April 16th as the official day of remembrance.

At the stroke of midnight, a ceremony candle was lit and will remain so for 24 hours. At 9:43 a.m., a statewide moment of silence was observed.