Monday’s rampage sparked a largely one-sided response in the long-running debate over guns. Gun control advocates said the shootings pointed to the need for tougher laws, while supporters of gun rights generally kept their heads down.

In remarks from the White House, President George W Bush, a longtime champion of the right to bear arms, expressed the nation’s grief over the carnage in Blacksburg. But he said nothing about the gun control debate.

Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco express ed sorrow about the shootings but remained silent on gun control. In the past, Democrats often have led the fight for tighter gun laws, but recently the party has been trying to broaden its appeal to hunters and others who oppose more controls.

However, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband was among six people killed by a gunman who opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road train in 1993, added a political note to her statement of sympathy. “The unfortunate situation in Virginia could have been avoided if congressional leaders stood up to the gun lobby.”

Virginia’s gun laws make it easy to buy and own firearms, including handguns, and the state often has been criticised as the source of guns used in crimes in the Washington area and other East Coast cities. But it is not known what role, if any, state laws may have played in the Blacksburg killings.

Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said: “I can’t say how this will play into the debate until we know how old the shooter was and how he got his guns.”

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