A 76-year-old Jewish-Romanian lecturer was hailed a hero after blocking his classroom door long enough for many of his students to escape the Virginia Tech gunman, before being shot dead.

Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, pressed himself against the door of the classroom while shots were fired in the corridor and surrounding rooms. He stood firm, attempting to barricade the door, while his students clambered out of the windows.

His son, Joe Librescu, said in an interview from Tel Aviv that the professor e-mailed his wife to say that he had prevented the gunman getting into the classroom. However, the next e-mails received by the family were from students in the class informing them that Mr Librescu had not survived the shootings.

“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” Joe Librescu said. “Students started opening windows and jumping out.”

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk

This article really got to me. The fact that a college professor was willing to risk - and as it unfortunately turned out, sacrifice - his life to help buy his students more time to escape is probably the most touching story to come out of this terrible tragedy.

In a world where ever so many college professors seem to be soulless monsters set on indoctrinating the youth of America, it’s truly amazing to see one who clearly cared for his students and was willing to take such risks to help protect them.

May God bless Liviu Librescu, all the victims, and their families.

Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, sacrificed his life to save his students