Details emerge as NVCC reopens

Jason Michael Hamilton was involved with the U.S. Air Force ROTC and always knew what he wanted to do with his life, said Hamilton's former track coach at C.D. Hylton High School.

Now Hamilton is jailed without bond on charges of attempted murder of his math professor, Tatyana Kravchuk, on Tuesday at the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

Police said Hamilton admitted to purchasing a high-powered rifle at a Woodridge sporting goods store just miles from campus and then taking it to class with him, where police said he fired two rounds at Kravchuk before the gun jammed.

When she saw the rifle, Kravchuk yelled for everyone to get down and she hid behind a desk and was not harmed by the bullets, police said. The bullets missed everyone else in the room. Hamilton put down the gun and waited for police to arrive, police said.

"I didn't think it was that kid. I was thinking it wasn't him. He was a very quiet-type kid. He wasn't the type of kid who would hurt anybody," said Hylton track coach Mike Thornton, who coached Hamilton during his first two years at the Woodbridge high school.

During his senior year in 2008-'09, Hamilton chose to focus on his studies and did not join the track team, Thornton said Thursday.

He described Hamilton as a quiet, focused student who knew that he wanted to go to college and relied on the Air Force to help get there.

"He never gave me a problem," said Thornton.

The Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College, off Neabsco Mills Road, reopened to students Thursday. The college offered counseling at the campus between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

A statement to students from the college president said officials have no way of knowing when and where the next emergency will be, but they can be prepared for one.

"We are grateful for their quick action and that of the Prince William County Police to bring the situation to a safe conclusion," stated NVCC President Robert G. Templin Jr. in a letter to students. "Several faculty and students also took smart and heroic action to protect the safety of their classmates and teachers. We are very proud of the Woodbridge Campus' response in this crisis."

Other campuses, including the college's Annandale campus in Fairfax County, also asked support counselors to be on hand.

Police said Hamilton was upset about his grades in Kravchuk's class, a remedial math course where the final grade does not count for college credit.

The class is scheduled to meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. until fall classes end Dec. 20. According to police, Hamilton pulled out the rifle and fired at the teacher 10 minutes after class began.

NVCC is Virginia's largest institution of higher learning in terms of enrollment, with more than 67,000 students take classes at the college's six campuses.

The college operates two campuses in Prince William County; in Woodbridge and near Manassas.

Sports writer Robert Daski contributed to this story. Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.