NOBODY at the small post office noticed anything unusual when the young South Korean man walked in and mailed a package bound for New York. It was 9.01am last Monday and the half-dozen staff at the mail centre in Blacksburg were getting ready for a busy day because of the deadline for filing tax returns.

No one paid any attention to Cho Seung-Hui.

Nobody saw the two pistols he had under his jacket. Nobody looked twice at him as he walked the 10-minute journey towards Virginia Tech. And nobody glanced in his direction as he strolled into the Norris Hall engineering block near the centre of the giant 2,600-acre campus.

By the time people started noticing, he had already pulled out the Glock and Walther pistols and begun opening fire. When he eventually turned one of the guns on himself, 32 innocent people lay dead and Cho Seung-Hui had become the biggest mass-murder gunman in US history.

Six days after the 23-year-old student went on the rampage, the idyllic Virginian town of Blacksburg is still trying to come to terms with the tragic events that have ensured it will remain forever infamous. There have been recriminations and counter-recriminations since the murders, with the college, police, media and gun lobby all attracting criticism. But as the shock begins to wear off, there comes the realisation that if a madman is intent on carrying out a horrific extreme act of violence, little can actually be done to prevent it.

Cho woke up on Monday morning and armed himself with the two pistols he legally purchased five weeks ago. He then walked to the Ambler Johnston dormitory at around 7.15am and called to the room of Emily Hilscher (19). Emily's friend Ryan Clark heard screams and went to investigate.

By the time Cho left the building and returned to his own dorm in Harper Hall, both Hilscher and Clark had been shot dead. It is unclear if he knew his victims or shot them to throw police off his scent.

In the 90 minutes between carrying out the double murder and going to the post office, Cho packed into a box 43 photographs, 27 videos, one audio clip and an 1,800-word essay explaining his actions.

The 'multimedia manifesto', as it has become known, was addressed to NBC news in New York. The photos show Cho posing with weapons while the videos contain strange ramblings. He said: "You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours.

Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off." Cho was a loner who wrote violent plays and was diagnosed as being a danger to himself and others. He was never hospitalised, however, and did not receive treatment.

After getting more ammunition and chains to bolt the doors of Norris Hall, he stopped off at the post office and mailed his package.

Students were sitting in four classes on the second floor of Norris Hall when he struck at 9.15am.

Most victims were shot multiple times and the majority were language students. Campus police were quickly on the scene but, as they made their way to the second floor, Cho shot himself in the head and the murderous rampage ended.

The campus chief of police Wendell Flinchum described the scene as "the worst thing I've ever seen in my life". A 44-year-old graduate of the FBI academy, Flinchum was criticised by the media for not locking down the entire campus after the first shooting incident at 7.15am. He defended his force of nearly two dozen officers, saying: "We believed the deaths were an isolated incident and domestic in nature."

A roommate of Emily Hilscher told the police that Hilscher's boyfriend was a gun enthusiast and he was subsequently arrested, with officers satisfied they had their murderer. So the students of Virginia Tech . . . or Hokies as they are known . . . walked onto campus not realising that a gunman was on the loose. The college sent out an email after the first incident but did not tell students to stay away. It wasn't until 9.55am that the college officially informed them of the multiple murders and hundreds of panicked students had to run from Norris Hall to the sound of gunfire.

By Monday afternoon, the extent of Cho's actions was becoming clear. Students made frantic calls to see if friends were OK and parents from across the US rushed to Virginia to support their children. As Monday moved into Tuesday, the sight of students collapsing in hysterics confirmed that they knew one of the dead or injured.

Over 10,000 grieving people attended a memorial service on Tuesday afternoon which was addressed by George Bush. College president Charles Steger was greeted with a 30 second standing ovation. Afterwards, the crowd instinctively made its way to the college drill field, which is overlooked by Norris Hall. Their ranks had swelled to nearly 20,000 and a moving candlelight vigil took place, with many overcome when the crowd launched into the college rallying cry, "Let's go Hokies, let's go Hokies."

It is to the same drill field that people have flocked to pay their respects these past six days. Floral tributes have been placed beside the yellow police crime-scene tape opposite Norris Hall. Hundreds of candles and flowers have been laid at the concrete war memorial on the drill field and a huge American flag flies at half-mast, as does every flag across the US nation. One tribute reads: "To all Hokies. Stay strong and united. We will always remember those who we have lost. Keep them in your prayers."

Thirty-two stone blocks, each bearing flowers and a Virginia Tech pennant, have been placed on the field, while 16 large white boards have been erected under a canopy shelter. The boards contain thousands of messages from students, teachers and ordinary people.

One female reporter from Fox News wept as she signed the boards of condolence.

The relationship between the mourners and the media has been tense this past week and it visibly soured in recent days with many students unhappy with the media's conduct. Following Tuesday's memorial, the ranks of the media probably outnumbered students, most of whom had headed home while the press contingent swelled close to 1,000.

The treatment of Virginia Tech president Charles Steger caused deep annoyance to many.

The media questioned whether the college's response time had been acceptable, but Steger had the full support of the vast majority of his students and they were not going to turn on one of their own.

This wasn't the only issue to spark tension, however, with the perceived insensitivity of journalists in approaching grieving students also causing anger. While there were no incidents of journalists being verbally or physically assaulted, towards the end of the week many people chose to cross the road rather than walk past reporters. Police criticism of the media for playing Cho Seung-Hui's videos did little to ease tensions and posters even began to appear on campus, saying: "Hokie nation needs to heal.

Media stay away."

To say there is a media circus in Blacksburg is a gross understatement. A massive parking lot was opened exclusively for the dozens of TV news satellite trucks and you can scarcely walk 20 yards without encountering a live broadcast by journalists from as far away as China and Russia. Hotel rooms can't be had for love nor money and most reporters are staying over 50 miles away from the Tech and commuting to the crime scene.

I was lucky to organise a room a mere 12 miles away, but was warned that it was far from salubrious. I arrived to see a room reserved for CNN staff. "Are there other media here?" I asked. The receptionist said CNN had blockbooked 50 rooms and that most of the other rooms were occupied by journalists. All my neighbours drove cars and vans with the words Fox News and NBC on them.

Roanoke regional airport is about 40 miles from Virginia Tech and has had the busiest week in its history. By Tuesday, it was so thronged that the five major car-rental firms operating out of the airport had all run out of vehicles. I arrived to find panicked friends and relatives of victims desperately searching for a rental car. But if you hadn't pre-booked, you didn't have a hope of driving away.

An elderly man in his mid-70s was running between the rental desks shouting that he needed a car. When he was unsuccessful, he began crying uncontrollably. A group of a dozen or so Red Cross volunteers working at the airport comforted him. They have put on shuttle buses to Virginia Tech and happily offer assistance to anyone who needs it. Red Cross personnel have served over 3,000 free meals at the college campus since Monday.

A woman working at the Hertz desk said they had been closed for over 24 hours while trying to transport cars to the area and even had to inform the White House that it would have to look elsewhere for vehicles while George Bush was in town. "You know that something unprecedented has happened when you have to say no to the White House" she said.

From Wednesday, the vast Virginia Tech campus was eerily quiet, with the vast majority of students returning home because all classes are cancelled until tomorrow. The four Irish students on an exchange from UCD in Dublin all took the opportunity to go upstate for a short break.

Many others decided to remain in Blacksburg to show solidarity with the dead but it appeared that a lot of people simply couldn't face going home to their families after the unspeakable events.

There is a feeling among locals that what happened will only make the sense of community stronger. Blacksburg is defined by Virginia Tech.

Apart from the 26,000 students, less than 15,000 people live here. It is overwhelmingly upper middle class and almost exclusively white.

The town is like a sea of maroon and orange as people make an extra effort to wear the Hokie colours. The college merchandise store on Main Street is doing a healthy trade. The 'Campus Emporium' sells only Virginia Tech merchandise and people are snapping up sweatshirts and even jewellery with the VT logo on it. Friday was 'Hokie Day' with everyone encouraged to wear college colours. Even the journalists wore maroon and orange. It is difficult to be a neutral observer here.

In the nearby Gillie's diner, groups of students and their families eat while talking loudly and forcing smiles, trying to help each other cope, but most of the young people break down by the time their meals are finished.

Like most small American towns, Blacksburg has nothing much to it apart from a few diners, drive-in banks and some grocery stores. You can walk the main street in less than five minutes.

Signs have begun appearing in shops saying "Never forget April 16, 2007".

With Virginia Tech and the wider Virginia community united in grief, outside groups have managed to cause tension among the mourners.

As soon as the news of the 32 fatalities broke, a string of ultra-religious groups from across the US flocked to Blacksburg. While most were there to offer genuine support, solidarity and "free hugs and Hershey's kisses", some overstepped the mark.

One such organisation was the North Carolina branch of 'Operation Save America'. It set up a public address system and began preaching about repenting sin and improving the world.

Many relatives were unhappy with their quiet contemplation being broken and angry onlookers turned the speakers off on three separate occasions only for them to be reconnected.

There was a scuffle after onlookers intervened for a fourth time and the sound equipment was damaged. Police responded by permanently switching the PA system off, while one woman screamed: "The devil is behind all this." A minister with Operation Save America remarked:

"We've never been in such a hostile environment."

The police are understandably edgy following last Monday's events, and a Swat team stormed one of the main halls on campus on Wednesday after a man was seen near Charles Steger's office. It was rumoured that the unidentified man had threatened to kill Steger, but this was untrue and the alert was quickly over.

A journalist with the Tech newspaper, the Collegiate Times, was wrongly arrested after he was seen taking pictures outside Norris Hall immediately after the murders. Chinese-born Shaozhuo Cui (24) was handcuffed and held in the back of a squad car for over two hours. He later said officers told him he was detained because he matched the racial profile of the murder suspect.

But it wasn't just Virginia Tech that was on full alert. The nearby Montgomery County Courthouse was evacuated and the streets blocked by dozens of officers over what turned out to be a malfunctioning drinks machine. There were also security incidents at universities in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell managed to land himself in hot water after he was filmed throwing his eyes up to heaven as a contestant, Virginia native Chris Richardson, paid tribute to the 32 dead. Cowell later claimed he hadn't heard Richardson's remarks and had been raising his eyes at his questionable singing performance.

The first victims' bodies were released to their families on Friday and funeral services will continue into next week. All the dead students will be awarded posthumous degrees.

The Collegiate Times is a paper manned exclusively by Virginia Tech students and rivalled most of the big national media in its coverage of the murders. Its editorial last Thursday summed up what most people here are thinking.

It read: "Cho Seung-Hui selfishly took the lives of 32 innocent victims and injured a number of others before taking his own. His actions have inflicted unimaginable pain and grief on so many and the outcome of Monday's events is no one's fault but his own. To blame this heartbreaking tragedy on anyone but Cho Seung-Hui is an insult. He is responsible; he is at fault, he is to blame. No one else is to blame for the loss of 32 beautiful lives."