Virginia Tech students were supposed to start finals Friday. Instead, they are waiting to learn the name of a gunman who killed a 39-year-old police officer in a school parking lot Thursday. They, along with the nation are also waiting to learn why he killed him.

"The gunman is not a student, " Larry Hincker, Associate VP of University Relations told Fox News.

"Why people do things like that? Lord only knows why."

In a baffling attack in broad day light the police say the gunman walked up to Deriek W. Crouse while he was making a traffic stop and shot him.

Reports say ballistic testing show the same gun was used to kill the officer and the second person involved, the gunman.

Crouse has a wife and five children at home. He served in the US Army and he's been with the Virginia Tech Police force for four years. He joined just months after the campus was the scene of the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

"We are working to get a memorial fund set up," Hincker said.

On Thursday, school officials were addressing a U.S. Department of Education fine over the alleged mishandling of in 2007 bloodbath when 33 people were killed. On Thursday, the alert went out only minutes after the first shots were fired.

"You guys wouldn't be here talking to me if it didn't happen here 4 years ago." Hincker said.

"We can alert people to secure themselves but people are free to roam around."