A press release from the Office of the Governor of Minnesota:

ST. PAUL -- In order to review broader questions raised by the Virginia Tech tragedy, United States Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty met yesterday with state and local leaders, educators, mental health experts, and law enforcement officials to discuss what can be learned from the shootings at Virginia Tech and similar tragedies.

President George W. Bush has asked Leavitt and other cabinet officials to travel across America and hold meetings to discuss the issues raised by the Virginia Tech tragedy. Once this process has been completed, Leavitt will work with Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to summarize the issues raised and report to the president within 30 days.

“The pain of this tragedy is felt throughout this nation and our hearts and prayers go out to the victims’ families, friends and the entire Virginia Tech community,” Leavitt said. “While our review will not answer all the questions or solve all the problems, we hope to frame up a series of issues as part of a thoughtful, national dialogue and determine where the federal government can play a role in helping states and communities avoid such tragedies in the future.”

“Our state and nation come together to mourn the senseless loss of life and support the victims, families, and friends who are still reeling from this tragedy,” Pawlenty said. “We welcome the opportunity to gather together to discuss these issues with local, state, and federal partners.”

Leavitt, Spellings, and Gonzales will travel separately to convene meetings in states starting April 26. During the next few weeks, one of the officials is expected to travel to states including Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Tennessee, Texas and California. In many of these states, similar tragedies have occurred and the lessons learned from those events will provide valuable input for this review. Administration officials will also meet with members of Virginia Governor Kaine’s commission which is conducting an in-depth investigation of this tragedy from the state’s perspective.

Participants included a law enforcement group made up of:

- Rachel Paulose,  U.S. attorney, District of Minnesota;

- Michael Campion, commissioner, Minnesota Department of Public Safety;

- Tim Leslie, assistant commissioner, Minnesota Department of Public Safety;

- Phil Jones, chief of police, city of Cold Spring;

- Steve Johnson, assistant chief of police, University of Minnesota police;

- Bruce Bechtold, Stearns County deputy sheriff;

- and John Kirkwood, special agent in charge, Minneapolis Secret Service.

Participants included an education group made up of:

- Alice Seagren, commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education;

- Susan Heegaard, director, Office of Higher Education;

- Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education;

- Carol Thomas, student support specialist, Minnesota Department of Education;

- Charlie Kyte, Minnesota Association of School Administrators;

- Bob Meeks, Minnesota School Boards Association;

- Brent Gish, superintendent, Red Lake Public Schools;

- and Scott Staska, superintendent, Rocori Public Schools.

Participants included a mental health group made up of:

- Dr. L. Read Sulik, director of child and adolescent psychiatry for CentraCare in St. Cloud;

- Elizabeth Rogers, director of special education, St. Cloud School District;

- Sandra Lewandowski, Intermediate District 287, representing 13 west metro area school districts to provide educational services and programs;

- Mary Heiserman, director of children's programs, Wilder Foundation;

- Gary Cunningham, chief executive officer, Northpoint;

- Chris Bray, Minnesota Department of Corrections;

- Dr. Abigail Gewirtz, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota;

- and Ed Taylor, Department of Social Work, University of Minnesota.