When University of Pittsburgh Police Chief Tim Delaney saw the news yesterday from Virginia Tech about mass shootings, he recalled an incident on the Oakland campus in January.

A university employee had called to report that as he was leaving a bathroom in the Cathedral of Learning, he saw a girl with a gun entering a classroom.

The chief immediately sent officers to the scene -- a response based on the rapid deployment training every police officer in the state undergoes since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

They massed outside the classroom, then burst inside and quickly assessed the threat.

Unlike yesterday's events at Virginia Tech, there was no threat at Pitt. The student had brought the gun to class for a play.

"The great thing is," the chief said, "it worked. We actually think about this [type of incident]. We constantly have this on our mind."

At Virginia Tech, the first shootings occurred in a dormitory, but it was unknown last night whether the gunman lived in the dorm where two people were shot.

At Pitt, all dormitories are restricted to students with Pitt ID cards. Guests must sign in with a guard in the lobby and show photo identification.

But, Chief Delaney said, events have shown that "if you don't mind getting caught, you can shoot the president of the United States."

The key, he said, is quick response.

His force of 74 officers is Allegheny County's fourth largest, behind the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department.

At Duquesne University, where five student-athletes were shot Sept. 17 after an on-campus dance, campus police declined comment yesterday about student safety.

Both Penn State University and West Virginia University were offering students counseling in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings.