CHANTILLY, Va. -- Several victims killed Monday during a shooting spree at Virginia Tech were originally from the Washington suburban area.

Many former local high school students continue their academic careers at nearby colleges, including Virginia Tech.

Video: Freshmen Victims From Northern Va. Rappahanock County Resident Falls Victim In Va. Tech Shootings Local Athlete Named As Virginia Tech Victim

Leslie Sherman graduated from West Springfield High School, where she ran cross country and track. Kim Hogan was best friends with Sherman, according to Hogan's farther, Tim Hogan. When Kim Hogan heard about the shooting, she tried to reach Sherman by instant message but failed to get through. Sherman was killed in Norris Hall.

Duke Baird coached Sherman on the West Springfield cross country team for four years. Baird calls the girls he coached "my angels" and told his team Sherman's death makes him feel like he's lost a daughter.

Reema Samaha, a graduate of Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., was killed inside Norris Hall along with 29 other people.

Her brother, Omar Samaha, a Virginia Tech graduate, appeared on "The Today Show" and explained how his family got the tragic news.

Omar Samaha said his father heard about the shooting from a news report.

"We kept trying to call her and we couldn't contact her all day, and her friends couldn't contact her. We finally got a phone call from one of her friends saying she was in that building," he said. "We ended up getting into the car and driving down here. We found out from a friend, who had a friend who is an EMT and he was in her ambulance."

On Tuesday, many students at Westfield High were wearing Virginia Tech colors in support of the students who survived the shootings and their families, News4 reported. On Tuesday morning, county and state flags were flying at half-staff outside Westfield High in honor of the victims who attended Westfield.

Erin Peterson, of Centreville, Va., also was killed in the shooting spree. She graduated from Westfield High School last year. Friends said Peterson was an active student in high school and was very well-rounded.

Peterson's loved ones said she was involved with her high school's newspaper for four years and was a member of the Quill and Scroll honor society. She was also a member of the high school's varsity basketball team.

Students also killed in Monday's shootings from our area also include Mary Read, of Annandale, Va., Emily Jane Hilscher, of Woodville, Va., and Maxine Turner, of Vienna, Va.

Friends of Turner, who graduated from James Madison High School in 2003, are holding a fundraiser in her honor. Thursday night a local band that was one of Turner's favorites will play at the Firehouse Grill in Fairfax at 8 p.m. All the money raised will go to Turner's family, which might donate it to a charity on behalf of all the victims of the shootings.

Loved ones described Turner as a quiet person and a model student, earning top honors in high school and college. She was majoring in chemical engineering. Friends said she had been active on Virginia Tech's campus and in the Blacksburg community.

Read was born in South Korea into an Air Force family and lived in Texas and California before settling in Annandale, according to her aunt, Karen Kuppinger.

Friends said Hilscher was an animal lover who was majoring in animal and poultry sciences. She was a freshman at Virginia Tech.

Daniel Perez went to Hylton High School in Woodbridge and was in class in Norris Hall when he was shot.

Thousands of graduating northern Virginia students go to Virginia Tech each year. A county school spokesman said the school system will continue to funnel students into Virginia Tech.

Officials identified the gunman as 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui, who was enrolled as an undergraduate student in his senior year as an English major. Cho, a South Korean native, had a legal residence in Centerville, Va. He also graduated from Westfield High School.