At least five victims from Northern Virginia

The five from Northern Virginia are Reema Samaha, a freshman from Centreville; Erin Peterson, a freshman from Centreville; Maxine Turner, a senior from Vienna; Leslie Sherman, a junior from Springfield; and Mary Karen Read, a freshman from Annandale.

Samaha attended Westfield High School - the same high school as gunman Cho Seung-Hui - where she was on the dance team. At Virginia Tech, she was active in the university's drama scene.

"She was like my sister; how do you describe your sister?" asked Preston Regis, a family friend of Samaha. "She was pretty much the world's greatest person."

Regis said Samaha's parents drove to Blacksburg Monday when they were unable to reach their daughter and realized she had French class in Norris Hall, the site of 30 of the shootings.

They found out she was dead that night.

Late Tuesday, officials confirmed that Erin Peterson, a high school classmate of Samaha, also was killed.

Maxine Turner was studying chemical engineering at Tech after graduating from James Madison High School.

"She was one of those brilliant, very intelligent, smart people," said Paul Fraser, a longtime friend. "She had one heck of a future in front of her."

A 2005 graduate of West Springfield High School, Leslie Sherman was a star basketball player and a member of the National Honor Society. She won numerous awards for academic work and volunteer service.

Mary Karen Read graduated from Annandale High School last year. According to friend Zach Sykes, she was killed while in French class.

"She always had a smile on her face," Sykes recalled.

He said Read enjoyed playing lacrosse and the clarinet when in high school.

"She was always in a good mood, and it put you in a good mood," Sykes said. "It's hard to think of the world without her in

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com