President Bush pledged to help with the investigation into the Virginia Tech shootings. He made a statement nine hours after violence erupted at the university in Blacksburg, Va. Gerald Herbert | Associated Press

"Today our nation grieves with those who have lost their loved ones at Virginia Tech," Bush said today at the White House, nine hours after the violence erupted at the university in Blacksburg, Va.

The president said he spoke with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and "pledged we would stand ready to help local law enforcement and the local community in any way we can."

The mass shooting at the institution about 270 miles southwest of Washington was the deadliest in U.S. history.