As Virginia Tech mourned it's fresh tragedy, Columbine was commemorating the eighth anniversary of its school massacre.

I wonder if I am the only person in the world to have visited both places in that most extraordinary of weeks.

The atmosphere at the two places couldn't have been more different.  At Virginia Tech local residents and students alike were unequivocal in their support of the authorities, despite seeming clangers made by pretty much every official body in the run up to the killings.

Before the Virginia Tech shootings, Columbine was the scene for America's most notorious school massacre.

On April 20 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two students at the local High School, killed 12 fellow students and a teacher. As far as the world is concerned they then killed themselves. (It's more likely that Harris, the leader of the two, actually surprised Klebold by murdering him and then turning a gun on himself.)

Harris and Klebold had few friends and no confidantes. One of the closest people to them was a local kid named Brooks Brown who had been at the same schools as Kelbold since they were toddlers. Brown became infamous after the murders after it emerged he had been warned by Harris not to attend class that day. As the shooting started inside the School, outside Brown could be seen running away.

Brown was arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice but was eventually cleared. His legal battle uncovered ineptitude amongst the authorities that, he argues, have been mirrored almost exactly at Virginia Tech. His conclusion? Another massacre is just around the corner.

His is a compelling voice and well worth listening to.