Mets Star Lends Hand to Virginia Tech

May 24, 2007 -- David Wright is living the dream. He is a young, talented and photogenic, playing third base for a first place team in the America's media capital.

But for a few moments during the afternoon of April 16, the New York Mets superstar nearly lived out a nightmare.

Wright was in Philadelphia as the Mets prepared to play the Phillies in an early season game against a division rival. He woke up a bit late, as ballplayers tend to do before night games. He clicked on this news in his hotel room, and as he said in a recent interview with ABC News Now, "My heart just skipped a beat."

The coverage was everywhere. There had been a terrible shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech. The number killed was rising beyond 20, on its way to 32.

It was shocking news for every American who heard it that day. David Wright's thoughts immediately turned to Stephen.

Wright's younger brother wasn't just a student at Virginia Tech. He was an engineering major, and took classes in Norris Hall, the building in which most of the violence occurred. Fortunately, Wright's moment of panic was short-lived.

"I got a hold of my family pretty quickly; they let me know everything was OK," Wright recalled. "My brother contacted them earlier in the morning."

Though obviously relieved, Wright just couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. A native of Norfolk, Va., Wright knew the school and the campus very well. And he couldn't stop thinking about those who got different phone calls that day.

"You think about the brothers that can't say the same, with their younger brothers who did not make it out of there, or the fathers and the mothers," he said. "It's just a terrible thing to happen. It's something nobody should have to go through."

Wright didn't have a chance to speak to Stephen until later in the afternoon. It was then he realized just how close the tragedy was to his brother and therefore to him as well.

"He told me that he has a lot of classes in that building, and some of his classmates were in there," said Wright. "We're talking about good students that were going to further their education and going to be the future leaders of America. Going to a kid's funeral, it's just tough to put into words."