The best way to understand the aftermath of Virginia Tech

I didn't really know where to post this, so I put it here:

Now, my way of best understanding how many people 32 is, is to imagine going from the front row of a lecture theatre that I am in, and looking at each person in turn and thinking in my mind, "they'd be dead" sort of thing. I mentioned it to a friend, and he said that he didn't count, but said that he would be among the 32 shot/killed, as we were in the 2nd from the front row of seats at the time.

So what is anyone else's best method to understand (well, attempt to understand) such a thing as this?