Re-defining the word "terror"

At this point, there's no need to post a link to any of the articles about the tragic shootings on the Va Tech campus - surely you have all read them or seen the story on TV by now. Here's a quote I read from a WSJ email of the day's top headlines:

"FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said there was currently no evidence to suggest that the incident was a terrorist attack, but said "all avenues will be explored.""

(Major disclaimer: there's no direct quote with the word terrorism or terror in here, just the WSJ email suggesting that this was said by the FBI spokesman...I haven't been able to verify this quote)

This seemed like an idiotic comment to me, so I looked up the definition of "terror" on thefreedictionary.com to make sure I wasn't jumping to any inappropriate conclusions. Here's what I found:

ter·ror
n.
1. Intense, overpowering fear. See Synonyms at fear.
2. One that instills intense fear: a rabid dog that became the terror of the neighborhood.
3. The ability to instill intense fear: the terror of jackboots pounding down the street.
4. Violence committed or threatened by a group to intimidate or coerce a population, as for military or political purposes.
5. Informal An annoying or intolerable pest: that little terror of a child.

Basically all the definitions revolve around "intense fear" and the instilling of it. Now, some quotes from a cnn.com article on the story (still in developing stages):

"Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos.""

"The reporter said there were "lots of students running around, going crazy,"

"Waldron described the scene on campus as "mayhem." "

And the doozy: ""It was kind of scary," he said. "These two kids I guess had panicked and jumped out of the top-story window and the one kid broke his ankle and the other girl was not in good shape just lying on the ground." "

I don't know about you, but when people are jumping out of windows (we all remember those crazy pics of people jumping out of the WTC 6 years ago), there's some fear going on. Big-time.

So, if "terror" is supposed to be that which "instills intense fear", then why isn't this labeled a "terrorist attack"? I wonder - did 9/11 change the definition of "terror" or a "terrorist attack" to factor in who commits the act? This is obviously a rhetorical question that bears some thoughtful consideration.