VA - Virginia Tech Shooting, 32 murdered, 23 injured, 16 April 2007

[Floh]

Virginia shootings: Eyewitness accounts

Eyewitnesses at Virginia Tech university have been emailing the BBC News website describing the scene at the campus, where at least 31 people have been killed and 10 injured.

Read a selection of them below, as they come in:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6561335.stm

The accounts start early in the day, when they thought there were 'only' 20 dead. read from bottom up as the time progresses and the comments come in.


Nikolas Macko was in class at Virginia Tech when a gunman entered the building and started shooting. He described the experience to the BBC News website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6561733.stm

 

[frangi8773]

http://collegemedia.com/

The list ofconfirmed dead

 

[Gina_M]

Va. Tech president: Gunman was student

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech's president said Tuesday that a university student was the gunman in at least the second of the two campus attacks that claimed 33 lives to become the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

"We do know that he was an Asian male — this is the second incident — an Asian man who was a resident in one of our dormitories," university president Charles Steger said in an interview with CNN, confirming for the first time that the killer was a student.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

 

[angelwngs]

My heart is with them.

My prayers go up for them.

 

[Annie]

What worries me now is the other freaks frothing to a frenzy over this to the point of doing a copycat spree!


Prayers to the families.

That is what worries me too. Seems like every time something like this happens there will be copycats.
One thing that is bothering me is that teachers died holding the doors so students could escape by jumping out the windows. These doors must be equipped with a way to lock them from inside so no one has to sacrificie their life holding a door.

 

[close_enough]

the psychology of mass murder...

We always want there to be an answer, except there never is. We always want there to be a solution, and there is never one of those, either.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18145689/

 

[Amraann]

I think this guy just lost it..
He argued with his G/F and upon shooting her and the RA he left ....realizing what a horrific thing he had done .... He decides to go down and take as many with him as he could... So he then takes a couple of hours to plan that out and proceeds to gather his supplies and go to the other building.

I am not saying this is rational or logical to most normal thinking people...
I do think we have seen this type of behavoir before...
Usually over a broken relationship or the loss of a job.

 

[englishleigh]

I have a real problem with the fact that this moron shot and killed two people in a dorm on campus and got away, and the university did not lockdown the campus right then and cancel classes until he was caught. There was a lunatic on the loose....so many deaths could have been prevented if they had cancelled classes and sent out emails shouting that classes were cancelled, and had the police broadcast this fact all over campus with bullhorns.

Just so so so so sad. Worse than Columbine. Unbelievable.

 

[Shadow205]

Tuesday, April 17th 2007(Last Update: 4:07AM)
List of confirmed deceased

Maxine Turner http://www.myspace.com/super_sneaky_ninja
Vienna, Va.
Senior, Chemical Engineering

Henry Lee
Roanoke, Va.
Freshman, Computer Engineering


Matt La Porte

http://www.myspace.com/mattjlaporte​

Dumont, N.J.
Freshman, University Studies

Jamie Bishop
Instructor, Foreign Languages and Literatures (German)

G.V. Loganathan
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Juan Ortiz
Graduate Student, Civil Engineering

Jarrett Lane
Narrows, Va.
Senior, Civil Engineering

Ryan Clark
Columbia County, Ga.
Senior, Biology, English, Psychology

Leslie Sherman
Sophomore, History and International Studies

Caitlin Hammaren
Sophomore, International Studies and French

Liviu Librescu
Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

Kevin Granata
Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics

Reema Samaha
Centreville, Va.
Freshman

Emily Hilscher

http://www.myspace.com/captivepixie​

Woodville, Va.
Freshman, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Equine Science

We will have further updates as the story continues to develop.

http://www.collegemedia.com/stories/417-300am-none.html

Prayers to all. I have added links to the myspace pages of those that I have so far.

 

[Maral]

April 17, 2007 — Seung Hui Cho, a permanent resident of the United States, a Korean national and a Virginia Tech student has been identified as the gunman in the shootings that left 33 people dead on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, ABC News has learned.

The student left a "disturbing note" before killing two people in a dorm room, returning to his own room to re-arm and entering a classroom building on the other side of campus to continue his rampage, sources said.

More:http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3048108&page=1

 

[Hopeful One]

Thanks for all the links, everyone. You all are great!! I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do even though I was up till 10:00 last night watching coverage!!

 

[HeartofTexas]

Cho Hui was from Centerville, VA, and was 23 years old and was a Senior at the University.

 

[KatK]

The abcnews link that Maral posted isn't working for me.

ETA: I see, here is the link. (Extra HTTP: in there. )

 

[Maral]

Thanks, KatK. I think it is fixed now.

 

[curiositycat]

It is true that in the past, most terroristic activity has been done with bombs or military grade weapons we are now in the present. Higher security for planes, hopefully better monitoring for weapons and explosives. More awareness for everyone.
Since a large part of terrorism is the shock factor, then I would expect them to devise other ways.... something unexpected like a school shooting. And there have been enough of them to give others the idea.
That said, to this point there haven't been any problems with asian terrorists yet have there?
I am undecided as to whether these two events are connected. The first shooting does appear to be a 'crime of passion'. He only shot the girlfriend and the TA who got involved in the argument. Common scenario for a DV.

Second shooting seems more premeditated. He came armed, he carried a lot of ammunition, he chained the doors, he walked from room to room shooting at random. It was like he intended to murder as many as possible before he killed himself.
The two scenes just seem very different. I don't know if it is coincidence, if the 2 nd shooter already had it planned and just put it into effect after hearing of the first shooting, or if there were two working together. But from I have been reading in the recent articles there does appear to have been 2 separate shooters. One for the DV and one for the murder spree.

I agree Mystery! The second shooting doesn't at first appearance look like a crime of passion. Very well thought out.
I remember hearing something a while back about 18 asian terrorists being found and stopped from some terrorist attacks they were plotting here in the US. I tried to google the info and the only thing I came up with was the Alberto Gonzales website where he is bragging about this plot being foiled.

 

[ljwf22]

"BLACKSBURG, Va. - A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea killed at least 30 people locked inside a classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university and police said Tuesday.

Ballistics tests also found that one of the guns used in that attack was also used in a shooting two hours earlier at a dorm that left two people dead, Virginia State Police said.

Police identified the classroom shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived in a different dorm on campus. Cho committed suicide after the attacks, and there was no indication Tuesday of any possible motive.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said."

I wonder why he killed the girl and the RA? Could he have had a crush on her and felt rejected? A lockdown would have kept HIM in his dorm when he went back to reload. Sadly, lots of lessons to be learned in this tragedy.

Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

 

[Rachael]

"BLACKSBURG, Va. - A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea killed at least 30 people locked inside a classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university and police said Tuesday.

Ballistics tests also found that one of the guns used in that attack was also used in a shooting two hours earlier at a dorm that left two people dead, Virginia State Police said.

Police identified the classroom shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived in a different dorm on campus. Cho committed suicide after the attacks, and there was no indication Tuesday of any possible motive.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said."

I wonder why he killed the girl and the RA? Could he have had a crush on her and felt rejected? A lockdown would have kept HIM in his dorm when he went back to reload. Sadly, lots of lessons to be learned in this tragedy.

Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

I heard he was seeing the girl, of course I am not sure if it's true. On her myspace she says she was seeing a great guy, again not sure if she's talking about him.

 

[Marthatex]

It's all voluntary. My point was, anyone who signed up/enlisted for the military/national guard knew the terms and risks: They go where ever they're ordered, when they're ordered and they stay as long as they are ordered, per their voluntary contract with the military, war or no war, bottom line. There was no part of that agreement they didn't understand. So there's no reason for anyone to whine about it. Nobody MADE them sign up for this and they weren't drafted into it. I've spoken to many a soldier just returning to Fort Hood that got their stay extended for 3-4 more months in NOV '06, when they were 1 hr away from getting on a plane home. Did any of them complain, not one did. I see the true casualties of this war "up close and personal" everyday. It's the families, the wives and children of soliders killed. Fort Hood has over 35,000 soldiers there, 1st CAV and 4th ID. The news may say he is from NY, MI, FL, CA, etc, but his wife and kids are here. They know the risks of war and know at anytime "the car" could pull up to their door. They have prepared themselves for that scenario.
Throwing what's happening in Iraq to what happened in VA can't even come close in comparison. It's not a numbers game. Numerous casualties are expected in WAR. Not even having 2 students gunned down on an American university campus could ever be expected, let alone more than 30. There is no comparison to the shock, horror, and total senselessness of it. I'll pray harder for those families. No way could anyone see that coming. These students were not in a place that put them in harms way.

YOu're still missing Buzz's point - It's ourfeelings towards the daily massacres over there that's different. It's the Iraq deaths too. Few pay attention any more. But I won't discuss this further, it was Buzz who brought it up. No need to "whine" about daily massacres in Iraq? And many troops dying? I beg to differ.

 

[Marthatex]

"BLACKSBURG, Va. - A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea killed at least 30 people locked inside a classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university and police said Tuesday.

Ballistics tests also found that one of the guns used in that attack was also used in a shooting two hours earlier at a dorm that left two people dead, Virginia State Police said.

Police identified the classroom shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived in a different dorm on campus. Cho committed suicide after the attacks, and there was no indication Tuesday of any possible motive.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said."

I wonder why he killed the girl and the RA? Could he have had a crush on her and felt rejected? A lockdown would have kept HIM in his dorm when he went back to reload. Sadly, lots of lessons to be learned in this tragedy.

Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

This is so classic for these kind of shooting sprees. LONER, quiet; heavily dependent on girlfriend or other person.

would rather see her dead than with someone else Then decides he's going to kill a bunch of others out of anger. (Charles Whitman)

It's classic. He's not a Jihadist ; he's a nutcase. What makes him different is that he's from South Korea; although there are plenty of Asian murders, we had one here in this town not long ago, but he murdered one person, his teacher.

This kind of mass murder can run through all walks of life, differing nationalities.

 

[crymezero]

Cho Seung-Hui