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

[englishleigh]

Now the courthouse in Blacksburg has been evacuated.

Holy crap. All the nutjobs are crawling out of the woodwork. :hand:

 

[KatK]

Now the courthouse in Blacksburg has been evacuated.

Linkety link link, please? (If there are any, that is.)

 

[dmp]

KatK, I was a greencard holder for many years, and I was not limited to owning businesses. I know I could not hold a liquor licence, but could run a bar as long as the licence was in another name. I'm sure there were other limitations, but not many.
English, I doubt that deportation will even enter into this. This was a mental illness no doubt. As I've posted before, do you blame the country he was born in, or the country he was raised in? Neither!! He was sick.

 

[dmp]

On NPR this morning there was a report that a "person of interest" had been picked up after the first shooting. He was connected with the girl who was shot, knew her somehow. Apparently he is still of interest and has not yet been released. Also a search warrant has been issued for this person's apartment to see if there are any other links to Cho.
I wasn't too sure of what I heard on the radio as the kids were making noise etc, but listened to it again from the NPR site. The NPR page for today's Morning Edition. Just click on the 'listen' button. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=9642193
Sorry, can't seem to get the link to work properly, www.npr.org. Today's Morning Edition, April 18, 2007

 

[Lesleegp]

Linkety link link, please? (If there are any, that is.)

http://www.newrivervalleynews.com/content/view/8867/37/


Not much there, just a blurb.

 

[dmp]

ETA: Replying to He was here legally though. I think he'd become a "naturalized citizen", but I am not certain on that. I think so, given that he was a child when he came to the country, he probably got citizenship with his parents. (If they did, and likely they did given that they operate a dry cleaner's.)

If he was under 18 years old when his parents, either one of them, became a citizen then he would have been grandfaterhed. This is something that is overlooked by many people as no paperwork or certificates are issued. You simply apply for your passport with proof of parental citizenship and it's done. Many people end up in the court system accused of being here illegally only because they didn't know that they were automatically given 'Naturalized Citizen' status. In fact my son was Naturalized for about 6 months before we figured this one out. Even when you are paying attention some of these things still get by you.

 

[frangi8773]

I have read that Cho's 'high school friends' have said that he did in fact spend most of his free time playing Counterstrike. Hopefully, the computer he used in high school is still available for testing its hard drive.

Dateline or 60 Minutes or 20/20 did a show about gaming and discussed how similar games as Counterstrike and WOW are used in military training. These games were obviously something, as a parent, with which I did NOT want my own son to be obcessed, but he already was. Indeed, he was totally obcessed and addicted to them.

My son spent every spare minute in his own room playing Counterstrike in highschool and then he progressed to WOW, (World of Warcraft).

During this same timeframe, I spent countless hours reading, viewing and messageboarding on the subject of crime......

It was very difficult to justify my concerns to my son over his computer gaming practices, when he constantly came back to me and suggested that my obcession and addictive interest in crime investigation was equally as disturbing and possibly equally as desensitizing as were his gaming practices. My son also brought up the negative physical damage that I was doing to myself by smoking cigarettes, as I practiced my own 'hobbies'.

After taking a close look at ourselves, we both decided to greatly altered our free time exposure to negative hobbies and addictions.

My son lost 50 pounds, is very active socially, enjoys fishing, basketball, weightlifting, golf and baseball. He has gotten his 'act together' so to speak.

I, myself on the otherhand, started back smoking, came back to the internet, the library, and the television...and rarely involve myself with social activities outside the home...

In my home, it is my 50 year old bootey that needs to get a grip and reconsider my options of how best to spend my free time...

Thanks reb, for making me see the light, once again!

I just got off the phone with my son, mentioned above, and told him how very proud I am of him. I read him a quote from the other thread about Cho's violent actions which stated that classmates had their pictures taken by him and that they and his teachers FEARED Cho. I reminded my, now college age, son to always TRUST his own GOOD, SOUND, GOD GIVEN inner voice when it comes to WEIRD people in his own college classes and in life in general. I thanked my son for being a better role model for me today than I, myself, have recently been for him.

I told him that I am now getting up from this computer and taking our dog, Katie outside for a LONG, Healthy walk! I promised to try very, very hard to once again turn the tables and to once again become the more positive role model for him that I should have always been...

Later, Folks... See You on the Flip Side...............

Hi everyone just wanted to drop my two cents in....

I believe his writing and choice of past time were huge warning signs with this guy but after a certain point what can people do? You can pretty much tell a counselor what they want to here to get the hell out of there and then what are they to do?
If they have used all the appropriate channels to make sure this guy was noticed then their hands are tied..

With regards to the gaming and violent leanings, are we all not guilty of this to a point? We peruse Crime sights etc which some people would find completely ghoulish (my husband included).
I believe that there are just some people that no matter how we try and intervene they will one day 'blow'.
This was true here in Australia with Martin Bryant who murdered and 'hunted' down so many in Port Arthur Tasmania.
My husband had at one time dated his sister while MB was still very young and this guy had MAJOR mental issues. He had previously attacked people including my hubby and friends, and his sister was actually placed in boarding school to keep him away from her (?) He had professional help time and time again and it did no good.
I believe the problem is access to weapons. After Port Arthur our government bought back weapons at a cost of over half a billion dollars and our crimes with firearms has dropped. I am not naive enough to believe it ill never happen again but I truly believe that restricting "legal" access to weapons works.

My two cents.......
__________________


This was part of my point angelwings.....

 

[Shadow205]

"He was made fun of a lot by everybody," said Samuel Linton, a homeroom classmate of Cho's during seventh and eighth grade. "He was a complete loner, he never said a word ... he had no interaction with teachers -- he just stared like he wasn't paying attention."
David Gearheart, who also attended middle school with Cho, said he talked to Cho once or twice, but that talking to him was just that -– talking to somebody rather than with somebody.
"He had a lot of crazy writings in his notebook and stuff, how he hated Americans," Gearheart said.
Linton said Cho was once reported to the principal for writing down the names of people he was supposedly planning to kill. "It was like a hit list," Linton said. "They found one in his locker."

much more at the link http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=30192&pid=1583

This is disturbing. The bells were going off and the red flags were up as far back as middle school.

 

[Shadow205]

I found a little more info on his family:

SEOUL, South Korea --The family of the gunman in the Virginia Tech shootings struggled while living in South Korea and emigrated to the U.S. to seek a better life, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
South Korea's largest newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that Cho's family was poor when they lived in a Seoul suburb and decided to emigrate to seek a better life.
The family lived in a rented, basement apartment -- usually the cheapest unit in a multi-apartment building, the newspaper reported quoting building owner Lim Bong-ae, 67. Police identified the shooter's father as Cho Seong-tae, 61.
"I didn't know what (Cho's father) did for a living. But they lived a poor life," Lim told the newspaper. "While emigrating, (Cho's father) said they were going to America because it is difficult to live here and that it's better to live in a place where he is unknown."
The small apartment where the family lived is now vacant and its front door was left unlocked Wednesday. Mildew stains mark the pale blue walls of the three-room residence, which is no larger than 430 square feet.
At the Shinchang Elementary School that Cho attended for first grade and half of second grade, there were no records of the former student besides that he left school Aug. 19, 1992, officials said. Cho's former homeroom teacher was no longer working at the school and other teachers did not remember Cho.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/as...amily_of_shooter_struggled_in_s_korea/?page=1

"While emigrating, (Cho's father) said they were going to America because it is difficult to live here and that it's better to live in a place where he is unknown."

I wonder what his father meant by that statement?

 

[nanandjim]

..."While emigrating, (Cho's father) said they were going to America because it is difficult to live here and that it's better to live in a place where he is unknown."

I wonder what his father meant by that statement?

I don't know; however, that won't stop me from speculating. It seems to me that there is more of a "class" system in other countries. You are born into a certain class and really cannot rise above it.

It's not the same here in America. You can be born into one class, work hard and move to a different class. The boundaries are not predetermined, so to speak.

So, perhaps, this father and his family were cemented into the poor class and realized that there was nothing that they could do to rise above it. They had more of a chance in America. This is evidenced by their children going to college. Didn't the sister graduate from Princeton?

Graduating from college usually ensures a better life. I don't think the kids would ever have made it to college had they stayed in South Korea.

 

[s_finch]

Msnbc is reporting that police aren't confident that there was only one shooter on the VT campus. Can anyone explain?

 

[cynpat2000]

Msnbc is reporting that police aren't confident that there was only one shooter on the VT campus. Can anyone explain?

Now im confused, I thought there was only one psycho shooter.
What I dont get is why wasnt the campus locked down after the first shooting. I can see lawsuits possibly coming out of this.

 

[hallowedbe]

Cable is at it again. This link is in our local paper today - in the opinion section. Bob Price talks about our national obsessions - it is so "on the money" that I wanted everyone here to read it.

http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/121850.html

 

[dmp]

Msnbc is reporting that police aren't confident that there was only one shooter on the VT campus. Can anyone explain?

This seems to go along with my post earlier today about a "person of interest". Maybe there was someone else who knew something even if they didn't partake in the shootings?????

 

[cheko1]

Yes, but not a citizen.

I don't think he should of been allowed to own a gun either he was not a citizen. Possibly laws should be changed. I stated that after Chai Vang went on the war path & shot all the hunters in Wisconsin. They should never have the rights to carry guns in our country.

 

[Paladin]

I agree about the exploitation, but two things come to mind: this just happened yesterday...so of course it's going to be talked to death for the next week or two. Also, nothing will be done about this exploitation unless people do something about it.

 

[Paladin]

I don't know; however, that won't stop me from speculating. It seems to me that there is more of a "class" system in other countries. You are born into a certain class and really cannot rise above it.

It's not the same here in America. You can be born into one class, work hard and move to a different class. The boundaries are not predetermined, so to speak.

So, perhaps, this father and his family were cemented into the poor class and realized that there was nothing that they could do to rise above it. They had more of a chance in America. This is evidenced by their children going to college. Didn't the sister graduate from Princeton?

Graduating from college usually ensures a better life. I don't think the kids would ever have made it to college had they stayed in South Korea.

I think this may be something lost in translation.

 

[cynpat2000]

This seems to go along with my post earlier today about a "person of interest". Maybe there was someone else who knew something even if they didn't partake in the shootings?????

Gee whiz if there was another person that knew about it and didnt say or do anything. That makes this even more tragic if thats possible.

 

[Hopeful One]

It will only stop when people stop watching.

Personally, I almost feel like I should be watching these first few days afterwards. I feel like it's a form of respect to take time out of my life to listen to how those innocent people suffered. That may sound weird but that's how I feel. When I was watching the news last night and went to change the channel, I was overwhelmed with guilt. I felt bad that it was so easy for me to turn off the tragedy and go back to my somewhat normal life.

And I suppose part of it, like the Anna Nicole thing, IS somewhat of a macabre fascination. At least on my part.

 

[cynpat2000]

KatK, I was a greencard holder for many years, and I was not limited to owning businesses. I know I could not hold a liquor licence, but could run a bar as long as the licence was in another name. I'm sure there were other limitations, but not many.
English, I doubt that deportation will even enter into this. This was a mental illness no doubt. As I've posted before, do you blame the country he was born in, or the country he was raised in? Neither!! He was sick.

I agree. He was a sick tick and you cant blame the countries. I feel like the people around him should have saw something and got the boy some help. I heard he was on anti-depressants ,he sure needed more than that.