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

[MrsG728]

one of the posters /commenters said it best:

"The fact that students were concerned of a kid who might be a school shooter and didnt say anything about it is just unbelievably stupid, 33 people lost their lives do to the failure of his classmates to act. That is horrible! This tragedy shouldnt of happened, the fact that it did is beyond logical"

EDIT:
I correct myself- apparently the professor did go to the chair. from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266582,00.html
:
Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said she did not know Cho. But she said she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as "troubled."
"There was some concern about him," Rude said. "Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real it might be. But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."



MG

 

[Hopeful One]

We're all speculating based on limited info, of course, but I'd say his behavior in class and with other students is more alarming than his plays. (That is not to say I think someone should have "known" he would do this.)

I agree. I think taking it all together, the plays and his behavior, makes the plays horribly disturbing. "Normal" minds can come up with stuff like that and it doesn't mean they're going to commit mass murder. But the plays coupled with his bevahior makes it a warning sign, IMO.

 

[Taximom]

Playing devil's advocate, what exactly is a professor or another student supposed to do? He's over 18, so they don't go to the parents and tell them their son might have problems. A professor could refer Cho to a guidance counselor, but we all know Cho probably wasn't the type to voluntarily go in that direction.

I hope someone has the answers, because I'd like to know my options.

 

[Hopeful One]

Taximom, that's what I was thinking as well. Unless he committed some violent act, what were they supposed to do?? You can't arrest someone because they act weird and you have a bad feeling!

 

[MrsG728]

I am from NY, and we have the toughest handgun laws in the nation. Can someone tell me (from VA or someone with gun law knowledge) how can a gun shop sell someone a handgun without a serial number? :waitasec: Is this common practice?

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

One law enforcement official said Cho's backpack contained a receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. Cho held a green card, meaning he was a legal, permanent resident. That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of a felony.
Roanoke Firearms owner John Markell said his shop sold the Glock and a box of practice ammo to Cho 36 days ago for $571.
"He was a nice, clean-cut college kid. We won't sell a gun if we have any idea at all that a purchase is suspicious," Markell said.
Investigators stopped short of saying Cho carried out both attacks. But State Police ballistics tests showed one gun was used in both.
And two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information had not been announced, said Cho's fingerprints were on both guns, whose serial numbers had been filed off.


MG

 

[Lesleegp]

Do we know he bought it that way? He could have removed the numbers himself.

 

[PaperDoll]

I don't think there was anything a person could have done to prevent this from happening.. What could they have done? Ok, maybe the 2nd killings could have been prevented. They should have shut the school down after the 1st killings instead of thinking all is ok it was only a domestic type killing.. 2 hours passed before he struck again.. A lot can be done in 2 hours... :twocents:

 

[Nova]

I agree. I think taking it all together, the plays and his behavior, makes the plays horribly disturbing. "Normal" minds can come up with stuff like that and it doesn't mean they're going to commit mass murder. But the plays coupled with his bevahior makes it a warning sign, IMO.

I do understand that, with the benefit of hindsight, the plays are quite chilling.

But I want to point out that the media is conflating these two plays (which were posted by a fellow student in that class) with the report that a creative writing professor referred Cho to a counselor.

We do NOT know these plays prompted the referral or that the referring professor taught the playwriting class. It may well have been other writings that prompted the referral.

 

[Buzz Mills]

I am from NY, and we have the toughest handgun laws in the nation. Can someone tell me (from VA or someone with gun law knowledge) how can a gun shop sell someone a handgun without a serial number? :waitasec: Is this common practice?

MG

For some twisted reason, Cho Seung-Hui filed off the serial numbers. If the numbers were stamped on the gun, they should be able to recover the serial numbers; stamping distorts the metal so that even though the serial number may have been filed off, they can still recover it.

They did find the receipt for the purchase of one of the guns--I believe they said it was purchased on March 10th.

 

[Marthatex]

Have yall heard the latest - I watched CNN - the head of the English Department thought he was so disturbed one or more years ago, that she reported him to the Administration.

She took him on, one-to-one for 6 months to try to work with him; she was worried he was so disturbed. She recommended he get counseling, and he might have gotten some for a while.

He wrote 2 very "twisted" plays and they are now on the internet. they were so disturbing that some fellow students feared he would be a school shooter - according to CNN.

He was a very disturbed individual, and no one did much about it except the English Teacher.

Why didn't they expell him? Well, it was just his writing and the Admin. said it was "freedom of speech". Do you suppose they were worried about being ACCUSED OF DISCRIMINATION?

It seems like if he saw a psychologist or psychiatrist, they too should have warned the school if he was a danger.

It looks like everyone let the ball drop, except the English teacher and the Doctors at the hospital who saved about 15 students, none of which HAD LESS THAN 3 GUNSHOT WOUNDS.

They interviewed a father who had lost his beautiful daughter; he was amazingly poised and accepting of the situation, little anger, said wife was distraught though - his daughter was a talented dancer, a freshman.

 

[Marthatex]

I play World of Warcraft and I'm a Pre-Kindergarten Teacher, and before that, I was a Director at a Daycare center. You can't really base someone's penchant for violence by what GAMES they play.

You're not a child playing the game; you're an adult I assume.

Surely you didn't grow up playing violent games or watching violent TV?

Or maybe you did.

But it is the influence of violence on children in developmental stages that we should worry about. And how LARGE a portion of their day they spend doing these things.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

He was referred to a school counselor

 

[Taximom]

You're not a child playing the game; you're an adult I assume.

Surely you didn't grow up playing violent games or watching violent TV?

Or maybe you did.

But it is the influence of violence on children in developmental stages that we should worry about. And how LARGE a portion of their day they spend doing these things.

Pure evil has existed in this world long before video games and violent movies, et al. I'm pretty sure Charles Whitman (Texas Tower Sniper) didn't play violent video games when he went crazy and killed a bunch of people on that college campus. And if Elvis drove him to it, then....shudder.

I totally agree that the games shouldn't be played by the young though. It sure can't help in this day and age.

 

[Marthatex]

Strange how he and a few of his friends thought of Cho immediately when they heard of the shootings...........

Yes, very strange and amazing that there's no one to go to when you think it's just a matter of time till the volcano "erupts", and you just hope you're not in the vicinity.

Perhaps they worried about repercussions from him if someone reported him or complained about him.

It's very hard to deal with a sociopath or psychopath; it's usually best not to confront them or be around them. Probably that's why he was such a "loner".

 

[Marthatex]

Pure evil has existed in this world long before video games and violent movies, et al. I'm pretty sure Charles Whitman (Texas Tower Sniper) didn't play violent video games when he went crazy and killed a bunch of people on that college campus. And if Elvis drove him to it, then....shudder.

I totally agree that the games shouldn't be played by the young though. It sure can't help in this day and age.

Charles Whitman either had been in the military or his father had, and he was fascinated with guns. No, I think he had a very unhappy home life; so maybe that is usually the basic cause. Put that together with weapons, and we have trouble.

He killed his mother and his wife before the shootings; but I think they found later that he may have even had a brain tumor. I was right in the midst of that shooting in 1966; that summer. I worked on campus and was about to start UT in the fall.

I just can't believe that it is healthy though, to play a game in which you "kill" simulated "people". Don't some of them show blood and everything? Yikes. I have never even gone near such things; I saw enough in 1966. I think some children, especially young one, have trouble telling fantasy from reality.

 

[LaWanda]

My kids also play internet/online games, but yes, not constantly, or all day. I think people should stop blaming things like this on games or music. I agree that IF people have violent tendencies, playing violent games or listening to to certain types of music may not help, but you can't say that just because someone did this kind of thing it was because he played world of warcraft. My 16 yr olds play WoW as well, and are the best behaved most outgoing kids I know. They are on the wrestling team, the football team, they get straight A's, and have tons of friends.

 

[Marthatex]

He was referred to a school counselor

That counselor is going to be on the hot seat.

 

[Taximom]

Charles Whitman either had been in the military or his father had, and he was fascinated with guns. No, I think he had a very unhappy home life; so maybe that is usually the basic cause. Put that together with weapons, and we have trouble. (snipped)

Thanks for the addt'l info, Marthatex. I wasn't aware of that. Guess he probably didn't need video games if he had the real thing. lol (well not really lol)

 

[Marthatex]

I read that he bought a Glock 19 a little over a month ago; a background check was done - it was legal. He bought it at a store. For 580.00; something like that. On a credit card.

Probably never actually paid for the gun. Where would a student get that much money for a gun?

 

[csds703]

i really would like to know what his parents have to say. i'm sure they are in shock, heartbroken, etc.... but HOW COULD THEY NOT KNOW that their kid was so sick and unstable??? surely they must have had a clue. and what the hell went on inside that home? if everything was fine, then where else would he have gotten all this stuff? i am getting a huge red flag that there was some kind of serious sadism in that house.. in some form. i mean he may have already been unstable from genetics or something else... but all that domestic violence in his play... go ahead, try and convince me he just made all that up out of the blue.

If they admitted to themselves that their son was this sick then they wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
In my opinion, people with issues like this, usually have somebody who enabled them, and that starts at home.