The Virginia Tech School Shooting
The sequence of tragic events on April 16th 2007
On Monday April 16th 2007 a crazed gunman by the name of Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University, injuring sixty-one people, killing twenty-seven students and five faculty members. Although much still isn’t known, a lot has been uncovered over the past week. A concise description and what presently is known, will be described.
The events
According to Wikipedia the Virginia Tech shootings encompasses two separate shootings. The first occurred at West Ambler Johnson Hall, early on the morning of the sixteenth of April. A female student and a male student were shot in that dormitory. It was speculated that the female may have been the perpetrator’s girlfriend, but no proof has surfaced concerning this fact. The male victim apparently was shot trying to aid the female. Approximately two hours after the initial shooting, Cho entered Norris hall chaining the front doors and proceeded to go to the 2nd floor of the building. His shooting rampage included attacking five classes, killing twenty-five students and all five faculty members. It is estimated that Cho used anywhere from 175 to 225 rounds of ammunition in the attack. Cho committed suicide as police were closing in. A question that was asked initially was, what did Cho do for the two hours between the two shootings? It is now known that Cho mailed photographs, a manifesto and a video tape postmarked 9:01AM, to NBC. NBC has received much criticism for showing the tape nationally.
The perpetrator
Seung-Hui Cho was a twenty-three year old South Korean national that lived in Virginia. After the shootings, many disturbing facts about this troubled individual became known. His profile is somewhat similar to the psycological profile of school shooters. His parents mentioned that they had suspected that Cho was an Autistic child and was constantly ridiculed and bullied for his problem with language. He, by most who knew him, seemed to be a loner. They also almost uniformly feet very uncomfortable around his emotionless demeanor and mentioned that he hardly uttered a word in school. At Virginia Tech, Cho came under the scrutiny of several professors for supposedly writing violent and disturbing pieces and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling. In addition, he was investigated for harassing and stalking female students and was declared mentally ill by the Virginia justice and ordered to undergo outpatient counseling. The exact motives for the killing are yet unknown. His manifesto suggests that he disliked the rich kids on campus. This aspect of the investigation is still ongoing.
Heroes
The following is an acknowledgment of those who risked or lost their lives in order to save others. Although many others deserve mention, these individuals truly shone in that moment of darkness. It starts with Professor Liviu Librescu, who saved the lives of his students by barring the door to prevent Cho from entering, allowing students to flee from the windows. He was shot five times by the gunman and subsequently died from his injuries. Another teacher Jocelyn-Couture Nowak ordered her students to the back of the room and attempted to barricade the door herself, before being fatally shot. Fellow student, Partahi Lumbantoruan shielded another student with his own body from the gunman. He was subsequently shot and killed, but the student he protected survived. Finally, Waleed Shalaan, a civil engineering teaching assistant, distracted the gunman, despite being seriously wounded, to allow students to escape. He was shot a second time and succumbed to his wounds.
Aftermath
The current shooting at Virginia Tech is now considered to be more deadly than the University of Texas at Austin Massacre. As with other school shootings, debates about gun control continue to be made. The South Korean embassy offered condolences to the American people and to those who lost loved ones. Cho’s own family expressed sympathy for those who lost family, and his own paternal grandfather quoted in a South Korean newspaper, stated that Cho deserved to die with the victims. Focus on the university’s response between the first and second shootings is being analyzed and criticized. The investigation and story isn’t completed yet. More is sure to be known in the upcoming weeks and months, which may put a better light on understanding this senseless act of violence.
To read about other school shootings please click Infamous American School Shootings.
