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Issue: 869 Date: 4/19/2007
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Virginia Tech: Gunman student from S. Korea
Tragedy at Virginia Tech - A special message to all alumni of Virginia Tech
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| Police and SWAT teams assemble on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., Monday, April 16, 2007. A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people. (AP Photo/The Roanoke Times, Eric Brady) |
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Virginia Tech: Gunman student from S. Korea
By ADAM GELLER, AP National Writer
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as a senior English major from South Korea. But police and university officials offered no clue to his motive.
"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said, a day after the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.
The rampage consisted of two attacks, more than two hours apart - first at a dormitory, where two people were killed, then inside a classroom building, where 31 people, including the gunman, died after being locked inside, Virginia State Police said. The gunman committed suicide.
Police identified the gunman in the classroom attack as 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui (pronounced Choh Suhng-whee). Cho was in the U.S. as a resident alien with an address in Centreville, Va., but was living on campus in a different dorm from the one where the bloodbath began, the university said.
One law enforcement official said Cho's backpack contained a receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol.
Investigators stopped short of saying Cho carried out both attacks. But ballistics tests show one gun was used in both, Virginia State Police said.
And two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information had not been announced, said Cho's fingerprints were found on the two guns used in the rampage. The serial numbers on the two weapons had been filed off, the officials said.
Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said it was reasonable to assume that Cho was the shooter in both attacks but that the link was not yet definitive. "There's no evidence of any accomplice at either event, but we're exploring the possibility," he said.
The gunman's family lived in an off-white, two-story town house in Centreville.
"He was very quiet, always by himself," neighbor Abdul Shash said of the gunman. Shash said the gunman spent a lot of his free time playing basketball, and wouldn't respond if someone greeted him. He described the family as quiet.
Marshall Main, who lives across the street, said the family had lived in the townhouse for several years.
According to court records, Virginia Tech Police issued a speeding ticket to Cho on April 7 for going 44 mph in a 25 mph zone, and he had a court date set for May 23.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed its condolences, and said South Korea hoped that the tragedy would not "stir up racial prejudice or confrontation."
"We are in shock beyond description," said Cho Byung-se, a ministry official handling North American affairs. "We convey deep condolences to victims, families and the American people."
A memorial service was planned for the victims Tuesday afternoon at the university, and President Bush planned to attend, the White House said. Gov. Tim Kaine was flying back to Virginia from Tokyo for the gathering.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the week.
Tragedy at Virginia Tech - A special message to all alumni of Virginia Tech
To our Virginia Tech alumni, I write the kind of message I never expected to have to write in my entire career serving the university. On Monday, the 16th of April, a campus resident senior student shot two students in Ambler Johnston residence hall and proceeded shortly thereafter to the other side of the Drillfield, entered Norris Hall and randomly shot more than 40 students and faculty in several classrooms. He then turned his gun on himself and took his own life. As I write this, 32 students and faculty who were among his victims have died. Others remain hospitalized. An ongoing investigation will answer so many facts and questions still unknown at this time.
This is the most horrific scene in the history of this or any university. Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims. Our hearts go out to the friends, classmates and others who witnessed this tragedy. A Memorial Convocation is scheduled today (Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time) and will be nationally televised. President and Mrs. George W. Bush are expected to attend, along with Virginia Governor and Mrs. Tim Kaine and other dignitaries.
This is a shocking crime with crime scenes that have attracted national and international press, all broadcasting their live news shows from the Holtzman Alumni Center. President Charles Steger, himself an alumnus, has personally expressed with utmost compassion his condolences to the families who have been notified and are still being notified. His leadership through this tragedy has been extraordinary. All of us at the university wish to demonstrate our compassion especially to our students who have experienced a kind of horror and tragedy that hopefully they never will again. We share in their deepest sorrow and grief.
Other universities and institutions across the country, and indeed around the world, have communicated with us to express their shock and sympathy. Many of our alumni have communicated with us and also with each other to share expressions of support as well as their personal grief. I am confident that Virginia Tech will heal from this in whatever time it may take, and will do so because of its strong support from a family of caring alumni numbering over 200,000, including our current students and all their families. The faculty, staff and entire surrounding community are committed to helping our students and faculty recover from this terrible, terrible event. Those who will follow them will continue to embrace the true meaning of our motto "That I May Serve," that bonds the entire Hokie Nation.
The Alumni Association placed a single wreath in the Campus Chapel within hours of the tragedy, and the Corps of Cadets has posted an honor guard with it to symbolize a university honoring those it has lost so tragically. It is but one symbol of the enormous grief that an entire campus and family of alumni around the world must bear. Many have asked how they may send financial memorials... any memorial gifts, payable to the "Virginia Tech Foundation," designated specifically for the "Virginia Tech Family Fund," should be mailed to University Development, 902 Prices Fork Road (0336), Blacksburg, VA 24061.
Thank you for your genuine concern and expressions of support for all of us at the university. And please keep those who lost their lives and their grieving families in your thoughts and prayers.
Tom TillarVice President for Alumni Relations
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| A police officer walks in front of Burruss Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech University after a shooting left at least 33 dead in Blacksburg, 16 April 2007. The university's president has said the gunman who killed 32 people was a student of Asian origin and may have acted with a second suspect.(AFP/Getty Images/Vincent Kline) |
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