Apr 17 2007
Shooter Identified – He Left A Note
Word is leaking out that the shooter in the VA Tech Massacre was a 23 year old Korean:
Police identified the shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived on campus.
Seniors can have access to quite large and expansive dorm rooms, making it a bit more plausible Cho could somewhat hide is weapons cache – but not much. His roommate is still probably the best candidate for the person of interest. Being from South Korea reduces the probability that this was a terrorist act to some degree. But I can see both scenarios (the lover’s rage and terrorist sleeper) still viable at this stage. Apparently he bought one gun in March – right around the time of the bomb threats. This increases case for premeditation and careful, long planning. Much more here:
Steger said Cho was an undergraduate in his final year of an English degree who lived on campus.
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A 9 mm handgun and .22 calibre handgun were recovered. Police said one of the weapons had been used at both shooting sites.
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A federal law enforcement official said Tuesday he had been told by other federal law enforcement officials that the two guns recovered in the shooting had had their serial numbers scraped off. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been announced.
That puts the weapon at both sites and most likely the killer. Again, why scrape off serial numbers for a suicide run? Was he trying to protect someone else?
Update: Cho left scene of first shooting, returned to his dorm to re-arm (or more accurately get armed) and left a disturbing note.
Sources tell ABC News that Cho killed two people in a dorm room, returned to his own dorm room where he re-armed and left a “disturbing note” before entering a classroom building on the other side of campus to continue his rampage.
I am guessing here Cho was lived in the same quad as AJ given the fact he had to go to the ‘other side of campus’ to Norris. The note is key, but the premeditation is a done deal:
Sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting that left 31 dead, were also found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory, sources confirmed to ABC News.
“Sections of chain..” Seems he had purchased the chain in lengths he could carry and bar doors with (as I said before there are no chains on VA Tech doors normally).
chances are somewhere between slim and none.
More likely the serial nos. were already scraped off when the guns were purchased illegally, as he may not have had the ID necessary to purchase handguns thru legitimate outlets — altho anyone who’s ever seen CSI or Law ‘n Order would know about serial nos and might think it “cool” to remove them
Soothsayer, have you ever tried to file the serial numbers off a weapon?
Stop watching CSI and Law and Order. It is fantasy.
As are most of your posts.
AJ: two articles for you to check out. First one is about a possible love triangle between Emily Hischler, Cho, and Ryan Clark (the RA). Second one includes details about Cho — was on anti-depressant meds; had the phrase “Ismail Ax” written in ink on his arm.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=449073&in_page_id=1811&ct=5
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070417vtech-shootings,1,176236.story?coll=chi-news-hed
The dumbest thing I’ve heard is “parents are demanding VT President be fired for poor handling of crisis”
I’m sure he properly handled the emergency procedures that had been properly rehearsed for “the worst mass murder in US History” I’m sure all schools have these. And of course a well functioning complete campus, including all dorms, classrooms, labs, gyms, cross country tracks,etc. PA System. What the hell did they expect him to do? Text message 26000 students. Does every event have to have a scapegoat?
Must be a lot of Dim parents, although this being an ACC school, I would think it might be more conservative.
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St. Edwards University, Austin, is currently on lockdown and students have been told to leave the campus immediately. There has been a bomb threat and students who do not have any place to go have been instructed to run, not walk, to the soccer field.
I will be interesting to see how St. Edwards handled this.
FE, I think the problem some are having is that it took Va Tech’s administration two hours to advise kids there was a problem on campus (i.e. the first two murders). Some are saying that under the circumstances, the murder on campus last September, and the two bomb threats last week that the administration should have acted sooner.
I’ve seen a lot of students interviewed in the last day and a half that said they were unaware anything was going on when they went to their 9:00 a.m. classes.
I called a friend, a homicide detective, and he said that you never ever assume that a murder situation is “controlled” when you don’t have the shooter and the murder weapon and you always err on the side of caution assuming that the shooter is still out there, armed and dangerous.
I am not familiar with the kinds of doors in that building but with double push-bar doors, all you need is about 12 inches of chain wrapped around the two push bars where they meet and a padlock. Not hard to carry in a backpack. Don’t even need a padlock, a nut and a bolt will do.