UPDATED: At least 20 people fatally shot at Virginia Tech

[abcdefz]

CNN: (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html)



NEW: University reports two shootings; AP reports 17 injured at hospital
• University reporting that a suspected shooter is in custody, another sought
• AP: 1 dead, 1 wounded in first reported shooting on Virginia Tech campus
• Student describes situation as "mayhem"; says 2 students jumped from window


(CNN) -- One person was killed and several were wounded in two shootings on the Virginia Tech university campus in Blacksburg on Monday, The Associated Press and the university reported.

A hospital spokeswoman told AP that 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries.

Sharon Honaker at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center told CNN that four patients had been transported there, one in critical condition.

The AP reported that one person was killed and one wounded in a shooting at a dormitory. Another shooting at Norris Hall, an engineering building, resulted in multiple casualties, the university reported. (Watch police, ambulances hustle to the scene Video)

"Police have one shooter in custody, and as part of routine police procedure they continue to search for a second shooter," the university said in a written statement.

The first reported shooting occurred at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students. The dormitory, one of the largest residence halls on the 2,600-acre campus, is located near the drill field and stadium.

Amie Steele, editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, said one of her reporters at the dormitory reported "mass chaos."

[Schmeltz]

How can 20 people have been "fatally" shot if only one has died?

[abcdefz]

That's from the update banner at CNN; they haven't re-written the actual story yet.

[abcdefz]

Now they have:

NEW: Police chief says at least 20 people are dead, some of them students
• University reporting that a suspected shooter is in custody, another sought
• AP: 1 dead, 1 wounded in first reported shooting on Virginia Tech campus
• Student describes situation as "mayhem"; says 2 students jumped from window
Adjust font size:


(CNN) -- The Virginia Tech Police Chief said at least 20 people were killed in twin shootings on the Blacksburg campus Monday morning.

"Some victims were shot in a classroom," Chief Wendell Flinchum said, adding that the gunman was dead.

President Charles Steger called the shootings "a tragedy of monumental proportions."

A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press that 17 Virginia Tech students were being treated for gunshot wounds and other injuries. Sharon Honaker at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center told CNN that four patients had been transported there, one in critical condition.

[Schmeltz]

Ah, I see. They've got a banner headline at Yahoo now.

Jesus, that's horrible.

[MC Moot]

huh....it's not even the 20th yet....:(

[abcdefz]

I know. I don't understand what drives people to this.

[QueenAdrock]

Oh no, that's terrible! My dad graduated from V-Tech. I'm pretty sure my friends have friends there. I sure hope they're okay.

:(

[Parkey]

Honestly - there are some proper twats out there.

[hpdrifter]

That's so scary. There was a shooting at UW a couple of weeks ago. An abusive boyfriend came and shot his ex girlfriend at her desk and then shot himself. They both died. I guess he had been calling her, leaving death threats on her voicemail for several weeks. Not sure why they didn't move her to another part of campus or let her work from home or something.

Poor girl.

[abcdefz]

CNN:

The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the 100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported.

After the Monday shootings, students were instructed to stay indoors and away from windows, police at the university said.

"A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows," read a warning from the university.

[hpdrifter]

Does anyone know who the gunmen were yet or what their motive was? Were they students? Pissed about a grade or something?

[QueenAdrock]

That's so scary. There was a shooting at UW a couple of weeks ago. An abusive boyfriend came and shot his ex girlfriend at her desk and then shot himself. They both died. I guess he had been calling her, leaving death threats on her voicemail for several weeks. Not sure why they didn't move her to another part of campus or let her work from home or something.

Poor girl.


That happened in a parking garage at UMD, too. Some crazy boyfriend couldn't stand to have his girlfriend leave him, so he ambushed her in the lot, shot her, shot himself.

Too much stress in school these days, perhaps? I don't know what causes it but maybe that's it.

[Parkey]

I've just seen the footage on the BBC where you can hear the shots being fired and the police legging it in... Not nice.

[kaiser soze]

This is horrible, how can schools protect themselves from psychos with guns!?

As a Resident Director, this has been a concern of mine ever since I started. We have never received any sort of training to respond to something like this.

[Parkey]

Get rid of guns.

[QueenAdrock]

^Yeah, but that's never going to happen. I don't think there's any realistic way to stop this kind of thing, and it really scares me. I always wonder what's to stop people from getting on the Metro with some sort of weapon or device...

[Parkey]

I dread to think what it would be like here if guns were readily available... Thank fuck they're not - it's bad enough with knives.

[hpdrifter]

Yeah, I actually had a scary incident last week. Some dude kept calling my desk at work, he had the wrong number of some girl he met at a club and he called her at my desk 5 times and he said in the first voicemail that he had called her at a different number twice before. He kept saying she hadn't called him back.

I mean, if he was so unhinged that he called a girl who obviously isn't interested 7 times in 2 days what else is he prepared to do? The other wierd thing is her name is a diminuitive of mine. You know, like Jenny-Jennifer. That's not my name but its like that.

[abcdefz]

Does anyone know who the gunmen were yet or what their motive was? Were they students? Pissed about a grade or something?



Nothing yet.

[MC Moot]

I dread to think what it would be like here if guns were readily available... Thank fuck they're not - it's bad enough with knives.


I can firmly say that the 2 worst school shootings ever took place in country's where guns were not readily available....

Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique,Canada, and killed 14 women (gender specific masacre)

On March 14, 1996, Thomas Hamilton, 43, burst into the Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, Scotland,on Wednesday March 14, 1996, and opened fire with four handguns, killing 16 children and their teacher, then shooting himself dead.

I think anyone with that level of hate or mental disorder is likely to make that event happen regardless of gun laws or accessibilty....

:( (n) :(

[Parkey]

Nothing yet.
According to the BBC he was looking for his girlfriend.

[Parkey]

I can firmly say that the 2 worst school shootings ever took place in country's where guns were not readily available....

Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique,Canada, and killed 14 women (gender specific masacre)

On March 14, 1996, Thomas Hamilton, 43, burst into the Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, Scotland,on Wednesday March 14, 1996, and opened fire with four handguns, killing 16 children and their teacher, then shooting himself dead.

I think anyone with that level of hate or mental disorder is likely to make that event happen regardless of gun laws or accessibilty....

:( (n) :(
Oh I agree - if you're determined, you'll find a way. However, it's not a common occurence outside of the USA. Just look at this timeline on the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4371403.stm). It really seems to be something that happens all to often.

[TurdBerglar]

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman opened fire in a dorm and classroom at Virginia Tech on Monday, killing 21 people in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history. The gunman also was killed.

“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”

The university reported shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. at West Ambler Johnston, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 people, and continuing about two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building.

Some but not all the dead were students. One student was killed in a dorm and the others were killed in the classroom, said Virginia Tech Police Chief W.R. Flinchum.

The name of the gunman was not released. It was not known if he was a student.

NBC's Pete Williams said two law enforcement officials told him the gunman killed himself. They also said the gunman used two 9-mm handguns during the rampage, Williams reported. He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was trying to track the weapons.

Up until Monday, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history took place in 1966 at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a clock tower and opened fire. He killed 16 people before he was gunned down by police. In the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo., in 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

After Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech, all entrances to the campus were closed.


The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children at the Inn at Virginia Tech. It also made counselors available and planned a convocation for Tuesday at the Cassell Coliseum basketball arena.

After the shootings, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

“There’s just a lot of commotion. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on,” said Jason Anthony Smith, 19, who lives in the dorm where shooting took place.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the 4th floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode’s resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 a.m. to notify students to stay put.

“They had us under lockdown,” Kanode said. “They temporarily lifted the lockdown, the gunman shot again.”

“We’re all locked in our dorms surfing the Internet trying to figure out what’s going on,” Kanode said.

Madison Van Duyne, a student who was interviewed by telephone on CNN, said, “We are all in lockdown. Most of the students are sitting on the floors away from the windows just trying to be as safe as possible.”

Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks but they had not determined a link to the shootings.

It was second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

In August 2006, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff’s deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus.

The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.

[QueenAdrock]

ABC is saying the toll went up to 29. :( (n)

[MC Moot]

Oh I agree - if you're determined, you'll find a way. However, it's not a common occurence outside of the USA. Just look at this timeline on the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4371403.stm). It really seems to be something that happens all to often.

See,I think when you look at it that way it's a little deceiving....http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html

If you consider representation by population and then equivalate access to firearms....well....Canada would appear pretty terribly sketchy as well....either way bad news is bad news is bad news,I suppose....

[Lo_Lyfe]

When Australia reports this, they may link the shootings to Al-Qaeda.

[QueenAdrock]

Update: 32, according to Drudge report.

[Yeti]

According to the BBC he was looking for his girlfriend.

I believe you are correct.
I heard on CNN that the gunman was an Asian man in his early 20s. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and maroon hat. Apparently, he was looking for his girlfriend at her classroom then dorm. He turned the gun on himself after his killing spree.

[abcdefz]

That is not the way to get girls. :(

[Yeti]

I am watching CNN and the students keep calling in, sending photos and videos. What is it with people going to the media?Take a nap or something.

[MC Moot]

That is not the way to get girls. :(

I find that post to be contradictory to your style.....you O.K?.....;)

[abcdefz]

I'm a complex cat.

[Yeti]

A VT junior called CNN and said......I was sitting in class learning about heat transfer and gunshots rang out.

[Yeti]

Now they are reporting that he MIGHT be a student and he chained the main doors of the buildings to keep people isolated.

[abcdefz]

That actually brought tears to my eyes.

Fuck. People, sometimes, I swear.

[Yeti]

Update: 32, according to Drudge report.

The police are reporting that the death toll is 31.

[TurdBerglar]

cnn is reporting 31

[TurdBerglar]

now they're reporting that this is the deadliest shooting incedent ever in the US

[abcdefz]

Other than, like, Bull Run?

[DeeJayZap]

i hear some schools have metal detectors at the school entrances to make sure no guns get in.

this is just horrific.

[TurdBerglar]

schools have had those for about the past 25 years

[zippo]

I am watching CNN and the students keep calling in, sending photos and videos. What is it with people going to the media?Take a nap or something.

i guess we all know everyones always watching now

[abcdefz]

Yeah. That's kind of irresponsible, soliciting America's Deadliest Home Videos. Some kid's going to get in the line of fire some day.

[Yeti]

I just heard on MSNBC that the death toll could reach or exceed 50. The injured and dead are from 49 states and 36 foreign countries.

[abcdefz]

I just heard on CNN that the death toll could reach or exceed 50. The injured and dead are from 49 states and 36 foreign countries.


:(

[Yeti]

CNN keeps lauding the VT student that ran up on police with his crappy cell phone as the cops were shooting. They say our I-reporter Jamal got great video.......... the video looks like shit. You can hear guns and he keeps running forward. Unbelievable.

Now, I hear he will be on Paul Zahn tonight. Don't forget to watch as he explains why he stumbled around bullets with his Motorola Razr.

[DaLock]

"I'm gonna put this on my myspace profile LOL!"

[Big Gus]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/breaking-idiot-thompson-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php

Jack Thompson has blamed it all on video games already.

I wish this ambulance-chasing prick would fuck off.

[Parkey]

What an ignorant cunt.

[roosta]

who are worse, Fox News or Drug Lords? (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/mervdogg/fox.jpg)

[zippo]

who are worse, Fox News or Drug Lords? (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/mervdogg/fox.jpg)

haha that was awesome (y)

[Whatitis]

who are worse, Fox News or Drug Lords? (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/mervdogg/fox.jpg)


....or any other news corp.

[QueenAdrock]

You know, I feel really, really sickened by this. Maybe it's also because it's dark and rainy outside that's just completely depressed my entire system. This happening in Virginia Tech doesn't seem like some kind of far-off cross-country Columbine thing happening, this is real, and this is close by. I've had a few friends from high school who went to Virginia Tech and graduated, and I'm really thankful that they were out of school when this happened. But after logging onto facebook, I've come to find out that they're all searching for their friends. It's pure confusion. Like in the aftermath of 9/11, people trying to reconnect with family and friends, just trying to find out who's okay, where their loved ones are. That's what's happening with them right now, and my heart really, really aches for them.

Fuck, this is just terrible. :(

[ggirlballa]

wow i just saw the news report right now as i was making a chicken salad.. just terrible of course it reminded me of columbine in 99' i was only 7 back then but i still remember some of the coverage. i also saw the footage of the shots being fired, what if that was my brother in the campus (he's in college right now, not V-tech)

[RaZoRbLaDe KiSs]

now they're reporting that this is the deadliest shooting incedent ever in the US

I heard its the worst since the 60's, when there was some dude up in a tower with a sniper rifle and he just took down people one by one.

They said there were 32 people killed and dozens more injured when I was in school. We had it on the TV's in class and they were showing interveiws and footage, I think they only had one video at that time, of some kid who got close to the shootings with his phone - I think he got clipped. :(

[Documad]

I remember when that guy shot up a bunch of people in a McDonalds in the early 1980s. I thought that was the biggest shooting spree at the time. It really shook me up.

This just seems unreal.

[Whatitis]

They said there were 32 people killed and dozens more injured when I was in school. We had it on the TV's in class and they were showing interveiws and footage, I think they only had one video at that time, of some kid who got close to the shootings with his phone - I think he got clipped. :(

I don't think you would be seeing any video from someone who 'got clipped' just yet.

[RaZoRbLaDe KiSs]

I dont know, thats what it looked like in the footage anyway - he was filming and ran up a few feet away from a wall where the guy was shooting some people behind it, and he came over to the side so he could see them and you hear a gun shot and his arm gets jerked really fast and the phone fell or something and you can hear the guy go "Oh my god. Oh shit. Oh my god!"

[-T-]

What a horrible thing:( :mad: (n) :confused: .

[QueenAdrock]

Fuck! My brother just reminded me that his roommate from college/best friend from high school is doing a master's program at Virginia Tech. And he's an engineer. And he prefers morning classes.

We're trying to track him down now. Cross your fingers.

[zorra_chiflada]

god, that's terrible. i remember feeling so scared and confused about the port arthur massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Arthur_Massacre) 12 years ago. it was like, how could this be happening in my city? in my area? it was surreal.

[RaZoRbLaDe KiSs]

I remember when 9/11 happened, they were saying how they might aim for the big cities next so California and Chicago might get hit. I lived right there! I was so terrified for the longest time. My grandma went on a flight like 3 months later and I was terrified. Im still terrified to fly.

Why dont they start putting metal detectors and shit like that in schools?

[QueenAdrock]

They do, for a lot of them. But if you've got 25,000 kids on campus, going to all these different classes, it's going to be awfully hard to screen all of them coming in and leaving buildings.

And even if they did have metal detectors, they could still go on a shooting spree right in the middle of campus, during a rally or something else. It's not safe to go anywhere nowadays.

[Documad]

I don't want to live in a world where students have to pass through metal detectors to go to college. Seriously, I'm done with life if it's going to come to that.

It's bad enough that we have to have them in courthouses and federal buildings.

[-T-]

If somebody wants to do something like this its awfull hard to stop them. It sucks but how do you prevent it in this day of age? Its some fucked up shit bottom line.

[QueenAdrock]

Trying not to jump to conclusions about my brother's friend. We tried calling his sister and his parents, none of them are picking up their phones. He's a grad student and I'm not sure what kind of class the shooter went into, but it was in the engineering building, so that doesn't make me feel better about him missing.

I'm not the praying type, but if any of you all are, pray for Jay Resop. He's a good kid, he really is. I hope he's okay.

[Documad]

I am not even a little bit comforted to hear the president speaking about this issue and I think that he has much better things to do than visit the scene of the crime. It's gross that he's going to make a public appearance there to boost his ratings.

[TurdBerglar]

it's insulting to get him involved in something like this

[Documad]

Trying not to jump to conclusions about my brother's friend. We tried calling his sister and his parents, none of them are picking up their phones. He's a grad student and I'm not sure what kind of class the shooter went into, but it was in the engineering building, so that doesn't make me feel better about him missing.

I'm not the praying type, but if any of you all are, pray for Jay Resop. He's a good kid, he really is. I hope he's okay.
I hope he's okay. It seems that the school's engineering department is large and classes are held in more than one building.

Even if he was in that building, hundreds and hundreds of people made it out of that building uninjured. If he was anywhere on campus today, he has to be shook up and trying to make contact with his school friends. I think that if he was not alright, his family would be more likely to answer their telephones. I hope you hear something soon.

[Lo_Lyfe]

Dunedin's massacre. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramoana_massacre)

I was skateboarding at a primary school over the hill (still miles away but kind of close, too) while this was going on. A friend's Dad was in the response group, and was given a jammed gun, which he discovered when they did the changeover swap. If Gray had come up the road, my friend's Dad would have been fucked.

Still got nothing on how consistently fucked up America seems to be, but marginalised weirdos can grow anywhere it seems. I know the gun-laws in NZ changed after this, but that's a small place.

[Justin]

i still can't believe this is happening in blacksburg Virginia of all places.

As a wvu alum I hate VT 362 days a year, but after something like this happens, I think its safe to say ALL of our prayers are with the parents of those kids (some of which probably dont even know their loved ones are dead yet)

LETS GO HOKIES!

[na§tee]

much shitness (n)

the university i work for has many exchange students there and vice versa so i'm currently fielding a shatload of calls from journalists and international office staff. i knew i should have had a cup of coffee this morning.

[icy manipulator]

I can firmly say that the 2 worst school shootings ever took place in country's where guns were not readily available....

Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique,Canada, and killed 14 women (gender specific masacre)

On March 14, 1996, Thomas Hamilton, 43, burst into the Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, Scotland,on Wednesday March 14, 1996, and opened fire with four handguns, killing 16 children and their teacher, then shooting himself dead.


aren't you forgetting the Beslan school siege in 2004?

Get rid of guns.

fucking ay (y)

[venusvenus123]

aren't you forgetting the Beslan school siege in 2004?

that was a political situation.

but yeah get rid of guns. it's never going to happen though. and looks like we're heading for a gun epidemic here.:(

[mikizee]

i still can't believe this is happening in blacksburg Virginia of all places.

I can, when Virginia has the slackest gun laws in the country. Its legal to own an unlicensed gun of less than 20 rounds, with no waiting period!!!! so he got himself 2, theres 40 rounds. Ive heard VT is a homely friendly place with not much crime, but with the gun legislation in place it has almost certainly attributed to this tragedy.

With the powerful US gun lobby in the government's pockets, which is more powerful than even the tobacco lobby, nothing is going to change and shit like this will continue to happen.

[abcdefz]

I hope Jason's okay, Queen. If you can, try text, e-mail, or looking for a MySpace post or something; I think phones could be jammed, still.


So it turns out it was a student who did this.

CNN:


The gunman in Monday’s Virginia Tech campus shootings has been identified as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a student and native of South Korea, campus police chief Wendell Flinchum said.

[Lo_Lyfe]

Do they point out his ethnicity to avoid another "Screwed-up American shoots heaps of people in the land of the free" type of commotion?

[abcdefz]

Don't know.

[Lo_Lyfe]

Just seems very pointed to me, that's all. It's not your problem, I know.

[abcdefz]

Maybe it's to head off the "Were they terrorists!?" thing.

Yeah, I don't know. It usually bugs me when ethnicity comes up for no real reason. But maybe it's just that the guy's name immediately opens that door -- was he a native, etc.

[Lo_Lyfe]

Maybe it's to head off the "Were they terrorists!?" thing.

Yeah, I don't know. It usually bugs me when ethnicity comes up for no real reason. But maybe it's just that the guy's name immediately opens that door -- was he a native, etc.
I always figured names were anglocised if the person settled in an English speaking country.

There must be people making remarks about him being Asian. Otherwise, why mention it?

Cho Seung-Hui of Edinburgh doesn't sit right.

[cookiepuss]

the worst thing about these cowards who go into public places and take all these innocent lives is that they usually kill themselves too. For whatever unstable reason these people decide to do these things, they never seems to have the balls to stick around to deal with the concequences of what they have done.:(

man if your life is that bad, just kill yourself. there is no reason to take 30 people with you.:mad:

[Parkey]

Just out of interest, how many of you Americans have guns? Is it a common thing for your average person to have a firearm?

[abcdefz]

I grew up in a house where we had a BB gun, a .22, and a couple of shotguns. These were for pretty rare hunting trips or just target practice.

I have one brother who has a gun (or had one), and one friend who has one.

No idea what national statistics are. Rifles and shotguns seemed fairly normal growing up in the midwest; handguns were the sort of thing someone might have locked in a safe. To this day, I don't think I've ever seen a civilian handgun in person.

[QueenAdrock]

^Not me, none of my family, and not a single friend, nor any of their families. The closest is my great-uncle who owns a rifle for hunting. He kills animals for food/fur/whatever else he needs. He lives in the mountains.

I've only known of one family to own a gun, and their son used it to commit suicide when he was 13. I'd never, EVER have a gun in my house. Period.

[icy manipulator]

what's the gun laws in the UK? total ban? here you cant have any automatics, semi automatics or hand guns

[kaiser soze]

the worst thing about these cowards who go into public places and take all these innocent lives is that they usually kill themselves too. For whatever unstable reason these people decide to do these things, they never seems to have the balls to stick around to deal with the concequences of what they have done.:(

man if your life is that bad, just kill yourself. there is no reason to take 30 people with you.:mad:

I believe it's a twisted sub-conscience need to not be alone in their eventual death (suicide), so they take others out to lessen their anxiety

It's unbelievable how this spread to such a large number of deaths across the campus. VT will have to answer many questions to their response (or lack thereof)

This followed a couple weeks of bomb threats, campus security should have had a more acute sense of imminent danger on the campus.

I couldn't imagine this happening where I work (College Residence Halls), but there have been times when I was a bit wary about the potential for something like this. Our security guards are not armed (not even tasers), and we have never trained for this type of scenario...changes will be made

I am also disgusted by the media's depiction of this with titles like MASSACRE AT VIRGINA TECH, they could be a bit more sensitive.

[DaLock]

* Private Firearm Ownership in the U.S. as of 1993/1994:

Households With a Gun: 49% (Total Number 47,600,000)

Adults Owning a Gun: 31% (Total Number 59,100,000)

Old stats are ooooold.

[Lo_Lyfe]

It is a massacre. They wouldn't just say shooting, because that implies something far smaller. Thankfully they're not saying slaughter.

[Parkey]

It is completely illegal to own a handgun unless you can prove you use it to kill vermin like rats, or it is an antique type gun.
You need a licence to buy any gun. Depending on what type of gun you want, you need to do different things to get a licence - usually a 12 month process.

You need to prove you will store your gun properly, and give the police lots of information about yourself, including all your medical records.

[abcdefz]

Giving loners everywhere a bad name:


Cho left a long and vitriolic note in his dorm room, law enforcement sources told ABC News. It contained an explanation of his actions and states, "You caused me to do this," ABC News reported.

It also railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus, according to the Chicago Tribune.

[Yeti]

Classmates said that on the first day of an introduction to British literature class last year, the 30 or so English students went around and introduced themselves. When it was Cho's turn, he didn't speak.

The professor looked at the sign-in sheet and, where everyone else had written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "Is your name, `Question mark?'" classmate Julie Poole recalled the professor asking. The young man offered little response.

"We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole said.

I wonder if he is the illegitimate son of this guy?
http://blacktable.com/going050929.htm

[venusvenus123]

I grew up in a house where we had a BB gun, a .22, and a couple of shotguns. These were for pretty rare hunting trips or just target practice.

I have one brother who has a gun (or had one), and one friend who has one.

No idea what national statistics are. Rifles and shotguns seemed fairly normal growing up in the midwest; handguns were the sort of thing someone might have locked in a safe. To this day, I don't think I've ever seen a civilian handgun in person.

in the guardian today:
200m: number of firearms in circulation in the US

65m: number of handguns among the 200m

80m: upper estimate of gun owners; lower estimate 65m

35m: estimate of handgun owners in the US

30k: number of americans killed each year by firearm injuries

3,365: total of americans aged 19 or under killed by gunfire during the year 2000 -- an average of nine people per day.



in answer to icy: guns are pretty much illegal here. you can get a licence for a rifle for sporting purposes or if you're a farmer or want to shoot pheasants, but handguns are illegal.

[QueenAdrock]

I hope Jason's okay, Queen. If you can, try text, e-mail, or looking for a MySpace post or something; I think phones could be jammed, still.

I just got a phone call, he's okay. :) He was on lockdown in another building.

[Yeti]

Apparently, Cho wrote a play where someone is killed by having a Rice Krispie treat shoved down their throat. I thought Shakespeare had issues.

[faz]

Apparently, Cho wrote a play where someone is killed by having a Rice Krispie treat shoved down their throat. I thought Shakespeare had issues.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0417071vtech1.html

[Parkey]

It's a play. I don't care what he wrote - if we start going round screening people based on their artistic output then we're fucked as a society...

[Justin]

It's a play. I don't care what he wrote - if we start going round screening people based on their artistic output then we're fucked as a society...


I agree with that Parkey!

In the coming days, weeks and years we will hear people try to connect why this kid killed so many....."his creative writing was over the top violent, he was quiet, he was a loner, Va guns laws, the campus didn't warn other students earlier."

I know of others with sick creative writing skills, quiet, loner types, but they dont go around killing innocent people!

The kid was obviously pretty smart being a senior in college.

I guess he just woke up one morning and decided that it's ok to kill people and that "it has to be done" I still don't know how anyone can justify to kill innocent people though and I know that some of the circumstances may have "helped" him do it, but if he really wanted to do this it was going to happen anyways. Ya know?

[Justin]

The thing I dont understand is.....


George Bush showing up saying.."blah blah blah and what a tragedy this is" when he is sending more troops to Iraq where he knows there WILL be gunfire with a good chance of death happening.

There is something wrong with this picture:mad:


This is a fucked up world!

Maybe when i wake up in the morning, things will change!

[kaiser soze]

it disgusts me that bush has yet to attend a memorial for our fallen soldiers

his quote "At the wrong place at the wrong time" is such a fucking cliched, heartless, detached statement any "compassionate" person would say. These people were getting their education...what's wrong with that???

[Tompz]

wonder why this shit rarely happens in europe or elsewhere?

next time it will probably be 50+

meh

[DaLock]

Awww FUCK!

Yeah first the fake terrorist thing and now this. Way to go, /b/!
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Talk:Virginia_Tech_massacre

Some insight into the lynkz. Be prepared; this shit is harder to read than War and Peace.

[Parkey]

From today's Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2059749,00.html).

[icy manipulator]

yanks really need to have a ban on guns. otherwise it just lives up to the stereotype of being gun loving rednecks.

here, 1996, Martin Bryant kills 27 people with an automatic rifle, result, ban on automatic and semi automatic guns

5 years later, Monash Uni massacre, some dude kills 8 or 9 ppl with a handgun, result, ban on handguns.

since then, nothing has happened here. anyone who says a ban on guns wont do anything to stop these ppl getting guns, well, you're bloody idiots. i'm not having a go at anyone here, because i'm sure every american on this board would relinquish their right to own a gun in order to stop something like this from happening again. if not, well sorry, but you're fucking retarded

[Yeti]

I did not like this article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2059749,00.html). The writer inferred that the shooter was American before the identity was released. Then he indicted that Americans seek celebrity. It is an unfortunate incident that could have happened anywhere.
He also promoted his book on school shootings at the end of his diatribe.

This quote is idiotic----Time was that appearing in the newspaper for doing something dreadful was a fearful prospect. But Americans appear to have lost touch with the concept of shame.

[Lo_Lyfe]

yanks really need to have a ban on guns. otherwise it just lives up to the stereotype of being gun loving rednecks.

here, 1996, Martin Bryant kills 27 people with an automatic rifle, result, ban on automatic and semi automatic guns

5 years later, Monash Uni massacre, some dude kills 8 or 9 ppl with a handgun, result, ban on handguns.

since then, nothing has happened here. anyone who says a ban on guns wont do anything to stop these ppl getting guns, well, you're bloody idiots. i'm not having a go at anyone here, because i'm sure every american on this board would relinquish their right to own a gun in order to stop something like this from happening again. if not, well sorry, but you're fucking retarded
Problem is, somebody would find a way. And their conviction would be stronger for having to work harder to find a way.

[icy manipulator]

Problem is, somebody would find a way. And their conviction would be stronger for having to work harder to find a way.
maybe so, but my point is that there's been no massacre's with auto rifles since port arthur, and no incidences with handguns since Monash. the US is completely different society, so sure enough something like this may happen again even if there was a ban. but that timeline of school shootings in the US was fucking ridiculous, a ban would dramatically reduce the number of gun related deaths, if not totally abolish them

[Yeti]

the US is completely different society, so sure enough something like this may happen again even if there was a ban.

It is interesting that you preface your statement with the US is a different society. We are not that bad.
Prohibition did not keep people from drinking and illegally running liquor.

I have a rifle gathering dust in my closet and do not have a handgun. You know.... sometimes when I hear of a home break-in and murder I think about getting a handgun. The only problem would be that if it is not on your person it is not of much use so I banish the thought.

I read stories from time to time of mass stabbings in the UK. Unstable people are hard to regulate.

[icy manipulator]

It is interesting that you preface your statement with the US is a different society. We are not that bad.
Prohibition did not keep people from drinking and illegally running liquor.

I have a rifle gathering dust in my closet and do not have a handgun. You know.... sometimes when I hear of a home break-in and murder I think about getting a handgun. The only problem would be that if it is not on your person it is not of much use so I banish the thought.

I read stories from time to time of mass stabbings in the UK. Unstable people are hard to regulate.
all i meant was that works here may not work in the US. and making guns is just a tad harder than making alcohol. the question is, would you give up your rifle in order to drastically reduce something like this happening again? surely it's a comprimise, and you might not feel as safe at first because you dont know if everyone's going to comply with the laws. but just look at australia as a guinea pig, for every gun related death here there's 1000 in the US. doesn't sound too bad to me

[Yeti]

My rifle was given to me by my father when I hunted. I don't even have any bullets for the gun. I would give it up because all I can do with it now is pound someone over the head with it or poke them in the stomach.

People are starting to quit smoking because cigarettes are so expensive. Maybe we could tax guns out of existance.
We would have to change the constitution to ban guns and that would be tricky.

Banning guns addresses a fundamental right of all Americans to feel safe. It is odd but that is how people feel.

[Parkey]

"One teacher, who later died, barricaded himself behind a door to allow his students to escape the gunfire."
Wasn't he the bloke who survived the holocaust?

[QueenAdrock]

Yeah, he was. :(

I hate tossing around the word "hero" because it's often used to refer to anyone who suffered in a tragedy, but that guy truly was a hero.

[YoungRemy]

the latest news is that NBC news received correspondence from Cho befire he went on his rampage and that the student was declared mentally ill by the state in 2005...


sadly, it appears the warning signs were all there....

[roosta]

this is all messed up and all, but would us non-American's still be talking about it 3 days later if it had happened in a Pakistani college?

[YoungRemy]

man, the dude went back to his dorm room in between shootings and sent his writings and rantings to NBC News...

and the school kept their classes going...hindsight is always 20-20, but this tragedy could have been avoided!

[Parkey]

I really object to the focus being placed on his writing. As if penning a violent work of fiction means you're going to kick off with a firearm.

[Yeti]

His writing takes us into his psyche. People are fascinated by the twisted thinking of serial killers and murderers. I do not think his play Richard McBeef showed us anything other than the fact that he was a really shitty writer.

When someone is executed in the electric chair they tell us their last meal and last words.

[-T-]

maybe so, but my point is that there's been no massacre's with auto rifles since port arthur, and no incidences with handguns since Monash. the US is completely different society, so sure enough something like this may happen again even if there was a ban. but that timeline of school shootings in the US was fucking ridiculous, a ban would dramatically reduce the number of gun related deaths, if not totally abolish them


You cannot ban guns the "do not exist" and trust me there are a ridiculous amount of handguns that are not registered. I know of people who have unregistered hand guns just in case they are banned. It will probably happen given time. The thing is when they are banned guess what? Most of the hard core criminals do not buy hand guns legally anyways. I agree with the many restrictions there are when buying a new or used handgun.

I cannot buy one until I'm 21. I have 8 months until then and I plan on buying one lol. Where I live is not as strict as many places. I have to go to the state police and get a permit good for 10 days and one handgun,background check, fingerprint. Then when you buy the gun you have to go back for an inspection.

I'm not saying that having no guns will not solve problems. Its just people will always have them in America.

[kaiser soze]

The victims :(

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18143312/

[ggirlballa]

don't give the killer so much attention thats prolly what he would have wanted since he sent tapes & photos to NBC & stuff.

instead we should remember the victims not give the killer his 15 minutes of fame but that already happened with people on the news talking about his plays & wrtings etc.

[zorra_chiflada]

^^ fuck, i'm glad i wasn't a teenager growing up in the US amid this. i would probably be in jail

[zorra_chiflada]

even being batshit crazy doesn't justify what he did. there's heaps of crazy people about, most of which don't harm anyone but themselves

[ET]

I'm not saying that having no guns will not solve problems. Its just people will always have them in America.

When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns?

His videos are pretty batshit. I hate to say it but he really comes off sounding like that one kid in class everyone makes fun of in Creative Writing. I've heard from someone living in the same dorm building that he didn't respond to friendly comments. He was pretty stone faced when people would try to get friendly with him.

[GetYourWarOn]

the hammer pic is my favorite

[QueenAdrock]

When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns?

His videos are pretty batshit. I hate to say it but he really comes off sounding like that one kid in class everyone makes fun of in Creative Writing. I've heard from someone living in the same dorm building that he didn't respond to friendly comments. He was pretty stone faced when people would try to get friendly with him.

Apparently a few people believed that he didn't speak English that well, and they figured that's why he didn't talk much. When you hear him talk, his sentences are disjointed and his thoughts are haphazard. He makes no sense. "This is for my children, my brothers..."? Um, you have no kids. The fuck?

And did anyone else think this kid's voice sounded like Napoleon Dynamite's?

I'm actually pretty relieved to get out of DC in August. The American culture scares me and I'd like to get away for a while. Living in the nation's capital with little to no change in everyday policy since 9/11 (amount of police officers on the Metro, for one) doesn't make me feel safe. Everyone's on high alert after an incident, and no one's ever on guard before something happens, which is when they need to be. I love my country, but sometimes I just don't feel like I'm safe living here.

[Bob]

Ha ha, great, now there will be another hysteria in the US, now everyone that's a bit odd will be treated as a to-be school shooter for some weeks before this is over.

if you don't hear from me for a while, i'm probably in an institution

either that or that weird kid in contracts shot me, i dunno

[ET]

I have seen more videos and he speaks of Jesus and being slit from ear to ear and all of this suffering nonsense. When you're a Senior with 2 weeks until graduating why would shooting up the campus be priority #1?! [i haven't fact checked this!] If you're sick of "rich kids, gold chains, and debauchery" why not just finish your degree and/or move elsewhere? Virginia, the US, or half of the world isn't the only place with such things.

He was trying so hard to come off as some kind of vigilante martyr and ended up as a crazy Asian kid in the media. He does kind of sound like the Napoleon Dynamite guy though... And the sad part is that morons are trying to copycat (http://www.wdsu.com/news/12279015/detail.html) him. So far there were 8 reported threats this week. Way to show the world we give a damn, America.

If all of the people who see what's "wrong" with this nation moved away we'd be in a much shittier condition. But that's my take on things. I hope you enjoy your time in the great white North, Queenie. I think I'd enjoy moving Northwest but I can't bring myself to look into it. This sounds retardedly political now so I'll stop rambling. It's late and I can't help it.

[Parkey]

He sounds like a South Park character.

[Junker]

He was ugly as hell. Oh...and lunatic and paranoid too.

[QueenAdrock]

If all of the people who see what's "wrong" with this nation moved away we'd be in a much shittier condition. But that's my take on things. I hope you enjoy your time in the great white North, Queenie. I think I'd enjoy moving Northwest but I can't bring myself to look into it. This sounds retardedly political now so I'll stop rambling. It's late and I can't help it.

Nah, I agree with you. I'm just saying I do feel a good sense of relief to get away from this area. DC is just a risky place to live, and now that it's crowded to the point of it being a clusterfuck if anything happened...well, I don't feel good being here. The Metro's always packed, the streets are always packed, there's 5 million people shoved into a pretty small area. It's just a situation waiting to go wrong. No one else sees it, either. Everyone just sits on their asses, and I guess they cross their fingers. One day I saw a crazy nutjob with a sign around her neck talking about how she works for King Allah and the Saudi family and all this other shit - everyone just glanced at her, sat down, and continued on. This didn't alarm anyone else but me, apparently - I got off at the next Metro stop and took the next train. It's not that I'm living my life in fear, it's that I'm trying to be watchful and observant and use my freakin' brain if I see something out of the ordinary. I don't want to always be on guard though, it's tiring and stressful sometimes. I'm relieved to go to an area with less risk.



Anyways, in other news, the Westboro Baptist Church and Fred Phelps plan to picket the funerals of every student who died. Their website is claiming that higher education teaches students to turn against God, so therefore they deserve to die. I wouldn't doubt if they showed up and got the shit kicked out of them by a few burly frat guys, or the like.

[Yeti]

Cho reminds me of Travis Bickle.

[abcdefz]

Something I don't understand:

When you're put on involuntary hold, it's called a "5150." That gives police or doctors up to 48 hours to detain you for evaluation.

If you've been put on a 5150, you can't legally buy a handgun for seven years, I think it is.

Is that not a federal law?

Anyway. The guy was clearly deluded. He resisted all contact and help, then claims that people "did this" to him. I know I'm stating the obvious, but you don't get to have it both ways. Were people supposed to know the secret password to his psyche to get him to open up? I mean, I know we all want love on our own terms, but this is insane.

[QueenAdrock]

They interviewed the gun shop owner, he said he did his part in filling out the paperwork, he sent it to the FBI, and they're in charge of all of the background investigations to make sure he's an upstanding citizen and such. He said if anyone dropped the ball, it was them.

Yay, blame game!

[abcdefz]

Never mind. I found it.

CNN:

"Only if I order them into a hospital is there any effect on their gun rights," Barnett told CNN on Wednesday.

Virginia and federal law prohibit the sale of guns to anyone who has been sent unwillingly to a mental institution.

Police twice investigated Cho in the fall of 2005 after female students complained about his contacts with them, university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said Wednesday. Neither of the women pressed charges.

A former suite mate of Cho, who wished to be identified only as Andy, told CNN that Cho had harassed three women and had spoken of suicide after a run-in with police.

"I told the cops that. And they took him away to the counseling center for a night or two," the roommate said.

The Virginia State Police Web site features a 16-question "Firearms Purchase Eligibility Test." The site says that answering yes to any of the queries means a person may not be able to purchase a firearm.

Question 9 states: Have you ever been adjudicated legally incompetent, mentally incapacitated, or been involuntarily committed to a mental institution?

Because Cho was not involuntarily committed to a mental institution, his appearance before the judge and his evaluation at a mental health facility did not show up when he bought the guns.

[Lyman Zerga]

He was ugly as hell.


thats probably why he shot his face off..

[Parkey]

Literary effort... (http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2060413,00.html)

[QueenAdrock]

Time to start blaming movies. (http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1261563,00.html)

[Parkey]

Textbook hysteria...

[abcdefz]

Well, you can't have it both ways.

Actors and directors will talk about how they want a movie to educate or uplift or inspire or whatever, but the idea that a movie can also make a negative contribution is shucked off as nonsense, which is bullshit.

[Parkey]

He killed people because he was a dickhead and had a gun.