Virginia Tech shootings kill 32+ people

[Walter]

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

I've got a friend at this college, and can't seem to get in touch with him. Hope he's ok...

At least 32 people were killed in a series of shootings at Virginia Tech campus today. That’s the largest shooting spree that I can recall. Very vague details right now. There was a bomb threat last week that authorities think may be related to these shootings. No information on wounded/deceased yet.

update: the sole shooter shot self, died before police apprehension
update: "Some victims were shot in a classroom," university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said. The gunman is also dead, he added."
update: event being labeled the "deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history"
update: Several new details released today (Tuesday)

- Shooter was 23-year old South-Korean student, Cho Seung-Hui
- Left note in his room which contained the line: "You made me do this"
- Shooter was a creative writing student
- Ballistics tests have confirmed one of the two weapons seized was used in both shootings
- He was a South Korean citizen who has lived in the United States since 1992.
- His family lived in Centreville, Va., a suburb of Washington D.C., about 240 mi. NE of Blacksburg

 

[Proj2501]

Shit, that's terrible. I hope your friend is alright.

 

[Vampire_Hunter_Bob]

Jesus, this is fucking bullshit.

 

[Rhombaad]

Yeah, I heard about this on the radio about an hour ago. I hope your friend is alright, Walter. Words can't even describe how terrible these kind of things are.

 

[Aazealh]

Yeah, talk about a tragedy... Let's hope your friend's Ok.

 

[Skeleton]

I hope your friend is alright, Walter.

 

[vlad]

Horrible news, I hope the death toll doesn't rise anymore.

 

[Walter]

Whew, he's fine. Just sent me an email.

Hi FranQ,

I'm safe and okay. Campus was put on lockdown shortly before I could
catch my bus, so I've been working from home. Thanks for the concern.

Chris

 

[Rhombaad]

Whew, he's fine. Just sent me an email.

That's a relief.  Glad to hear that he's okay.

The death toll is pretty shocking, though. I hope it stops where it's at.

 

[handsome rakshas]

Terrible stuff, glad your friend is okay Walter.

 

[Darquenaut]

This was a horrible, piss-poor to start the week. My thoughts are with them and your friend Walter.

I just checked CNN.com, they're now saying 32 people are dead, 33 if you include the ass who killed himself afterward.

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

What really, really pisses me off is the fact that the first two people died in one building TWO HOURS before the rest of the rampage started.

"Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, [university police Chief Wendell] Flinchum responded that police received information that "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time."

[university President Charles] Steger added, "We had some reason to believe the shooter had left campus.""

The article further goes on to say that this incident today (4-16-07) happened three days after a bomb threat on the same campus that had three buildings closed down.

Okay, I will admit my college is a fraction of that size, but I would still think that even at that size, they would at least ramp up security, esp. after two people were killed.

I dunno... my head is just not able right now to wrap around this.

 

[Walter]

Yeah I suspect the university's response will be a big focus of attention in the future. It's bullshit they didn't alert the students of the incident, regardless of whether or not they "thought" it was isolated. My college shut down at the MENTION of a gun on campus, much less a dead student.

 

[Aazealh]

Double homicide and they didn't even cancel classes? Wow. "Please don't pay attention to the blood on the walls and floor and focus on today's lesson."

Damn these gun laws you guys have, seriously...

 

[SaiyajinNoOuji]

Yeah I suspect the university's response will be a big focus of attention in the future. It's bullshit they didn't alert the students of the incident, regardless of whether or not they "thought" it was isolated. My college shut down at the MENTION of a gun on campus, much less a dead student.

Yea, its pretty ridiculous that this happened. I'm sure an administrator will lose their job, which they should and even then that would be too lenient. Their ignorance and poor judgment cost lives.

 

[spineylamb]

Rumor has it that the shooter was a young asian male, he used two handguns (semi-automatic?), and was looking for his girlfriend (but that last part is the least believable)

I'm very interested in what would drive a person to do this.

 

[Proj2501]

Body Count is now up to 32. 26 injured.

Rumor has it that the shooter was a young asian male, he used two handguns (semi-automatic?), and was looking for his girlfriend (but that last part is the least believable)

Not a rumor, he was Asian. (Not that the Asian factor has any real impact on anything.)

 

[Vaxillus]

Pretty terrible stuff. I'll throw my opinion on the pile that the school's response was BS. Someone's probably getting fired after that.

The race of the person may have remote significance, I think I overheard on the news that he had recently come to the US. Again, I could have heard wrong, but if this is true it could be a major stink for immigration and gun control laws (the latter should be stricter anyway IMO, thanks a lot lobbyists).

 

[Walter]

Rumor has it that the shooter was a young asian male, he used two handguns (semi-automatic?), and was looking for his girlfriend (but that last part is the least believable)

Yeah, those aren't rumors. The police have already found and bagged a pair of .9 mm semi-automatic handguns. And witnesses described him as a young asian male.

I'm very interested in what would drive a person to do this.

Well first of all, it doesn't really matter what HIS validation was. It's horseshit.

But moving on, VTech is a school for science and math geeks. Maybe he just cracked? I don't think we'll ever know genuinely what his motive was after the mess he left though. We'll see.

[quote author=washington post]
Students on campus and parents were angry. When Blake Harrison, 21, of Leesburg learned of the shootings, he said, he called an administrative help line and was told "to proceed with caution to classes." He said: "I'm beyond upset. I'm enraged."
[/quote]
Jesus... the incompetence of the university staff. I'm appalled.

 

[spineylamb]

Proceed with caution to class? Wow. A bullet proof vest wouldn't have covered it. It's understandable that the campus is really big, but it obviously got out of hand... I heard he was able to move around discreetly because he could just hide the ammo belt and the guns and move along with the crowd.

 

[Walter]

Proceed with caution to class? Wow. A bullet proof vest wouldn't have covered it. It's understandable that the campus is really big, but it obviously got out of hand... I heard he was able to move around discreetly because he could just hide the ammo belt and the guns and move along with the crowd.

Well, he could also kill at his leisure because he chained the doors to most of the building's exits. That's one of the creepiest details I learned today...

 

[spineylamb]

he chained the doors to most of the building's exits

That guy definitely knew what he wanted to do, and knew he wasn't going to get out alive. Messed up.

 

[SaiyajinNoOuji]

You know.... it just boggles the mind how people that are responsible for the well being of the students just lacked any fucking common sense at all. For a school meant for math and science geeks, those teachers/administrators are fucking retarded.

 

[Ruins]

All this because (according to what is known so far), his girlfriend might be cheating on him? There are probably other pressures too, especially since the shooter is an overseas student from Shanghai, China. But damn... the availability of guns in the US is just insane.

A similar thing happened at the University I am currently at, though with much fewer casualties. I was a couple of hundred metres away in a computer lab. We found out about it via someone's home-made radio scanner for a thesis project (Electrical Engineering ppl...). No one actually told us what was happening until everything was over...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monash_University_shooting

I really hope the news will given more coverage on the motivations and mental state of the shooter, instead of letting "experts" use this series of killings as another platform for their anti-video game, music, violent movies, immigration agenda.

 

[Walter]

All this because (according to what is known so far), his girlfriend might be cheating on him? There are probably other pressures too, especially since the shooter is an overseas student from Shanghai, China. But damn... the availability of guns in the US is just insane.

While that's the obvious lead on motive, I wouldn't buy that as the complete story just yet.

And Shanghai? Huh? That's news to me. Where'd you read it?

 

[SaiyajinNoOuji]

I just don't see why people need to go to an extreme when little things like that happen. So f'ing what if your girl maybe cheating on you. It happens! Does it mean that you need to go around like a Jerry's kid and starting killing innocent people?