New facts have come to light - as they always do when a good law enforcement investigation is conducted - and some MSM supposition has been put to rest.
This morning, the police identified the killer as Virginia Tech Senior and English major Cho Seung-Hui, 23, from South Korea, not China. Cho has been living in the U.S. since 1992, and is a U.S. citizen, according to immigration officials. He lived in the dorm at VT.
The two pistols he carried, one a 9mm and the other a .22 cal. were recovered at the scene and Cho's fingerprints were on both weapons, adding weight to the 'lone shooter' theory. Although the serial numbers had been filed off of both weapons, the backpack Cho carried held a receipt for the March 13 purchase of the 9mm. He bought the .22 within the last week.
Had he been planning this since the March handgun purchase?
Police confirmed that Cho killed himself as police closed in on him, shooting himself in the head after killing 32 people, at least four of them professors.
Cho had apparently argued with an 18-year-old woman in the dorm, Emily Jane Hilscher, and her 20-year-old dorm supervisor, Ryan Clark, who lived next door, was summoned for help. Cho apparently shot both of them, then returned to his own dorm room to prepare for the rest of his attack. There have been reports, however, that he argued with Emily first, then returned to her dorm a short while later and killed her and Clark.
Police found a long, rambling suicide note in Cho's room, which has not yet been released. The note could explain what Cho was doing for the two hours between shootings. Cho has been described as 'disturbed' and was referred for counseling last year after writing a violent play.
Classes at Vt have been canceled as the community continues to mourn.
Related:
Scroll through this Hot Air post for insight and updates.
***UPDATED***: It seems that Hot Air is debunking the 'domestic dispute' angle. According to the roommate of Hilscher, Emily did not know the guy. It seems likely that Hilscher's boyfriend, who happens to be a gun aficionado, is the "person of interest" we have been hearing about. It makes sense: police, upon arriving at the scene of the first double murder, and learning that Hilscher's boyfriend has guns, suspected him. Clearly, they thought that the two had argued and he killed her and Clark, who came to her aid. Perhaps they (Hilscher and her boyfriend) had even argued that morning before the shooting. If someone saw/heard that, and saw the boyfriend leave, it stands to reason he would be the initial suspect. Supposition, of course.
If the boyfriend was suspected early, and does not live on campus, police probably would suspect that he had fled the campus, having no other reason to be there and having just killed two people. A reasonable but dangerous assumption, under the circumstances. And an incredible, and unfortunate, series of events for everyone involved.
Cho, clearly a deluded nutcase, confronts Hilscher for who-knows-what reason. Maybe he was stalking her and became angry when she told him to get lost. Maybe he got angry, killed her and Clark, then went back to his dorm room, and, realizing that he would be caught, just went completely nuts. he obviously went to her dorm for some reason. The letter we've been hearing about clearly offers some insight into this nuts mind, but it will be interesting to see if Hilscher is mentioned.
Either way, it seems that there was no stopping this scumbag. He was nuts and pissed off at the world, and wanted retribution for all of the perceived wrongs in his life, real or imagined. If he didn't have guns, he would have used a car, or a knife or anything else he could find.
The stalkings of several women in the dorm and the fire he reportedly started, however, are danger cues that should not have been taken lightly. Especially added to his history of violent writings, anti-social behavior, anti-depressant meds, and previous referrals for mental health counseling. He clearly was suicidal, homicidal, severely depressed, psychotic, anti-social and obviously a danger both to himself and others. A very scary combination.
The school seems to have been trying to help him with counseling, but it seems that the police should have been involved with the fire and stalking problems.
And the investigation continues.
UPDATED: Let's see: stalking, police involvement, parents reported him as "suicidal", mental health issues and commitment, described as a "sullen loner." You, the signs were there. Cho's roommate saw him just two hours before it started:
"He didn't look me in the eye. Same old thing. I left him alone," He told CNN. He said when he saw Cho that morning and during the weekend, Cho didn't smile, didn't frown and didn't show any signs of anger. Grewal also said he never saw any weapons.
There's still no word of why he went across campus and up to the second floor of the Norris Building before he started shooting. Was he looking for someone in particular?
Confirmation that police initially identified the suspect as Hilscher's boyfriend, Karl Thornhill. Hardly a scoop, however, as Hot Air has been well ahead of the reporting on this one.
Breaking: Cho apparently contacted MSNBC News after the first double-homicide. It appears he sent them a "multimedia manifesto" with pictures, video and writings, which they received today. The package was timestamped and appeared to have been sent within that critical two-hour span between attacks.
Brian Williams' blog has more. I'm not a fan of NBC News, but they certainly get credit here for turning it over to the FBI before broadcasting it.
***UPDATED***: Well, I spoke too soon. Here I was praising NBC for doing the right thing and turning over the evidence to the FBI, and then they turn around and air this garbage to help their pathetic ratings.
Is there anyone out there who really wanted to hear the rantings of this "Psy-Cho"? A useful tool for law enforcement, to be sure, especially FBI profilers, but to air this crap, literally a few hours after the incident, is a slap in the face of not only the victims and their families, but everyone at VT. Disgusting.
Some of the families have already canceled interviews with NBC over this. Local police were 'disappointed' in NBC's choice to air the messages.
Why? Copycats.
This coward apparently expressed admiration for the Columbine killers, and believe me, somewhere out there, another cowardly loner is thinking "yeah, I should do that, too."
Thanks, NBC, for living up to your usual performance.
***UPDATED***: Hot Air again. A timeline, with speculation thrown in for good measure. Did he walk right by police investigation after the first murders, while on his way to the post office to deliver his bizarre ravings? It sure seems like he must have. Plus, he fired over 200 rounds? Seventeen magazines expended, including some high-cap Glock mags, apparently.
My last update. let's find something positive to read, now.
so, MSNBC copied the crap before sending it to the Feds? That's great. Clearly, they are interested in helping society and understanding what happened FIRST, and improving their ratings second. As a business, they get a few points for their decision, as far as contributing to crime-fighting and concern for the society they serve (without bias, of course) they get a C-.
What I hate is, like usual, everyone looks for someone to pin the blame on: the campus police, the police, the SWAT, the University, the profs, the legal system, the therapists, the parents... Holy shit! There is only one person responsible here. Hindsight is always 20/20: yes, the signs were there... rather, BILLBOARDS. If they HAD done something to this guy (fearing that he might commit a crime) everyone would be pissed off at the "Terrorist Witch Hunt" and demand he be freed. ...how we unconstitionally deprived an innocent man (who never hurt anyone) of a normal life.
Posted by: Eric | April 20, 2007 at 02:33 AM