Asian kid goes ballistic kills 33 at Virginia Tech

[Aunty]

Well I'm sure you've all heard the news. Here's a link to some eyewitness accounts of this morning's shootings in Virginia. They report the gunman was Asian and wearing a boy scout uniform. Can we all say nutjob?

Oriental or Indian??

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/sto ... d=10434646 (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10434646)

"Goes ballistic"? What an unfortunate choice of words. The general reaction is, naturally, "only in America"

[Aunty]

Oriental - Mainland Chinese.

That will no doubt raise some hackles, and then questions about the rights of foreign students while studying in the US, (e.g., the Americans have a constitutional right to buy guns in the US, but foreigners?) then on to security, mental health, and attitudinal checks made of foreign students before and during their time of study, and of course, the safety of America's colleges and universities.

Beryl, do try to keep up with contemporary uses of language, would you?

Yep what a mess. Of course the gun laws or lack of, will be completely ignored because of the little problem of an election coming up, plus Americas hilly-billy amendments. Democrats, they have a spine like "jello", thats American for confiture Beryl. Sadly they are the only alternative to the republicans. Oh well as long as they are also shooting each other to death.

The Chinese and other evil foreigners will take the brunt of it this time, no doubt.

Oriental - Mainland Chinese.



Wrong, dear. He was from South Korea.

Police have named a student who shot dead at least 30 people at a US university as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old from South Korea.

He was studying English and had been living on the university campus. He killed himself after the rampage.

Police said a gun found at the scene was also used at an earlier shooting in which two people were killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6563565.stm

[Aunty]

Yes I see that. Last night they were reporting he was from mainland China. Reading about him now he was a total whack-job psycho, and the college had plenty of evidence for it. I can see the lawyers gathering for the kill - no pun intended.

as evidence, I offer the members of this board....I think.

Seung Hui Cho was taking a writing class, his poems & other writings were violent (Example: a play ended with a man killing a thirteen-year-old boy.), "Therefore, all writers of violent material should be locked up?" or something to that affect was said by whomever she went to (Police) to report her misgivings: she...Ta-da!... "feared for her life," she...roll `dem cameras...now says. He left an eight-page (Suicide?) rant-letter mentioning, amongst other things; pedophilia. (Hmmm?)
Police have come under fire for not answering all reporters questions, no matter how asinine or how many times the were told the info was not available, and for not locking down the entire campus, effectively making 26,000 people setting ducks--And for notifying the students, etc, via e-mail..."Who-the-hell reads e-mail that early in the morning?" nevertheless, "It stopped the system:" couldn't be accessed. (I'm sure terrorist organizations are quaking to see what force they are up against.) There has been almost constant tv reportage...Not much to report but almost constant coverage--And Bush had a photo op\opportunity to make like an hillbilly evangelist, Amazing Grace\Amassing Gas: the only hymn--Thanks to the movie\television industry--known to Americans was drug out...Again..."Old Cougar," Katie Couric had an opportunity to prettily cross her legs on camera, the gun people--Pro & con--are out ranting in force, every 'whack-job' knows Virginia is the whack-job-friendliest, quickest, easiest place in America to shop till you drop (someone) for a glock (And 50 bullets--@ $687), Anna Nicole, Danilynn, Don Imus & "Nappy-headed Ho's" were momentarily knocked off the front page, (Someone...On a blog?... reportedly said the murderer misunderstood: Thought Imus had said, "Nappy headed Cho.)" and it really pissed him off--And--My favorite (Priceless) moment: a mother told some dumb-ass reporter she thought everyone could use a good hug: best puke I've had all week!
Meanwhile; little Heather Mills (Go, Heather!) survived another week on, Dancing With the Stars ("Stars" ?) by out-maneuvering a 6'-4" football player and LaQuicha sang, Jesus Take the Wheel on American Idle. (sic)
See what fun you miss.

...Not much to report but almost constant coverageCongress decided to postpone its hearings into the deeds of Attorney-General Gonzales "out of respect for the dead". This is actually "out of respect for the newspaper headlines" because they know this will be a 24- to 48-hour wonder that will crowd out their own headline-making event. It's the reverse of that British politician who remarked on 7/11 2001 "This would be a good day for us to publish any bad news"

What could Cho Seung-hui have been thinking? Hokie? Surely there is an easier way to get out of boring tutorials?

[Aunty]

What could Cho Seung-hui have been thinking? Hokie? Surely there is an easier way to get out of boring tutorials?

Perhaps he had someone like Beryl as a tutor?

[Aunty]

I feel sorry for him really. Not as much as I do for the people he killed and their families, but I still feel sorry for him. The guy was clearly way off the deep end and everybody knew it. But it appears that little could be done about it. He was a train wreck waiting to happen. And it's awful that he and all the people he murdered where put into the position where he was allowed to crash. Whatever happened to actually locking up mental patients in asylums? What ever actually happened to asylums? Some people are nuts and dangerous to themselves and others. He was one of them.

Of course the other issue here is America's gun control laws, or more importantly lack of them. I fear that this is the price the Americans will have to get use to paying for such lax gun control laws. It's a constitutional right to bear arms, it's not an obligation to do so. Why can't those who wish to bear arms be licenced and subjected to background and mental health checks just as happens in other countries? If you're a nut-job, you don't get the licence.

Why can't those who wish to bear arms be licenced (sic) and subjected to background and mental health checks just as happens in other countries?

Because...


It's a constitutional right to bear arms[/b]

... Why can't those who wish to bear arms be licenced and subjected to background and mental health checks just as happens in other countries? If you're a nut-job, you don't get the licence.

I believe there is indeed a background check for purchasing guns in the U.S. Cho passed the background check when he bought his guns.

[Aunty]

[quote]Why can't those who wish to bear arms be licenced (sic) and subjected to background and mental health checks just as happens in other countries?

Because...


It's a constitutional right to bear arms[/b][/quote:2zb4eeb0]

But that doesn't preclude a licencing system.

[Aunty]

... Why can't those who wish to bear arms be licenced and subjected to background and mental health checks just as happens in other countries? If you're a nut-job, you don't get the licence.

I believe there is indeed a background check for purchasing guns in the U.S. Cho passed the background check when he bought his guns.

But it's very rudimentary, consisting of little more than a call to the local police to see if they have a criminal record. I'm talking about thorough back ground checks. Face to face interviews with the applicant, the applicants partner, and a nominated friend/ work collegue. Checks with the applicants employer/school and doctor.

Should I rant about the lousy Mental Heath care system in this country or the ludicrous Gun Control issue????


.... Whatever happened to actually locking up mental patients in asylums? What ever actually happened to asylums? ....
This is a Perfect Storm of bad ideas. The Left thought it was a Bad Thing to "lock people up like criminals" for being mentally ill and the Right refuses to fund mental health services necessary to keep watching ill people now that they are out in the community. The result is a lot of psychotic people wandering around homeless on city streets talking to themselves. Its beyond sad, its disgusting!


.... I fear that this is the price the Americans will have to get use to paying for such lax gun control laws....



Over 30,000 Americans are killed EVERY YEAR by guns. We're used to it I guess since that doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Nothing will come of this event other than a lot of handwringing. Nothing happened after Columbine where 2 nuts killed a dozen kids. One Gun Nut even suggested if all the students in the school had a guns they would have been able to defend themselves and only the shooter would have died!
If you want a good idea of how the gun lobby operates in this country see Michael Moore's documentary "Bowling for Columbine"

[francois]

Speaking of psychotic people, such as Cho, some of the ranting, rambling, senseless posts by a few persons on this forum are similar in nature to those of Mr. Cho.
Let us hope that these persons do not have access to a gun here in Thailand. If we are to judge people by what they write I do think caution is warranted in their physical presence.

Speaking of psychotic people, such as Cho, some of the ranting, rambling, senseless posts by a few persons on this forum are similar in nature to those of Mr. Cho.Let's hope that posting here is a sufficiently soothing form of occupational therapy - like a drag show is for transvestites

But it's very rudimentary, consisting of little more than a call to the local police to see if they have a criminal record. I'm talking about thorough back ground checks. Face to face interviews with the applicant, the applicants partner, and a nominated friend/ work collegue. Checks with the applicants employer/school and doctor.

Apparently they could have have just checked his hotmail/ebay ids and they would have flagged a killer, definitely. To think that EBay never reported him! He had a history of stalking women with email. He signed his name IsMail Ax, according to Fox news.

I suppose it's a little late, but perhaps Ebay will not allow weapons to be sold on its auctions anymore? It kinda seems like a nobrainer, u think? So said KMart (see Farenheit 911).

Come to think of it, the more I would think some of the posters on this board could be ...


Internet Key in Probe of Virginia Tech Gunman

Sunday, 22 Apr 2007, 4:15 PM EDT

The eBay member profile for "blazers5505" is displayed on a laptop computer in Blacksburg, Va., Saturday, April 21, 2007. The Virginia Tech killer went to eBay to buy ammunition clips for one of the types of guns used in the rampage, a spokesman for the auction site confirmed Saturday. Using the handle blazers5505, Seung-Hui Cho bought two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22 _ one of two handguns used in the massacre of 32 people.

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BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Computer forensics are playing a key role in the probe of the Virginia Tech gunman, with investigators revealing he bought ammunition clips on eBay designed for one of two handguns used to kill 32 people and himself.

The eBay account and other Internet activities provided insight Saturday into how Seung-Hui Cho may have plotted for the rampage, including the purchase of two empty ammo clips about three weeks before the attack.

EBay spokesman Hani Durzy said the purchase of the clips from a Web vendor based in Idaho was legal and that the company has cooperated with authorities. Attempts to reach the Idaho dealer were unsuccessful.

"Within 24 hours, after Cho's identity was made public, we had reached out to law enforcement to offer our assistance in any investigation," Durzy said.

Authorities are also examining the personal computers found in Cho's dorm room and seeking his cell-phone records.

Cho, 23, also used the eBay account to sell items ranging from Hokies football tickets to horror-themed books, some of which were assigned in one of his classes.

A search warrant affidavit filed Friday stated that investigators wanted to search Cho's e-mail accounts, including the address Blazers5505@hotmail.com. Durzy confirmed Cho used the same blazers5505 handle on eBay.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said investigators are "aware of the eBay activity that mirrors" the Hotmail account.

One question investigators hope to answer is whether Cho had any e-mail contact with Emily Hilscher, one of the first two victims. Investigators plan to search her Virginia Tech e-mail account.

Experts say that when the subject of an investigation is a loner like Cho, his computers and cell phone can be a rich source of information. Authorities say Cho had a history of sending menacing text messages and other communications -- written and electronic.

On March 22, Cho bought two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22. A day later, he made a purchase from a vendor named "oneclickshooting," which sells gun accessories and other items. Details on the purchase were unclear, and the seller could not be reached for comment.

Cho sold tickets to Virginia Tech sporting events, including last year's Peach Bowl. He sold a Texas Instruments graphics calculator that contained several games, most of them with mild themes.

"The calculator was used for less than one semester then I dropped the class," Cho wrote on the site.

He also sold many books about violence, death and mayhem. Several of those books were used in his English classes, meaning Cho simply could have been selling used books at the end of the semester.

His eBay rating was superb -- 98.5 percent. That means he received one negative rating from people he dealt with on eBay, compared with 65 positive.

"great ebayer. very flexible," the buyer said of his Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl tickets, which went for $182.50.

Andy Koch, Cho's roommate from 2005-06, said he never saw Cho receive or send a package, although he didn't have much interaction with the shooter. Students can sign up for a free lottery on a game-by-game basis, and the tickets are free.

"We took him to one football game," he said. "We told him to sign up for the lottery, and he went and he left like in the third quarter, and that was it. He never went again. He never went to another game."

Cho sold the books on the eBay-affiliated site half.com. They include "Men, Women, and Chainsaws" by Carol J. Clover, a book that explores gender in the modern horror film. Others include "The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre"; and "The Female of the Species: Tales of Mystery and Suspense" by Joyce Carol Oates -- a book in which the publisher writes: "In these and other gripping and disturbing tales, women are confronted by the evil around them and surprised by the evil they find within themselves."

Books by those three authors were taught in his Contemporary Horror class.

Experts say things like eBay transactions can be hugely valuable in trying to figure out the motivation behind crimes.

An examination of a computer is "very revealing, particularly for a person like this," said Mark Rasch of FTI Consulting, a computer and electronic investigation firm. "What we find ... particularly with people who are very uncommunicative in person, is that they may be much more communicative and free to express themselves with the anonymity that computers and the Internet give you."

Cho's computer could hold a record of just about anything he has done, even of activities or communications he may have tried to erase. But Rasch said that likely will not be a problem, noting the way the gunman created a record of his thinking in videos, photos and documents.

"This guy wanted to leave a trail. He wasn't trying to conceal what he did," Rasch said.

MyFoxBoston.com