On April 16, 2007, school shootings took place at West Ambler Johnston Hall and Norris Hall at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Seung-Hui Cho, a university graduate student and a South Korean national, shot 49 people on campus with two semi-automatic pistols (Glock 19 and Walther P22), killing 32 people and wounding 17. Several other injured victims jumped from window to avoid Cho. When the police invaded Norris Hall to find and arrest Cho, he shot his own head with a gun, and instantly died.
The massacre was a lethal mass shooting on college campus, surpassing the rampage of Charles Whitman at the University of Texas in 1966. Although at the time the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in US history was surpassed by two club shootings Orlando night and outdoor music festival in Las Vegas.
The attack received international media coverage and attracted widespread criticism of US arms culture. This sparked a heated debate about gun violence, gun legislation, gaps in the US system to treat mental health problems, perpetrator's mind state, college administration responsibilities, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. The television news organization that aired parts of the killer's multimedia manifesto was criticized by families of victims, law enforcement officers of Virginia, and the American Psychiatric Association.
Cho had previously been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder. During his high school and high school years, he received special education therapy and support. After graduating from high school, Cho enrolled at Virginia Tech. Because of federal privacy laws, Virginia Tech is not aware of Cho's previous diagnosis or the accommodation he gets at school. In 2005, Cho was accused of stalking two female students. Upon investigation, a special judge in Virginia declared Cho mentally ill and ordered him to attend the treatment; However, since he was not institutionalized, he was still allowed to buy weapons. The shooting prompted the state of Virginia to close legal loopholes that had previously allowed people who were decided as mentally unsound to buy hand weapons without detection by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It also caused part of the only major federal weapons control measures in the United States since 1994. The laws that strengthen the NICs were signed by President George W. Bush on January 5, 2008.
The Virginia Tech Review Panel, the state-appointed body assigned to review the incident, criticized the Virginia Tech administrator for failing to take action that may have reduced the number of victims. The panel report also reviews the weapons laws and shows gaps in mental health care as well as privacy laws that leave Cho's deteriorating condition in untreated colleges. : 78 : 2
Video Virginia Tech shooting
Attack
The shootings occurred in two separate incidents. The first incident was at West Ambler Johnston Hall, where Seung-Hui Cho killed two students. The second incident took place at Norris Hall, where 31 other deaths, including Cho's own death, and all non-lethal wounds, took place. Cho uses two firearms during the attack: a 22-caliber Walther P22 semi-automatic handgun and a 19-inch 19-inch Glock 19-inch semi-automatic.
West Ambler Johnston Shooting
Cho is seen near the entrance to West Ambler Johnston Hall, a common residence hall that houses 895 students, around 6:47 am.
At around 7:15 pm, Cho enters the new room Emily J. Hilscher shares with other students. Hilscher, 19, from Woodville, Virginia, was seriously injured. After hearing the gunshots, a resident assistant, Ryan C. Clark, tried to help Hilscher. Cho shot and killed Clark, a 22-year-old senior from Martinez, Georgia. Hilscher remained alive for three hours after being shot, but no one from school, law enforcement, or the hospital informed his family until after he died.
Cho leaves the scene and returns to his room at Harper Hall, a dormitory west of West Ambler Johnston Hall. While police and emergency medical service units responded to the shooting at the next dorm, Cho changed her bloodstained clothes, went to her computer to erase her e-mail, and then wiped the hard drive. About an hour after the attack, Cho is believed to have been seen near the campus duck pond. Although authorities suspect Cho has thrown his hard drive and cell phone into the water, the search was unsuccessful.
Nearly two hours after the first murder, Cho showed up at the nearest post office and mailed a videotape and video clip to NBC News; this proved to be a small investigative value for the authorities. The package was stamped 9: 1 am. He then walked to Norris Hall. In the backpack, he carried several chains, keys, hammers, knives, two pistols with nineteen magazines 10 and 15 rounds, and nearly 400 rounds of ammunition. Shooting in Norris Space
About two hours after the initial shooting, Cho entered Norris Hall, which housed the Science and Engineering program, and chained all three main entrances. He placed a note on one of the chained doors, claiming that trying to open the door would cause the bomb to explode. Shortly before the shooting began, a faculty member found the note and took it to the third floor to inform the school administration. At about the same time, Cho started shooting students and teachers on the second floor. Bomb threats never called in. : 89 The first call to 9-1-1 is received at 9:42 am.
According to some students, before the filming starts Cho looks into some classrooms. Erin Sheehan, an eyewitness and victim who was in room 207, told reporters that the shooter "peeked twice" at the beginning of the lesson and that "it's weird that someone at this time in the semester will be lost, looking for class". At around 9:40 am, Cho started filming. Cho's first attack after entering Norris occurred in an advanced hydrology classroom taught by Professor GV Loganathan in room 206. The first Cho shoots and kills professor, then continued to shoot, killing nine of the thirteen students in the room and wounding two others. Next, Cho went across the hall and into room 207, where instructor Jamie Bishop taught German. Cho shoots a student, then in Bishop, then in the rest of the pupils, kills Bishop and four students; six students were injured.
Cho filled in and went back to visit several classrooms. After Cho's first visit to room 207, several students had barricaded the door and started treating the wounded. When Cho returned a few minutes later, Katelyn Carney and Derek O'Dell were injured as they held the door closed. Cho also returns to room 206. According to a student eyewitness, a wounded Waleed Shaalan's movement distracts Cho from a nearby student after the gunman returns to the room. Shaalan was shot for the second time and died. Also in room 206, Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan probably protects pupil Guillermo Colman from a more serious injury. Colman's accounts make it unclear whether this action is intentional or accidental outcome Lumbantoruan was shot.
Students barricaded the door of room 205 with a large table after the successor professor Haiyan Cheng (Chinese: span lang = "zh-hans"> ??? ; pinyin: ChÃÆ'Ã… © ng H? IyÃÆ'n ) and a student sees Cho headed toward them. Cho fired through the door several times but failed to force entry. No one in the class was injured or killed.
Hearing the commotion downstairs, Professor Kevin Granata took twenty students from the third floor room to his office where the door could be locked. He then goes down to investigate and be shot and killed by Cho. None of the students were locked in the offended Granata office.
Approximately ten to twelve minutes after the second attack began, Cho shot himself in his right temple with Glock 19. He died in French Intermediate class Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, room 211. During this second attack, he had fired at least 174 rounds, killing thirty people and injuring seventeen more. : 92 All the victims were shot at least three times each; of the thirty killed, twenty-eight were shot in the head. During the investigation, State Police Inspector William Flaherty told state panels that police found 203 rounds of life at Norris Hall. "He's ready to move on," said Flaherty.
During two attacks, Cho killed five faculty members and twenty-seven students before committing suicide by shooting himself. The Virginia Tech Review Panel reports that Cho's shot wounded seventeen others; six more were injured as they jumped from a second floor window to escape. Sydney J. Vail, director of the trauma center at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, said Cho's choice of a nine-mm-tipped ammunition increased injury severity.
Maps Virginia Tech shooting
Performers
The gunman was identified as a senior at Virginia Tech, Seung-Hui Cho, 23, a South Korean citizen with a permanent US permanent resident status majoring in English.
The August 2007 Report of The Virginia Tech Review Panel ( Massengill Report ) devotes more than 20 pages to the troubled Cho's history. : 21 : 31-53 At the age of three , Cho is described as shy, weak, and alert to physical contact. In the eighth grade, Cho was diagnosed with severe depression as well as selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that kept him from speaking. While initial media reports carry reports by South Korean relatives that Cho has autism, the Massengill Report states that the relationship between selective mutism and autism is "unclear". : 34-35 Cho's family is looking for therapy for her, and she receives help regularly throughout high school and high school. : 34-39 Initial reports also indicate Cho was disturbed because of difficulty speaking in high school, but Virginia Tech Review Panel can not confirm this, or any other report that he was excommunicated and persecuted mercilessly for classes, highs, and racial-related reasons in high school, caused some anti-bullying supporters to feel that the Review Panel was involved in a liberating laundering of authority. Supposedly, high school officials have worked with their parents and mental health advisers to support Cho throughout his second year and junior year. Cho finally chose to stop therapy. When he enrolls and is accepted at Virginia Tech, school officials do not report his speech and issues related to anxiety or special education status because of federal privacy laws prohibiting such disclosure unless a student requests special accommodation.
The Massengill Report details many of the deviant behavior incidents that began in Cho's junior year illustrating her deteriorating mental state. Some of Cho's former professors reported that his writings and his classroom behavior were disruptive, and he was encouraged to seek counseling. He was also investigated by the university for stalking and harassing two female students. In 2005, Cho had been mentally ill by a Virginia judge and ordered to seek outpatient care.
The Virginia Tech Review Panel Reported university officials guilty of not sharing information that would explain the seriousness of Cho's problem, citing misinterpretations of federal privacy laws. The report also showed failure by the Virginia Tech counseling center, weaknesses in Virginia mental health law and inadequate state mental health services, but concluded that "Cho himself is the greatest barrier to stabilizing his mental health" in college. : 53 The report also states that the classification details that Cho is to seek "outpatient" treatment rather than "hospitalization" will generally be legally interpreted on at that time as not requiring Cho to be reported to Virginia Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE) and into the CCRE database of people prohibited from buying or possessing firearms. : 60
The underlying psychological diagnosis of Cho at the time of the shootings is still a matter of speculation. A professor tried to get him to seek counseling, but Cho chose not to.
Initial reports say that the murder was caused by a romantic dispute between Cho and Emily Hilscher, one of the first two victims. However, Hilscher's friend says he has no prior relationship with Cho and there is no evidence that he ever met or talked to him before the assassination. In subsequent investigations, police found a suicide note in Cho's dorm room which included comments about "rich kids", "debauchery," and "fake con artists". On April 18, 2007, NBC News received a package from the time-stamp Cho between the first and second photo episodes. It contains a 1,800 word manifesto, photos, and 27 digital video recordings in which Cho equates himself with Jesus Christ and expressed his hatred for the rich. He states, among other things, "You force me into a corner and give me only one choice.... You just crucify me You like to induce cancer in my head, terror in my heart and tear my soul all this time.
Media organizations, including Newsweek, MSNBC, Reuters, and the Associated Press raised questions about and speculated about the similarities between attitudes in one of Cho's videos showing him holding and lifting a hammer, and posing from a promotional poster for a film South Korea Oldboy . Researchers found no evidence that Cho had seen Oldboy, and the professor who made his early connections to Oldboy had discounted his theory that Cho was influenced by the film. The Virginia Tech Review Panel concludes that due to Cho's inability to handle stress and "frightening prospects" to "turn into a world of work, finance, responsibility, and family," Cho chooses to engage in fantasy where "he will be remembered as the savior of those who oppressed, the oppressed, the poor, and the rejected. ": N-4-N-5 The panel goes further, stating that," The process of thinking is so distorted that he begins to argue with himself that his evil plan really does good, his devastating fantasy now becoming an obsession. " : N-5
Response to incident
Emergency service response
The police arrived within three minutes of receiving an emergency call but it took about five minutes to get into the barricade. When they could not break the chain, the officer fired the deadbolt lock that led to the laboratory; they then moved to the nearest stairs. When the police reached the second floor, they heard Cho firing his last shot; Cho's body was found in Jocelyne Couture-Nowak classroom, room 211.
After that, the high winds associated with April 2007's April 2007'll prevent emergency medical services from using helicopters for injured evacuations. The wounded survivors were treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital (now Lewis-Gale Hospital Montgomery) in Blacksburg, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center at Radford, Roanoke Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, and Lewis -Gale Medical Center in Salem.
University response
The university first informed the students by e-mail at 9:26 am, about two hours after the first shooting, which was considered isolated and domestic at the time. After the total shootings became clear, Virginia Tech canceled classes for the rest of the week and held a candlelight and candlelight meeting on April 17th. Norris Hall is closed for the rest of the semester. The university offers counseling to students and faculty, and the American Red Cross sends several dozen crisis counselors to Blacksburg to help the students. University officials also allow students, if they choose, to abbreviate their semester courses and still receive grades.
In the day after the shooting, Virginia Tech, whose supporters called themselves "Hokies", formed the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund (HSMF) to help remember and honor the victims. The funds are used to cover expenses including, but not limited to: assistance to victims and their families, grief counseling, warnings, communication costs, and comfort costs. In early June 2007, the Virginia Tech Foundation announced that $ 3.2 million had been transferred from HSMF to 32 separately named funds, each created to honor the dead in the shootings. This transfer brings each fund to the level of a full donation, allowing them to operate in duration. Naming and determining how each fund will be directed is developed with the victim's family. In early June 2007, donations to the HSMF had reached about $ 7 million. In July 2007, Kenneth R. Feinberg, who served as Special Master of the Sept. 11, 2001 Compensation Fund, was named to manage the distribution of the funds. In October 2007, families and survivors received payments ranging from $ 11,500 to $ 208,000 from the fund.
Also early June 2007, the university announced it would start re-occupying Norris Hall in a matter of weeks. The building is used for offices and laboratories for Engineering Science and Mechanics and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, its premier residents prior to the shootings. Plan to renovate the building completely and to no longer load the classroom. The southwest wing of Norris Hall, the scene of the shooting occurred, was closed in 2008 and completely renovated in 2008 and 2009. The building is now the center of the Peace and Violence Prevention Studies, Biomechanics Research Center, and Global Technology Center, as well as other programs.
Ambler Johnston Hall is also closed and renovated. The east wing is now home to the Honors Residential College, which opens in the fall of 2011; in the fall of 2012, the western wing reopened as a Residential College in West Ambler Johnston.
After the release of Massengill Reports, some of the parents of those killed summoned the governor of Virginia to free university president Charles Steger and campus police chief Wendell Flinchum from their positions. However, Governor Tim Kaine refused to do so, saying that school officials had "suffered enough".
Campus responses
Within hours and days of the shootings, emergency warnings for those killed or injured began to appear at several locations on campus. Many people place flowers and memorabilia at the base of the podium of Drillfield's observations in front of Burruss Hall. Later, members of Hokies United, an alliance of student organizations on campus made to respond to the tragedy put 32 Hokie Stone pieces, each labeled with the victim's name, in a semicircle in front of the Stanfield viewing stand. What was originally called "middle warning" was modeled after an emergency alert. Thirty-two straight Hokie Stone blocks were carved with the names of the victims and placed in a semicircle at the base of the checkpoint. The original piece of Hokie Stone placed by Hokies United was offered to the victim's family. The engraved marker embedded in a semicircle of gravel is crushed with a brick road to look at. There is basic lighting for nighttime illumination and two benches, one on either side of the memorial, to honor the victims.
South Korean technology students initially feared they would be targeted for retribution. Although no official claims of harassment were made, anecdotal evidence suggests that some Korean students are affected.
Shooting occurs when prospective students decide whether to accept admission offers from colleges and universities. Despite this time, Virginia Tech outpaced the goal of hiring 5,000 students for the 2011 class.
Government response
President George W. Bush and his wife Laura attended a meeting at Virginia Tech the day after the shooting. The Internal Revenue Service and the Virginia Department of Taxation provide a six month extension to individuals affected by the shootings. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine returned earlier than a trade mission to Tokyo, Japan, and declared a state of emergency in Virginia, allowing him to immediately deploy state personnel, equipment, and other resources after the shootings.
Governor Kaine then created a panel of eight members, including former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, to review all aspects of Virginia Tech's shooting, from Cho's medical history to school delays in alerting students to danger and locking the campus after the bodies of two of Cho's first victims were found. In August 2007, the panel concluded, among more than twenty major findings, that the Virginia Tech Police Department "did not take adequate measures to deal with what might happen if the initial leads were proved wrong". : 2 This panel makes more than seventy preventive recommendations, directed to colleges, universities, mental health providers, law enforcement officers, service providers emergency, lawmakers and other public officials in Virginia and elsewhere.. While the panel finds errors in judgment and procedure, the final conclusion is that Cho himself is responsible for his own actions, and implies that others are responsible "going wrong". The Review Panel validated public criticism that the Virginia Tech police mistakenly in "prematurely conclude that their initial lead in double murder is a good one," and in delaying notice throughout the campus for nearly two hours. : 2 The report analyzes the eligibility of the campus lock and basically agrees with police testimony that such an act is not feasible. The report concludes that tolls can be reduced if the university has made an immediate decision to cancel classes and stronger and clearer early warning about the presence of an armed man. : 82, 84
The incident also caused Virginia Commonwealth officials to be elected to re-examine the gap between federal and state weapons purchase laws. Within two weeks, Governor Kaine had issued an executive order designed to close the gap (see Effects on gun politics below). Prompted by the incident, the federal government passed the first gun control law in more than a decade. The bill, HR 2640, mandates improvements in state reporting to the National Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to stop the purchase of weapons by criminals, who are otherwise mentally ill, and others prohibited from owning firearms, and authorizing up to $ 1.3 billion in form federal grants for such remedies. Both the Brady Campaign to Prevent Pistol Violence and the National Rifle Association support the law. The move passed the United States House of Representatives in a ballot on June 13, 2007. The Senate passed the law on December 19, 2007. President Bush signed the act on January 5, 2008. On March 24, 2008, the US Department of Education announced proposed changes in legislation which organizes educational records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Some of the change issues are raised by the Virginia Tech incident and are intended to clarify for the schools the right balance to strike between the concerns of individual privacy and public safety.
South Korean response
When citizenship of shooters became famous, South Koreans expressed shock and public embarrassment, while the South Korean government held an emergency meeting to consider possible consequences. The candlelight vigil is held outside the US Embassy in Seoul. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun expressed his condolences, saying that he hoped that the US would recover quickly from the incident. Although Cho came to the US as a third grader and is a permanent resident of the United States, many South Koreans feel guilty and mourned because they consider it a "blood" of South Korea. A South Korean commentator argues that South Korea's fear of xenophobic retaliation from Americans against them stems from a South Korean-centric perspective that does not apply to US culture. South Korea's ambassador to the United States and some Korean religious leaders demand Korea to participate in a 32-day fast, a day for each victim, for repentance. Foreign Minister Song Minsoon announced that security measures have been set for South Koreans living in the US, in clear reference to fears of possible counterattacks. A ministry official expressed hope that the shootings will not "trigger racial or confrontational prejudice".
Some South Koreans criticized the fasting proposal, saying it was directing undue attention to the Cho people and not another reason behind the shootings. The news report notes that South Koreans are relieved that American news coverage about Cho mainly focuses on his psychological problems rather than race or ethnicity. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) withdrew the television commercial "Sparkling Korea", saying it is inappropriate to broadcast ads featuring South Korean cultural images and natural beauty among news reports about the rampage.
Academic/industry responses
Hundreds of other colleges and universities throughout North America responded to incidents with official condolences and by conducting their own checks, memorial rituals, and with other support movements. Virginia Tech's traditional competitor, University of Virginia (U.Va.), held a night candlelight on April 17, where U.Va. President John T. Casteen spoke. He urged the crowd of students, who overflowed the McIntire Amphitheater campus, to continue moving forward to change the world.
Some schools also offer or make donations of cash, housing for attendants, and additional counseling support for Virginia Tech. Both within the US and abroad, the incident caused many universities to re-examine their own campus safety and security procedures as well as their mental health support services.
More responses
The International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) held a Special Review Task Force, which released its report on April 18, 2008, entitled, "IACLEA Blue Print for Safer Campuses." The report is a "synthesis report written after the tragedy at Virginia Tech and related recommendations for campus safety by the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators." This includes Key IACLEA Key Recommendations, Summary 10 Key Findings of the Governor of Virginia Review Panel, Fatal Shooting List on US Campus, and IACLEA Position Statement on the Carry-Carry Initiative. The Task Force made twenty specific recommendations, representing "the Association's priority for improving campus security" and reinforcing "the main objectives and targets in reducing and responding to threats in higher education institutions." The report states, "IACLEA does not support weapons carry and concealment on college campuses, with the exception of police officers sworn in the execution of their professional duties". The next position statement becomes more detailed. In addition, the report includes recognition of the "professionalism and well-coordinated response" of all law enforcement agencies and first responders, and concludes its conclusion "Securing our campus safety is a recurring process that requires the institutional and personal commitment of each member of our educational community. Let this recommendation reinforce the resolution. "
EQUITY, the Canadian-based "Think Tank" Legal Code, which is governed by international law, publishes reports relating to the Virginia Tech shoot that includes a review of measures for counter-terrorism and campus security adopted between 1993 and 16 April 2007. The report criticized Virginia Tech's institutional decision-making process and summarized the deadly effect of failing to "implement and manage legitimate procedural and substantive safeguards aimed at securing the vast Va Tech and Blacksburg communities against second-level incidents involving acts of terrorism and mass casualties". The report does not comment on gun control or mental health issues.
Some members of the Cho family expressed sympathy to the families of the victims and described his history of mental and behavioral issues. Cho's mother's grandfather quoted in Daily Mirror refers to Cho as a person who deserves to die with the victims. On Friday, April 20, Cho's family issued a statement of sadness and apology, written by his sister, Sun-Kyung Cho, a graduate of Princeton University in 2004 who was hired as a contractor for the State Department office. In it, he states:
He has made the world cry. We live in nightmares. Our family is very sorry for my unsaid sister's actions. This is a terrible tragedy for all of us. We pray for families and loved ones who experience tremendous sadness. And we pray for the wounded and for those whose lives are changed forever because of what they witness and experience. Each of these people has so much love, talent, and gifts on offer, and their lives are cut off by horrible and unreasonable acts.
Many heads of state and international leaders offer their condolences and sympathies, including Pope Benedict XVI, Chilean President, France, Mexico, Peru and South Korea, elected President of Mauritania, Prime Minister of Greece and Japan, and King of Morocco. Condolences were issued by officials and diplomats from Canada, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Suriname, Thailand and Venezuela. A State Department spokesman said, "We have not seen this kind of sympathy and support since Hurricane Katrina and 9/11." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing.
On May 3, 2007, Queen Elizabeth II spoke to the Virginia legislature, expressing her sympathy on behalf of the British Empire. He later met privately with several professors and survivors, including three wounded. One of the survivors of the shooting, Katelyn Carney, who was shot in the hand, presented the Queen with a thirty-two gem bracelet in Virginia Tech-maroon and orange color. The Queen then visited Jamestown, Virginia, to mark the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the United States, which was the main purpose of his journey.
Sports and academic teams and leagues at both the academy and professional level, as well as sports figures from soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer and NASCAR racing, pay homage and join fundraising efforts to honor the victims, especially the citizens of Washington, who wearing a Virginia Tech hat in a match, and DC United, who wears a Virginia Tech special shirt during the game; NASCAR placed a Virginia Tech sticker in all its cars for three weeks. East Carolina University made a $ 100,000 donation, raised on the orders of its Athletics Director, Terry Holland. East Carolina was an opponent for Virginia Tech's home football match at Lane Stadium on September 1, 2007, with over 60,000 people attending. Before kickoff, thirty-two orange balloons were released to commemorate the victims.
On July 30, 2007, after it was discovered that Seung-Hui Cho had purchased two 10-round magazines on eBay for one of the weapons used in shooting, online auctions banned the sale of gun, firearms and ammunition magazines. components on the site.
In May 2010, an American band, Exodus, released an album, titled, Exhibit B: The Human Condition, which included the song "Class Dismissed (A Hate Primer)". Band member Gary Holt stated, "The song is primarily inspired by the Virginia Tech massacre, as well as Columbine and many other examples of unconscious individuals who decide to outrage their classmates, back to Charles J. Whitman."
Controversial response
Two college students at Pennsylvania State University dressed up as Virginia Tech photo shoots for Halloween in 2007, posted their photos on Facebook, sparking outrage at Penn State and Virginia Tech. Penn State sent a statement to Virginia Tech, stating, "We are surprised that these people will show a degree of insensitivity and lack of common courtesy by dressing up in this way.The fact that one of Virginia's actual individuals makes it even more difficult to understand."
An amateur computer video game that recreates shooting, V-Tech Rampage , also triggers anger. The creator, Ryan Lambour, a resident of Sydney, Australia, who grew up in the United States, posted a message on his website stating that he would remove the game in return for payment, but later posted that the statement was a joke. New York State Senator Andrew Lanza called for a boycott of the game, stating, "There are certain things in life that you do not describe and should not turn into games.This is not a game, it is an incredible loss of soul." Minister Communications Australia, Senator Helen Coonan, said that he will launch an official inquiry, stating, "The person responsible for this game uses a terrible tragedy to draw attention to himself and his work.This is in very bad taste and the person may want to consider getting professional help. "Lambourn also made a video game based on the Sandy Hook Elementary School photo shoot, which also attracted criticism and anger.
Ongoing response
A Northern Virginia chapter of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, founded in November 2008 by Aaron Adler and Ethan Blonder, takes the name Liviu Librescu AZA, in honor of a Holocaust victim who uses his body to block Cho from entering his home. room.
On September 4, 2009, the Marching Virginians, one of Virginia Tech's marching bands, traveled 140 miles (230 km) on their way to the season-opening soccer game against the University of Alabama at Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The 350-member band, 20 cheerleaders, and color guard Corps of Cadets perform at Lakeside High School, Ryan Clark's alma mater, along with Lakeside Marching Band and visit Evans High band. The event is organized by a branch of the Virginia State Virginia Area Virginia Tech alumni to honor Clark's memory and as a fundraiser for a scholarship on his behalf.
After the shootings of 2007, Virginia Tech began using a warning system on its website and text messages to alert students of danger. The warning system was first activated in 2008 when a cartridge exploded from a nail gun producing a sound similar to a shot near the campus dorm. It was again activated on August 4, 2011, when the children who attended the summer class reported a man carrying a gun; police can not find anyone who matches the description of the children. Then in 2011, on December 8, the system was reactivated after a police officer was shot and killed on campus. This turned out to be a random act by a part-time Radford University student. He had hijacked a Mercedes SUV the previous day near Radford and parked it in a public area of ​​the Virginia Tech parking lot where the victim's officers made a regular stop of traffic to a third party. The gunman lit his own rifle half an hour later.
Events anniversary
Starting with the first anniversary of the attack and continuing since then, Queens' Guard of The College of William & amp; Mary, another state university in Virginia, has memorialized the victims with honorary guards at the head of Sunken College Park. The honor guard is modeled after the honor guard posted on the Tomb of the Unknown by US Army National Guard troops.
Several organizations have hosted annual blood donors at or near the shooting warning dates as a tribute to the victims. The Alumni Association of the University of Virginia, Capital Capital Region Chapter ("DC Hokies") has made an annual blood trip to remember the victims of the shootings, as well as sponsoring 3.2 miles local (5.1 km) "3.2 for 32" run on or near birthdays. The Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association also hosts an annual blood drive. Another blood drive is held by Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and other chapters from the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, under the name "Virginia Tech for life ".
Virginia Tech held daily anniversaries for the attack, with events such as candlelight ceremonies, the laying of wreaths, a moment of silence at 09.43 am, and Cadet Keeper at Memorial for 32 minutes.
Criticism of university response
Professor of sociology Kenneth Westhues criticized Virginia Tech's response to the shootings and the Massengill Report. Westhues identifies the cause of the shootings as an experienced hordome gang in the UK's Virginia Tech department, and shows that the explanation for the Virginia Tech shootings must go beyond what he calls the "character defect" explanation:
A more truthful (and therefore more useful) explanation of Virginia Tech's killing does not focus on the character of Cho but on the interaction between him and the situation he faces, not on his personal identity but on the interaction between who he is and how others treat it.
Westhues cites the experience of a Virginia Tech student in the same department because it is very similar to Cho. Westhue has criticized Virginia Tech and Massengill Report for failing to advance a more complete explanation of the cause of the shootings, which he suggests must be one of "character-situation interactions".
Lucinda Roy, former head of Virginia Tech's English department, was also critical of how the university treated Cho as a student in his book, No Right to Keep Silent: What We Have Learned from My Tragedy at Virginia Tech . Roy works with him one-on-one in a poetry tutorial and feels he does not get the help he needs.
[W] hen Roy approached college counseling as well as others at the university about Cho, he was repeatedly told that they could not intervene unless a student sought voluntary counseling. Finally, Roy's attempts to persuade Cho to seek help succeed. Incredibly, on three occasions he contacted the counseling center staff, he did not receive a thorough evaluation by them - a startling discovery that Roy learned after Cho's death.... After responding to questions from the media and submitting information to law enforcement as instructed by Virginia Tech, Roy is shunned by the government. The paper documenting Cho's interaction with campus counseling is gone. The university is suddenly defensive.
: Dust Jacket
Effects on political weapons
The incident revived the political arms debate in the United States, with supporters of a weapons control law which states that weapons are too accessible, arguing that Cho, an unhealthy individual mentally, could afford to buy two semi-automatic pistols despite the law the state that should have prevented such a purchase. The opponents of arms control argue that the "safe zone" policy "Technic Free zone" ensures that no other students or faculty will be armed and as a result they can not stop Cho.
Virginia context
Law enforcement officials found a purchase receipt for one of the weapons used in the attack among Cho's belongings. The shooter waited a month after buying a Walther P22 gun before he bought a second gun, a Glock 19. Cho's class uses 15 rounds of magazines in Glock and a 10-round magazine in Walther. The serial number on the weapon has been turned off, but the ATF National Laboratory is able to disclose it and perform traces of firearms.
The sale of firearms by licensed dealers in Virginia is restricted to residents who successfully pass a background check; permanent residents of foreign law can purchase firearms. At the time of the shooting, Virginia laws also restricted the purchase of a gun to every 30 days. The limit was lifted on April 3, 2013. The federal law requires a criminal background check for the purchase of pistols from licensed firearms dealers, and Virginia checks databases other than the NICs required by the federal government. The 1968 federal law was passed in response to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. also prohibit those who are "decided as mentally handicapped" from buying weapons. The exception was applied to Cho after a Virginia court declared him a danger to himself at the end of 2005 and sent him for psychiatric treatment. : 71 Due to the gap between federal and state laws of Virginia, the state did not report Cho's legal status to the NICS. Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine addressed the issue on April 30, 2007, issuing an executive order intended to close the reporting gap. In August 2007, the Massengill Report called for permanent changes in the Virginia Code to clarify and reinforce state background check requirements. : 76 The federal government then passed legislation to improve country reporting to NICS nationally.
College campus ban
The shooting also renewed the debate surrounding the Virginia Tech firearms ban. The University has a general ban on the possession or storage of firearms on campus by employees, students, and volunteers, or any other visitor or third party, even if they hide the gun clearance holder. In April 2005, a student who was allowed by the state to carry a hidden pistol was found to have a hidden weapon while in class. While no criminal prosecution was filed, a university spokesman said the University had "the right to comply and enforce the policy as a protection for the minds of students, staff and faculty as well as guests and visitors".
In January 2006, before the shootings, legislator Todd Gilbert has introduced a bill linked to Virginia House of Delegates. The bill, HB 1572, is intended to ban public universities in Virginia from preventing students from legally carrying a hidden gun on campus. The university opposed the bill, which quickly died on the subcommittee. Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker praised the bill's defeat, stating, "I believe the university community values ​​the General Assembly act because it will help parents, students, professors and visitors feel safe on our campus."
Impact on state and local laws
In August 2007, Massengill Report recommended that the State General Assembly adopt the law "establishing the right of any higher education institution to regulate gun ownership on campus if it wishes" and continue recommending campus bans, "unless mandated by law." The report also recommends weapons control measures unrelated to the state of the shootings, such as requiring background checks for all private firearm sales, including those in arms exhibitions. Governor Kaine made it a priority to enact a personal selling background law at the Virginia General Assembly 2008, but the bill was defeated in the Senate Court of Justice Committee. Opponents of gun control see this bigger move as an unwarranted expansion and as a possible starting point with full weapons registration for all arms sales.
This incident and thereafter aroused activist activists seeking to overturn a ban preventing arms holders (both "carry open" and carry carry holders) carrying their weapons on campuses. Thirty-eight states across the United States banned weapons at schools; sixteen of them specifically prohibit weapons on campuses. A new group, Students to Bring Hidden in Campus, formed after the shooting; in March 2008, he claimed to have 16,000 members on 500 national campuses. Some states consider legislation to permit armed concessionaires to carry hidden firearms on university campuses. They cite successful neutralization cases from active shooters on campus by armed students to advance their cause. Another attempt by the Gilbert Delegation to pass legislation to allow hidden weapons on campuses in Virginia was defeated in March 2008. This law is for the sake of students and faculty members only since the Attorney General decides that it does not apply to non-students and non- faculty on campus that can bring hidden without restrictions on campus. This law will greatly affect students 21 years or older because younger people are not allowed to buy pistols.
Political response
The response to how the gun law affects the shootings was divided. According to the White House statement, "The president believes that there is a right for people to carry weapons, but all laws must be followed". Brady's Campaign to Prevent Violence The gun says it's too easy for a person to get a powerful weapon and called for increased weapons control measures.
National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent commented on CNN, calling for an end to the weapon-free zone and contrasting Virginia Tech's shooting with another incident in which mass shootings have ended by law-abiding gun owners. Texas Governor Rick Perry proposed that licensed gun owners be allowed to carry their weapons anywhere in Texas.
Some government officials in other countries join in criticism of US arms laws and policies. For example, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that the strict legislation introduced after the 1996 mass shooting in Tasmania had prevented the problematic weapons culture in Australia.
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine condemned the arms political debate after the shootings, saying, "For those who want to make this into a kind of crusade, I say take this elsewhere." Supporters who oppose arms control argue that they are only responding to the crusade by some to use this tragedy as a basis for the extension of anti-weapons measures to issues beyond the shootings as deemed presented by the Virginia Tech Review Panel. Members of the Review Panel are: : vii-viii
- Col. Gerald Massengill, Chairman of the Panel, a retired police officer of the state of Virginia
- Dr. Marcus L. Martin, Vice Chairman of the Panel, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Vice President of the Association for Diversity and Equality at the University of Virginia
- Gordon Davies, former Director of the Board of Higher Education of the State of Virginia and President of the Kentucky Council for postsecondary Education
- Dr. Roger L. Depue, an FBI veteran and founder, former president, and CEO of The Academy Group, Inc., a forensic behavior science services company
- Carroll Ann Ellis, MS, Director of Victim Services Division of Fairfax Regional Police Department, a faculty member at the National Victim Academy, and a member of the American Society of Victimology
- Tom Ridge, former Governor of Pennsylvania, former Member of the US House of Representatives, and Secretary of Homeland Security first
- Dr. Aradhana A. "Bela" Sood, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Medical Director of Virginia Child Care Center at VCU Medical Center
- Diane Strickland, former 23rd Court Judge Court judge in Roanoke County and co-chair of the Boyd-Graves Conference on issues surrounding unintentional mental commitment
Post legal penalty
On June 17, 2008 Judge Theodore J. Markow agreed to a $ 11 million settlement in a lawsuit against the state of Virginia by twenty-four of the thirty-two families of victims. Of the eight other victims, two families chose not to make a claim, while the two families remained unresolved. The settlement also includes eighteen wounded; their lifetime healthcare needs are included in the settlements.
The Department of Education fined the University of $ 55,000 on March 29, 2011, for waiting too long to inform students about the initial shootings. The fine is the highest amount that the Department of Education can impose for two violations of Clery's Law resulting from failure to inform students in a timely shooting at West Ambler Johnston. In announcing a fine against the University, the department's director of the panel who reviewed the case was quoted as saying "While Virginia Tech offenses guarantee fines far in excess of what is currently permitted under the law, the authority of either department is limited". As of March 30, 2011, the University has announced its intention to appeal the decision.
On March 14, 2012, a judge discovered that Virginia Tech was guilty of negligence for delaying the campus memorial. The parents of two students who died filed a wrong civil lawsuit arguing that life could be spared if school officials moved faster to remind the campus after the first two victims were shot in the dorm.
On March 30, 2012, a federal judge dismissed a $ 55,000 Department of Education fine for 2011, finding that Virginia Tech did not violate Clery's Law. Ernest Canellos, judge of administrative law for the Department of Education, found that Virginia Tech's early conclusion was plausible that the initial shooting at West Ambler Johnston was a domestic incident and did not represent a sustained threat, although it later proved false. Canellos writes, "This is not an unreasonable amount of time to issue a warning.If the next shooting at Norris Hall does not happen, it is doubtful that the time of the e-mail will be considered late."
On September 1, 2012, Education Minister Arne Duncan returned a fine of $ 27,500-reversing the decision by Canellos. In a statement released when the fine was restored, Duncan wrote, "Although the police department hypothesizes that the crime is 'domestic', the record is clear that the respondent did not find the suspect, has not found a weapon, and is faced with a different possibility that the gunman is armed and still free. "Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker issued a statement, saying," Once again, the higher education community has noticed that punctuality is situational and will be determined by departmental officials after the fact. "
On October 31, 2013, the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the verdict of the lower court jury that the University had neglected to warn the students fairly quickly about the impending fury of Cho. The lower court judge had instructed the jury that there was a "special relationship" between the school and massacreing students Erin Nicole Peterson and Julia Kathleen Pryde, as the two women were the "business invitation" of the University. Two female families have filed the lawsuit. In rejecting the decision, the Supreme Court declared that "even if there is a special relationship between the Commonwealth (which means the state of Virginia, and its affiliated institutions, such as Virginia Tech) and Virginia Tech students... there is no duty for the Commonwealth to warn students of potential action criminal by third parties. "The state has claimed that the ultimate responsibility is in Cho's hand not to seek help before the shootings. Both families have not joined in the previous settlement with other families.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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