There is a Gunman on Campus: Tragedy and Terror at Virginia Tech

He then went downstairs to investigate and was shot and killed by Cho. None of the students locked in Granata's office were harmed. Approximately ten to twelve minutes after the second attack began, Cho shot himself in his right temple with the Glock During this second assault, he had fired at least rounds, [30] [81] killing thirty people and wounding seventeen more. During the two attacks, Cho killed five faculty members and twenty-seven students before committing suicide by shooting himself.

Cho eventually chose to discontinue therapy. When he applied and was admitted to Virginia Tech, school officials did not report his speech and anxiety-related problems or special education status because of federal privacy laws that prohibit such disclosure unless a student requests special accommodation. The Massengill Report detailed numerous incidents of aberrant behavior beginning in Cho's junior year of college that illustrated his deteriorating mental condition. Several former professors of Cho reported that his writing as well as his classroom behavior was disturbing, and he was encouraged to seek counseling.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel Report faulted university officials for failing to share information that would have shed light on the seriousness of Cho's problems, citing misinterpretations of federal privacy laws. Cho's underlying psychological diagnosis at the time of the shootings remains a matter of speculation.

There Is a Gunman on Campus: Tragedy and Terror at Virginia Tech by Ben Agger

One professor tried to get him to seek counseling, but Cho chose not to. Early reports suggested that the killings resulted from a romantic dispute between Cho and Emily Hilscher, one of his first two victims. However, Hilscher's friends said she had no prior relationship with Cho and there is no evidence that he ever met or talked with her before the murders.

It contained an 1,word manifesto , photos, and 27 digitally-recorded videos in which Cho likened himself to Jesus Christ and expressed his hatred of the wealthy. You just loved to crucify me. You loved inducing cancer in my head, terror in my heart and ripping my soul all this time". Media organizations, including Newsweek , MSNBC , Reuters , and the Associated Press , raised questions about and speculated on the similarity between a stance in one of Cho's videos which showed him holding and raising a hammer, and a pose from promotional posters for the South Korean movie Oldboy.

N-4—N-5 The panel went further, stating that, "His thought processes were so distorted that he began arguing to himself that his evil plan was actually doing good. His destructive fantasy was now becoming an obsession. Police arrived within three minutes of receiving an emergency call but took about five minutes to enter the barricaded building. When they could not break the chains, an officer shot out a deadbolt lock leading into a laboratory; they then moved to a nearby stairwell.

In the aftermath, high winds related to the April nor'easter prevented emergency medical services from using helicopters for evacuation of the injured. The university first informed students via e-mail at 9: Norris Hall was closed for the remainder of the semester. The fund was used to cover expenses including, but not limited to: This transfer brought each fund to the level of full endowment, allowing them to operate in perpetuity. The naming and determination of how each fund would be directed was being developed with the victims' families. Feinberg , who served as Special Master of the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of , was named to administer the fund's distributions.

Also early in June , the university announced it would begin reoccupying Norris Hall within a matter of weeks. The building is used for offices and laboratories for the Engineering Science and Mechanics and Civil and Environmental Engineering departments, its primary occupants before the shootings. Plans were to completely renovate the building and for it to no longer contain classrooms. Ambler Johnston Hall was also closed and renovated. After the release of the Massengill Report , some parents of those killed called for Virginia's governor to relieve the university president, Charles Steger , and campus police chief, Wendell Flinchum, of their positions.

However, Governor Tim Kaine refused to do so, saying that the school officials had "suffered enough". In the hours and days following the shooting, makeshift memorials to those killed or injured began appearing in several locations on the campus. Many people placed flowers and items of remembrance at the base of the Drillfield observation podium in front of Burruss Hall.

Later, members of Hokies United, an alliance of student organizations on campus created to respond to tragedies [] placed 32 pieces of Hokie Stone , each labeled with the name of a victim, in a semicircle in front of the Drillfield viewing stand. Thirty-two upright blocks of Hokie Stone were engraved with the names of the victims and placed in a semicircle at the base of the reviewing stand.

The original pieces of Hokie Stone placed by Hokies United were offered to the families of the victims. The engraved markers are embedded in a semicircle of crushed gravel with a brick walkway for viewing. Tech students of South Korean descent initially feared they would be targeted for retribution. The shootings occurred as prospective students were deciding whether to accept offers of admission from colleges and universities.

Bush and his wife Laura attended the convocation at Virginia Tech the day after the shootings. Governor Kaine later created an eight-member panel, including former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge , to review all aspects of the Virginia Tech shooting, from Cho's medical history to the school's delay in warning students of danger and locking down the campus after the bodies of Cho's first two victims were discovered.

While the panel did find errors in judgment and procedure, the ultimate conclusion was that Cho himself was responsible for his own actions, and to imply that anyone else was accountable "would be wrong". The Review Panel validated public criticisms that Virginia Tech police erred in "prematurely concluding that their initial lead in the double homicide was a good one," and in delaying a campus-wide notification for almost two hours. The report concluded that the toll could have been reduced if the university had made an immediate decision to cancel classes and a stronger, clearer initial alert of the presence of a gunman.

The incident also caused Virginia Commonwealth elected officials to re-examine gaps between federal and state gun purchase laws. Within two weeks, Governor Kaine had issued an executive order designed to close those gaps 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 Senate passed the measure on December 19, President Bush signed the measure on January 5, Certain of the changes address issues raised by the Virginia Tech incident and are intended to clarify for schools the appropriate balance to strike between concerns of individual privacy and public safety.

When the citizenship of the shooter became known, South Koreans expressed shock and a sense of public shame, [] while the government of South Korea convened an emergency meeting to consider possible ramifications. One South Korean commentator opined that South Korean fears of xenophobic reprisals from Americans against them were from a South Korean-centric perspective not applicable to U. Some South Koreans criticized the fasting proposal, saying that it directed undue attention on Cho's ethnicity and not other reasons behind the shooting.

News reports noted that South Koreans seemed relieved that American news coverage of Cho primarily focused the blame on his psychological problems rather than his race or ethnicity. Hundreds of other colleges and universities throughout North America responded to the incident with official condolences and by conducting their own vigils, memorial services, and by other gestures of support. He urged the crowd of students, which overflowed the campus's McIntire Amphitheatre , to continue to move forward to change the world.

Some schools also offered or provided cash donations, housing for officers, and additional counseling support for Virginia Tech. The report was "a synthesis of the reports written following the tragedy at Virginia Tech and related recommendations for campus safety by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators". The Task Force made twenty specific recommendations, representing "the Association's priorities for the betterment of campus safety" and reinforcing "key goals and objectives in mitigating and responding to threats at institutions of higher learning.

The subsequent Position Statement goes into greater detail. Additionally, the report includes an acknowledgement of the "professionalism and well coordinated response" of all the law enforcement agencies and first responders, and ends its Conclusion with "Securing the safety of our campuses is an iterative process that requires an institutional and personal commitment from every member of our educational communities. Let these recommendations strengthen that resolve. Some of Cho's family members expressed sympathy for the victims' families and described his history of mental and behavioral problems.

Cho's maternal grandfather was quoted in the Daily Mirror referring to Cho as a person who deserved to die with the victims. In it, she stated:. He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare. Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions. It is a terrible tragedy for all of us. We pray for their families and loved ones who are experiencing so much excruciating grief.

And we pray for those who were injured and for those whose lives are changed forever because of what they witnessed and experienced. Each of these people had so much love, talent and gifts to offer, and their lives were cut short by a horrible and senseless act. She then met privately with some faculty and survivors, including three who were wounded.

One of the survivors of the shooting, Katelyn Carney, who was shot in the hand, presented the Queen with a bracelet of thirty-two jewels in the Virginia Tech colors—maroon and orange.

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The Queen subsequently visited Jamestown, Virginia , to mark the th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the United States, which was the primary purpose of her trip. Sporting teams and leagues at both the college [] and professional [] levels, as well as sports figures from football, [] baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, [] and NASCAR racing, paid their respects and joined fundraising efforts to honor the victims, most notably the Washington Nationals , who wore Virginia Tech hats in a game, [] and D.

Prior to the kickoff, thirty-two orange balloons were released in memory of the victims. On July 30, , after it came to light that Seung-Hui Cho had purchased two round magazines on eBay for one of the guns used in the shootings, the online auctioneer prohibited the sale of firearms magazines, firearms parts, and ammunition components on its site. Band member Gary Holt stated, "The song was primarily inspired by the massacre at Virginia Tech, as well as Columbine and the many other instances of unhinged individuals who decided to take out their wrath on their classmates, going all the way back to Charles J.

Two students at Pennsylvania State University dressed as Virginia Tech shooting victims for Halloween in , posting their photos on Facebook , which generated outrage at both Penn State and Virginia Tech.

The fact that one of the individuals is actually from Virginia makes it even more difficult to understand. An amateur computer video game that re-creates the shooting, V-Tech Rampage , also sparked outrage. It's not a game, it's a tremendous loss of life. It is in very poor taste and the person concerned may want to consider getting some professional help. The event was organized by the Central Savannah River Area Virginia Tech alumni chapter to honor Clark's memory and as a fundraiser for a scholarship in his name. Following the shootings, Virginia Tech began employing an alert system on their website and text messages to warn students of danger.

The alert system was first activated in when an exploded cartridge from a nail gun produced sounds similar to gunfire near a campus dormitory. It was again activated on August 4, , when children attending a summer class reported a man carrying a handgun; police were unable to find anyone matching the children's description. This turned out to be a random act by a part-time Radford University student.

He had carjacked a Mercedes SUV earlier in the day in nearby Radford and had parked it in the general area of a Virginia Tech parking lot where the victim officer was conducting a routine traffic stop on a third party. The shooter turned the gun on himself a half-hour later. The honor guard is modeled after the honor guard posted at the Tomb of the Unknowns by soldiers of the U.

Army 's Old Guard. Several organizations have hosted annual blood drives on or near the anniversary date of the shooting as a tribute to the victims. The Virginia Tech Alumni Association National Capital Region Chapter the "DC Hokies" has held a yearly blood drive in remembrance of the victims of the shooting, [] [] as well as sponsoring a local 3. Virginia Tech holds a yearly Day of Remembrance for the attack, with events such as a candle lighting ceremony, a wreath laying, a moment of silence at 9: Sociology professor Kenneth Westhues has criticized the Virginia Tech response to the shootings and the Massengill Report.

A more truthful and therefore more useful explanation of the Virginia Tech murders focuses not on Cho's character but on the interaction between it and the situations he was in, not on his personal identity but on the interplay between who he was and how other people treated him. Westhues cites the experiences of another Virginia Tech student in the same department as being very similar to Cho's. Westhues has criticized Virginia Tech and the Massengill Report for failing to advance a fuller explanation of the causes of the shootings, which he suggests should be one of "character-situation interplay".

Lucinda Roy , former chair of Virginia Tech's English department, is also critical of the way the university treated Cho as a student in her book, No Right to Remain Silent: Roy worked with him one-on-one in a poetry tutorial and feels he didn't get the help he needed. Eventually, Roy's efforts to persuade Cho to seek help worked. Unbelievably, on the three occasions he contacted the counseling center staff, he did not receive a comprehensive evaluation by them—a startling discovery Roy learned about after Cho's death.

After responding to questions from the media and handing over information to law enforcement as instructed by Virginia Tech, Roy was shunned by the administration. Papers documenting Cho's interactions with campus counseling were lost. The university was suddenly on the defensive. The incident reignited the gun politics debate in the United States, with proponents of gun control legislation arguing that guns are too accessible, citing that Cho, a mentally unsound individual, was able to purchase two semi-automatic pistols despite state laws which should have prevented such purchase.

Law enforcement officials found a purchase receipt for one of the guns used in the assault among Cho's belongings. The serial numbers on the weapons were filed off, but the ATF National Laboratory was able to reveal them and performed a firearms trace.

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The sale of firearms by licensed dealers in Virginia is restricted to residents who successfully pass a background check; [] legal permanent resident aliens may purchase firearms. A federal law passed in response to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The shootings also renewed debate surrounding Virginia Tech's firearms ban. The university has a general ban on possession or storage of firearms on campus by employees, students, and volunteers, or any visitor or other third parties, even if they are concealed handgun permit holders. While no criminal charges were filed, a university spokesman said the University had "the right to adhere to and enforce that policy as a common-sense protection of students, staff and faculty as well as guests and visitors".

In January , prior to the shootings, legislator Todd Gilbert had introduced a related bill into the Virginia House of Delegates. The bill, HB , was intended to forbid public universities in Virginia from preventing students from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun on campus.

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Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker praised the defeat of the bill, stating, "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus. In August , the Massengill Report recommended that the state's General Assembly adopt legislation "establishing the right of every institution of higher education to regulate the possession of firearms on campus if it so desires" and went on to recommend campus gun bans, "unless mandated by law.

The incident and its aftermath energized student activist efforts seeking to overturn bans that prevent gun holders both "open carry" and "concealed carry permit" holders from carrying their weapons on college campuses. Thirty-eight states throughout the U. Another attempt by Delegate Gilbert to pass a law to allow concealed weapons on college campuses in Virginia was defeated in March This law was for the sake of students and faculty members only since the Attorney General ruled that it did not apply to non-students and non-faculty on campus who could carry concealed without restriction on campus.

This law would have largely affected students 21 years or older since younger people are not allowed to purchase handguns. The response to how gun laws affected the shooting was divided. According to a White House statement, "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms , but that all laws must be followed". National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent , commenting on CNN, called for an end to gun-free zones and contrasted the Virginia Tech shooting with other incidents in which mass shootings have been ended by law-abiding gun owners.

Some government officials in other countries joined in the criticism of U. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine condemned the gun politics debate following the shooting, saying, "To those who want to make this into some sort of crusade, I say take this elsewhere. The Review Panel members were: On June 17, , Judge Theodore J. Of the other eight victims, two families chose not to file claims, while two remain unresolved. The settlement also covered eighteen people who were injured; their lifelong health care needs were included in the settlement. The fine was the highest amount that the Department of Education could levy for the two violations of the Clery Act resulting from the failure to notify students in a timely manner of the shootings in West Ambler Johnston.

As of March 30, , the University had announced its intention to appeal the decision. On March 14, , a jury found that Virginia Tech was guilty of negligence for delaying a campus warning. Ernest Canellos, administrative law judge for the Department of Education, found that Virginia Tech's initial conclusion was reasonable that the initial shootings in West Ambler Johnston were a domestic incident and didn't represent an ongoing threat, even though that was later proven wrong.

If the later shootings at Norris Hall had not occurred, it is doubtful that the timing of the e-mail would have been perceived as too late. In the statement released when the fine was reinstated, Duncan wrote, "Although the police department hypothesized that the crime was 'domestic in nature', the record is clear that the respondent had not located the suspect, had not found the weapon, and was confronted with the distinct possibility that the gunman was armed and still at large. On October 31, , the Virginia Supreme Court reversed the lower state court jury's ruling that the University had been negligent in warning students quickly enough about Cho's impending rampage.

The trial judge in the lower court had instructed the jury that there was a "special relationship" between the school and slain students Erin Nicole Peterson and Julia Kathleen Pryde, since the two women were "business invitees" of the University. The two women's families had filed that particular lawsuit. In rejecting the decision, the state Supreme Court said that "even if there was a special relationship between the Commonwealth meaning the state of Virginia, and its affiliated agencies, such as Virginia Tech and students of Virginia Tech The two families had not joined in a previous settlement with the other families.

An administrative law judge reduced the amount and Duncan agreed to the reduction. At the time, Virginia Tech announced that it was considering appeals on both fines. The announcement that the fines had been paid was made on April 16, , the seventh anniversary of the shooting.

A statement by Larry Hincker said, "While we believe that the department's actions against Virginia Tech are inconsistent with their earlier guidance and policy, further litigation was not prudent in light of the various costs—emotional impact on the community, time lost, as well as financial. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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Archived from the original on October 7, Archived from the original on February 8, Archived from the original on November 18, Retrieved May 1, Archived from the original on February 24, Retrieved February 23, Holocaust Survivor, Students Saved Others". Archived from the original on September 27, Archived from the original on December 31, Archived from the original on October 26, Return to Book Page. There Is a Gunman on Campus: In our media-saturated culture, momentous events occur quickly, as news and images are broadcast around the country and the world.

We are often riveted by the news and our everyday reality is suddenly changed. Yet, almost as quickly, that critical event is replaced by a new story. The old event fades from memory, and we move on to the next thing before understanding why it In our media-saturated culture, momentous events occur quickly, as news and images are broadcast around the country and the world.

The old event fades from memory, and we move on to the next thing before understanding why it commanded our attention and how our world was changed. That day a student killed 32 of his classmates and professors and then turned the gun on himself. The media focused their power and our attention on the campus, the students and faculty of Virginia Tech, and the gunman and his victims.

But we have yet to understand fully what happened in Blacksburg. There is a Gunman on Campus brings our thoughts back to the shocking campus shootings and the public reactions to the event, shining needed light on what occurred at the university, how American society reacted, and how it all fits into contemporary culture.

The contributors to this insightful and compelling volume preserve and deepen our memory of April 16th. Many of the authors are distinguished men and women of letters, and some were on the Virginia Tech campus the day when the shots rang out. From the psychology of the shooter to the role of media in covering the event to parallels to other American tragedies such as Columbine, the chapters constitute an incisive portrait of early 21st century America.

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Jul 11, Tara rated it really liked it Shelves: I'm rating this book based on the insight into the media's response to a crisis. The Virginia Tech massacre is a case study of the influence of social media, cable news and the push for sensational headlines. And social media, cable news and sensationalism has only become more influential since Fred Leland rated it really liked it Nov 13, Slt rated it liked it Apr 01, Ethan Groff rated it it was amazing Apr 12, Crazyarms rated it did not like it Aug 07, Jeremy Hunsinger rated it really liked it Feb 07, Fiona Roberts marked it as to-read Aug 10, Katy marked it as to-read Sep 04, Sara marked it as to-read Dec 14,