BLACKSBURG, Va., April 20, 2007
Va. Tech Gunman's Family Speaks
Cho Family Says It Feels "Hopeless, Helpless"; Vigils And Prayer Services Span U.S.
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Play CBS Video Video The Spirit Of Va. Tech After observing silence at Va. Tech today, the Hokie community came together to build a road to recovery as they refuse to let one man's action define their university. Sharyn Alfonsi reports.
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Video Columbine: Lessons Learned The shooting at Columbine High School killed 13 people in a similar attack that took place at Virginia Tech University on Monday. Bill Whitaker spoke to survivors about lessons they learned.
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Video Eye To Eye: River Dell High Only On The Web: The tragedy at Virginia Tech has caused many teenagers and children to worry about their safety at school. Katie Couric reports on what parents can do to help ease their fears.
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Candles, flowers and mementos grace a makeshift memorial at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., April 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Students and parents embrace outside Norris Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on April 20, 2007, during a moment of silence for the victims of Monday's shootings. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Radford University students hold a candlelight vigil in memory of the students and staff who were killed at nearby Virginia Tech in Monday's shootings, April 19, 2007. (Getty Images/Scott Olson)
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Mourners and media surround the body of Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor who was killed by the Virginia Tech shooter while trying to hold a door shut so some of his engineering students could escape. (CBS)
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Cho Seung-Hui: "Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people." (NBC)
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Interactive Virginia Tech Tragedy Deadly shooting rampage on Virginia Tech campus leaves 33 dead.
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Interactive In Memoriam Profiles of the students and staff who lost their lives in the massacre at Virginia Tech
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Photo Essay Virginia Tech Massacre Gunman opens fire in dorm and classroom, killing at least 32 before killing himself.
Investigators are "making some really great progress" into determining how and why the shootings happened, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said Friday. She said they hope to have something to tell the public next week.
"The why and the how are the crux of the investigation," Geller said. "The why may never be determined because the person responsible is deceased."
Cho fired between 175 and 225 rounds of ammunition, law enforcement sources told CBS News. The majority of the shots were from a 9 mm Glock.
One law enforcement source told CBS News: "Once the shooting starts, there are always more shots fired than people think. That's kind of the nature of the beast."
Authorities want to know why Cho selected Hilscher and Ryan Clark as his first victims. "We're trying to establish those links, if there are any," Geller said.
The governor also appointed an independent panel that includes former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to look into how authorities handled the tragedy.
Ridge said the group would look into the time lapse between the first attack and the second, how students were notified of the dangers, and whether privacy laws and the need to communicate for safety conflicted, among other things.
"This was out-and-out murder," Ridge said. "This was a horribly, horribly deranged young man."
Asked if the attacks had been preventable, Ridge said his "preliminary judgment would be probably not," but he said he hoped the investigation would find ways to reduce the risk in the future.
"This is a national tragedy, and we have to learn some lessons and apply them," Ridge told CBS' The Early Show. "The last thing we want to do in our universities and public places is turn them into citadels or armed fortresses."
Cho's videos, which were mailed to NBC the morning of the killings, revealed a man angry at the world but offered little explanation of why, other than rambling tirades against rich kids, snobs and people who had wronged him.
As experts analyzed the disturbing materials, it became increasingly clear that Cho was almost a classic case of a school shooter: a painfully awkward, picked-on young man who lashed out with methodical fury at a world he believed was out to get him.
Click here for an interactive gallery of the victims.
"In virtually every regard, Cho is prototypical of mass killers that I've studied in the past 25 years," said Northeastern University criminal justice professor James Alan Fox, co-author of 16 books on crime. "That doesn't mean, however, that one could have predicted his rampage."
Among other things, the South Korean immigrant was sent to a psychiatric hospital and pronounced an imminent danger to himself. He was accused of stalking two women and photographing female students in class with his cell phone. His violence-filled writings were so disturbing he was removed from one class, and professors begged him to get counseling.
Classmates in Virginia, where Cho grew up, said he was teased and picked on, apparently because of shyness and his strange, mumbly way of speaking.
Among the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre were two other Westfield High graduates, Reema Samaha and Erin Peterson. Both young women graduated from the high school last year, but police said it is not clear whether Cho singled them out.
In other developments:
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- I feel deeply sorry for all the victim's families, but I especially feel sorry for the Cho family. It's devistating enough to find out your son/brother is dead, but then to find out he's responsible for 32 other people's deaths, and the worst shooting massacre ever in the US. That is something you will never recover from. The innocent victim's families will at least be able to think of the great memories of their lost one, but the Chos won't be able to think of Seung-Hui without feeling horrible for what he did. After reading a breif history of the Cho family, it seems they had a hard life, and only now finally settled into a home, but then this happened, and they had to flee that home and be protected by police. Even though I know they will never recover from something like this, I hope they find some sort of peace and hope Seung-Hui's sister is able to continue her already successful life.
- Chris - Reply to this comment
- This all has to do with morals and principles being thrown out of our society and the lack of God in our school systems.
Posted by singinrick at 06:34 PM : Apr 21, 2007
-The loving God you're promoting has never held a gun in his hands and killed whoever doesn't think like him. The Creator has been and will ever be generous by and to his creation. No need to channel the goodness of this Creator into some profitable structure that will sweap the world with its benediction if you support it, and will dman you if not.
-The love this victim (Cho!) needed so much is not present in this society that puts the interest of economy and wealth ahead of the interest and dignity of humans. His acts are not justifiable, but need to be avoided. We got to have a human-support system that will maintain the dignity of humans in case of failure, because to the image of the Creator, constant success is not granted to 100% of Creatures. - Reply to this comment
- Deserves a repost:
think all parents should teach their children at an early age that name-calling, teasing, and bullying is totally unacceptable behavior. All teachers should advocate on behalf of any child being teased and adequately disciplining children that behave in this manner.
I also think that parents and teachers should learn about and teach others about mental illness and eliminate the stigmas attached to mental illness. They should encourage and support those who seek mental health treatment.
If someone you know has diabetes you would encourage them to seek medical care. The same should go for someone with possible depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
The typical onset of schizophrenia is late teens--early-mid twenties.
It is easy to think of a million safety precautions to enact in the immediate; however prevention should begin at child birth and continue throughout our lifetimes.
Posted by tman3209 at 08:41 PM : Apr 20, 2007 - Reply to this comment
- Deserves a repost:
Why is the country asked to pray after a school shooting, and told we are not allowed to pray in schools before a shooting or any other violent act. When God was kicked out of schools guns moved in.
Posted by beagodschild at 11:54 AM : Apr 20, 2007 - Reply to this comment
- likeitis5050:
"They will have to endure the sad reality that a child of theirs caused so much devistation. And yet, he was still their child. Eventually the families of the victims will find a way to move on and turn something so awful into honors, but the gunman's family will never recover."
I hope that this was your intention but your comments are incredibly tasteless.
You are lifting the family of a killer above the family of victims.
Why?
Why do you believe that I will "find a way to move on" with my only child murdered?
Why do you believe that parents that raise a child that is a murderer are more worthy of your condolences?
Your comments are a perfect example of what is wrong with the "Criminal Justice" system. This is NOT about the criminals. This is about the VICTIMS.
I am disgusted that there is no place for accountability anymore. Disgusted that there are members of our society that focus their energies on the criminal; not on the victims.
I sincerely hope that your comments weren't fully thought out.
- Drew Crecente, Director, Jennifer Ann's Group
Proud father of Jennifer Ann Crecente, murdered at the age of 18 on February 15, 2006. Proud that I didn't raise a murderer. Proud that I raised an honor student, a hospital volunteer, camp counselor, an asset to society and the very best part of me. - Reply to this comment
- No one is to blame when the State of Virginia, Pennsylvania and one other, DO NOT ALLOW A PERSON TO BE TREATED WITHOUT THEIR OWN CONSENT.
No parent,doctor, teacher, school, or police officer can FORCE these individuals to go to a Medical Clinic & if the Doctors find that the PATIENT DOES NOT WANT to TAKE MEDICINE THE SITUATION IS HOPELESS! Where is the ANSWER - read a book titled "CRAZY" (describing the SYSTEM) by a Fairfax, VA journalist. Thanks, to a kind POLICEMAN WHOSE ADVICE WAS: "TELL THE POLICE THAT THE YOUR SON HAS 'THREATENED TO KILL YOU' and then MEDICAL TREATMENT IS GIVEN!
Seems there are 300,000 MENTALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS IN STATE PRISONS because THE MENTAL HOSPITALS HAVE BEEN CLOSED. The PROMISE OF MEDICAL CARE has almost VANISHED by INSURERS!
LEGALESE....No one can RISK A LAW SUIT PROVING THE SITUATION....which can be made to LOOK NULL & VOID...Amen! - Reply to this comment
- miscmood thank you for sharing. There are so many families who can relate to your experience. I am sorry for the family of the gunman. They will have to endure the sad reality that a child of theirs caused so much devistation. And yet, he was still their child. Eventually the families of the victims will find a way to move on and turn something so awful into honors, but the gunman's family will never recover. I hope you are finding some peace in being able to share your story. Thanks, again.
- Reply to this comment
- There are many indicators of an abusive personality. It's unfortunate that while many saw these behaviors in this killer that apparently there were many, including his family, that apparently did not see them. I do feel badly for his family but am also a firm proponent of "nurture" over "nature."
Although not all of the below applies in this instance, below are the warning signs that my charity uses to help educate teens and young adults.
"Ten Warning Signs of an Abusive Relationship"
* History of discipline problems.
* Blames you for his/her anger.
* Serious drug or alcohol use.
* History of violent behavior.
* Threatens others regularly.
* Insults you or calls you names.
* Trouble controlling feelings like anger.
* Tells you what to wear, what to do or how to act.
* Threatens or intimidates you in order to get their way.
* Prevents you from spending time with friends or family.
Many of the above warning signs were present in the killer's behavior. Hopefully more people will become aware of these warning signs and have the resources to seek help.
Additionally colleges and high schools across the country will hopefully adopt plans for dating violence. As the police and university staff were discussing how to handle what they perceived as a "domestice violence" incident the killer was preparing for the other murders.
Jennifer Ann's Group
www.JenniferAnn.org - Reply to this comment
- As the mother of Joshua Phillips, who at age 14, was arrested, tried and convicted of the first-degree murder of an 8-year-old neighbor girl, I can fully empathize with the Cho family. I believe their statement to be heartfelt. Just reading it was a trigger point to my own on-going grief and heartbreak. Not a day goes by that I don't think of the victim and her family in my son's case. When I read news accounts such as this, I mentally relive my own family's tragedy. Even though it's been nearly a decade after my son's arrest, it is never farther than a heart's thought away.
My heart and prayers go out to the families of the victims and Cho's family. The tentacles of such a tragedy are so far-reaching to be mind-boggling.
And, I can, from personal experience, tell anyone reading these words, that the unthinkable can strike any family any where. Without warning. My family, and the Cho family, are no longer thinking about that poor family down the street whose son took a life. We ARE that poor family. My son's tragedy was covered in a CBS 48 Hours report twice, and I remember the producer at CBS telling me that "there but for the grace of God go I."
May the peace that passes all understanding encircle the survivors, the victims and their heartbroken, stunned families, and the Cho family, who, just as I, undoubtedly have just as many unanswered questions and hurting hearts.
Missy Phillips - Reply to this comment
- Even though Cho committed a selfish act of terrorism and there is no defense for his actions, we have to have compassion for the Cho family. They are suffering, not only the loss of a son, but also the guilt associatd with their son's actions. Along with my prayers for the families of all of this madman's victims, I pray Cho's family will also find peace.
- Reply to this comment
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