Posted on 04/17/2007 8:28:56 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
ISMAIL AK
Dr. ISMAIL AK is a Professor of Psychiatry at a university in Turkey. His research interests include the following:
Personal Disorders, Agresivve behavior and self-mutilation, ECT, Substance-related disorders, Sexual Disorders, Forensic Psychiatry, Sleep Disorders
From the Turkish Association of Psychopharmacology website:
President-elect:
Professor Ismail AK, M.D. Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
Ismail AK is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Head, Department of Psychiatry, KTU School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey
He is an experienced on clinical psychopharmacology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.
Dr. Ismail Ak is one of the authors of an article about patients with mental disorders, psychotic features, etc.:
As regards pharmacotherapies, 354 (50.2%) were given antidepressants. . . . Among antidepressants, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were 72.8%. . . .
This is an abstract of an article co-written by Dr. ISMAIL AK:
Even though all psychiatric disorders do not have the same potential with regard to committing a crime, the number of individuals having psychiatric disorders is gradually going up depending on the increase of crimes and violent behaviors committed in a society. . . . The relation between existence of psychiatric disorder and crime behavior has been significantly emphasized in several earlier studies. In conclusion, it is notable that the rates of committing crime for the individuals with psychiatric disorders are on the rise.
Dr. Ismail Ak is apparently one of the world's leading experts on the psychiatry of antisocial and suicidal behavior, psychotic and bipolar disorders, psychopharmacological therapy, etc.
The young man had been noticed to be disturbed and had been referred to counseling. Dr. Ismail Ak is an expert and author in the particular field most directly related to the guy's disorder.
So it's possible that the writing on the guy's arm said
ISMAIL AK
and the K was written in a way that people *thought* it said
ISMAIL AX
That seems more likely to me than a connection to Moby Dick or to Islamic terrorism or to Cooper’s story.
This is an angle the investigators need to pursue with the school's counseling service, the killer's computer, and Dr. Ismail Ak himself.
If the Ismail Ak connection pans out, police departments around the country should use you to analyze cryptic crime notes or longer material. I know the Unabomber's brother turned him in but if he didn't then someone good at word analysis could have looked at the Unabomber's published rantings and given some insight into who he was. Of course, that might have led to the arrest of Al Gore since their writings are almost identical.
CSI: Charles Henrickson Investigator.
DUhhhhh... Charles Henrickson Investigator doesn’t equate with CSI. DUhhhhhh... Okay, make it CHI. A new show that will compete with CSI.
All good points.
I think we need to explore the possibilities, because it’s very doubtful that the FBI or the press will do so.
But I have two problems with this.
1) Ismail Ak has no known connection with Cho, and is not widely known in America so far as I know.
2) Even if he were Cho’s psychiatrist, why would a crazed killer write his psychiatrist’s name on his arm? It doesn’t seem at all likely. What such people write on their arms or tattoo on their bodies is some emblem that they take as their model or ideal, not their controller. A demon, a dragon, a naked lady, a hero, something that represents the kind of image they want to project.
Glad I happened across this story!
Yes, that sermon is in Melville’s book, and the director was a genius for putting it in the movie that way. Most directors would say, “Ack, a sermon? Bunch of religious nonsense? Cut!” As it was, I thought it was by far the best thing in the movie.
I think Cho could have googled "Campus Murders" or some similar phrase and came upon Ismail Ak's name that way. An investigation of Cho's computer records should reveal this if true.
That chapel actually exists in New Bedford, CT.
I hear ya. That is a weakness in this hypothesis. However, if Cho had come across the name of this expert on the very psychological problems he was dealing with, and he found the name odd or funny--Cho is known to have played with names--"Ismail Ak" could have morphed into "Ismail Ax," which Cho could have taken as a weaponish nickname for himself.
I know, it's a stretch, but so is every other explanation I've seen.
“School officials said Cho posted a deadly warning on a school online forum: “im going to kill people at vtech.”
***Sounds like another classic cry for help. Writing the name of the doctor who shows familiarity with the kind of horrible thoughts he was fighting would be another cry for help, in a sad & sick sort of way.
Of course, now that you’ve posted that, it will be easy to make the google connection. But the only folks who have access to Cho’s computer searches are the homicide investigators. Not much we can do there as freepers, I suppose.
Or "Ak." Or "Ax." :-)
I haven't seen any news story mention a tattoo. The words were handwritten in red ink, which is a much weaker connection than a tattoo.
ping
Doc Ak.
(I assume Ak is pronounced "AWK").
Very weird, but I’m not conceding yet either.
Alternate speculation follows.
Assuming VT as an engineering school (sorry, I know next to nothing about it) teaches computer science, programming etc, perhaps the shooter had some knowledge of programming? So - again, pure speculation - maybe Ismale Ax meant something to him personnaly as partial computer code. Something along the lines of boolean “Ismale” and machine language “Ax” - accumlated number of a male or some such?
If he was into any kind of Christian religious symbolism or whatever, maybe “the number of a man” meant something to him (see Revelations or wherever it’s from).
Anyways, not to be taken too seriously one way or the other, just idle thoughts.
Where have you seen this being stated that it was AK and not AX? Did you actually see the writing on his arm to make that statement are is it just conjecture on your part?
Or not are.
None of us has seen the writing on his arm. I’m just saying it’s highly coincidental that there should be a published authority on suicidal behavior, psychotropic drugs, depression, etc., with an unusual name so close—even down to the shape and sound of the final letter—to what was written on the arm of a guy who was known to play with names. That to me means it’s an angle that should be explored. It may simply be a huge coincidence, but it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. It makes as much sense as any of the other hypotheses which have been advanced.
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