Shots fired at Virginia Tech (AP: 33 dead, 15 wounded)

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2007&itemno=248 ^

[LexHoskin]

Gunman on Campus; Stay inside your building, away from windows; Shooting incident at West Ambler Johnston Hall

[SE Mom]

Completely agree. Investigations require time to conduct- despite the American media’s demanding they be wrapped up in time for their next show..

[twigs]

something pushed him over the edge

Honor, especially in educational success, is a HUGE deal in Asian cultures--Korean, Chinese and Japanese. Failure in education can doom you in that society. Asian students are under enormous pressure that most Americans would not understand, I think. I have no idea what pushed this young man over the edge, but it doesn't have to be any one thing, idealogy or disturbance. He could be unstable with high-expectation parents.

I don't believe in coincidences.

Coincidences happen all the time. But we should never assume that they are coincidences. As you say, all facts should be thoroughly investigated.

[windchime]

I don’t think he meant the term “children” in a derrogatory way; just that their life experiences hadn’t equipped them for such an event so early in their lives.

I think Shep is in awe of the admirable behavior of this young man.

[Halls]

yeah, cops too afraid of getting shot themself. Ya know, they could hear the gun shots going off one after the other and were just taking their time getting into the building. We all saw it on that cell phone video! You could hear the shots and see the cops just walking slowly to the building! If I had been a cop I would have run in there with guns a blazing at anyone who had a gun and was shooting at other’s!

[Milwaukee_Guy]

That wasn’t my observation. I’ll look closer the next time they run it.

[tiredoflaundry]

As a mom of a 19 year old college student, I understand the use of the word “children”. Regardless of their ages, those murdered were some mother’s “baby”.

[Fido969]

Interesting graphic.

Is it me, or does it seem that there were many incidents during the “assault weapons ban” and are there many incidents in states with a high degree of gun control?

[Velveeta]

Shooter ID

ABC News has learned the shooter who killed himself was a student of Korean descent named Seung Hui Cho who lived in a campus dorm. Cho was reportedly carrying a backpack with a receipt for the purchase of a 9 mm Glock.
http://abcnews.go.com/

[CharlesWayneCT]

So the siren tells you to do what? Go back to your dorms (where the guy had already killed people?) Go to your first class and stay in your room with the doors locked (I don;’t know if the classes had locks, but if they did the guy must have been able to shoot them open).

And when do you stop the siren? 2, 4 hours? All day? Until they solve the shooting and arrest the gunman — some murders take weeks or months to solve?

People already are saying that it is very ODD for a shooter to wait over 2 hours before shooting again. So even if your initial inclination was to lock down the whole school to make sure the gunman wasn’t running from dorm to dorm, by 2 hours you probably would have eased up on the lockdown if you hadn’t had any contact with a gunman.

And in fact, they DID lock down the nearby dorms, AND alerted the other dorms. And they thought they knew who the person was, and where he was driving.

False alerts do have a cost. The school was locked down 2-3 times the previous week, and the kids were paying good money to be taught, not to be locked in their dorm rooms.

Think of this. If there had never been a 2nd shooting, and if instead the shooter had been caught hiding in a building 4 hours later, would everybody be screaming that the school should have been locked down?

[Milwaukee_Guy]

What are your expectations for the upcomming presser?

[tioga]

-he is pointing out that their mommy and daddy are coming to get them and they are children. From every interview I have seen they are behaving like mature adults and are taking things one step at a time. Very mature “children” if you asked me. Interview after interview......the VTech students are presenting themselves as admirable young adults. I would appreciate shep refferring to them as such. They have earned it.

[jdm]

I am startled by the accuracy of this killer. He must have had training and some impetus beyond or in addition to rage-clouded revenge. There’s something monsterous about this incident.

If the doors were chained shut, and no one could escape, then accuracy never really became a factor.

[CedarDave]

yeah, cops too afraid of getting shot themself. Ya know, they could hear the gun shots going off one after the other and were just taking their time getting into the building.

I suppose that had nothing to do with the fact that the doors were chained shut from the inside.

[sola_fide]

If that’s true, it means the killer filed the serial numbers off himself. That’s sort of odd, but obviously the guy was deranged - who knows.

[turbocat]

"I cannot believe shep calling these college students “children”"

Not being argumentative, but I heard Shep say that and had a pang of understanding why he said it. Yes, these students are young adults, no question. But as a parent, this situation makes the protective emotions go into overload and they ARE children and our babies. Parents never stop feeling that way. Children also in terms of "too young" to experience this tragedy without the training and preparation to do so. Just a thought from a mom - because Shep's comment was interesting choice of words. (I notice that anyone born after I graduated from college is seems really young :) )

[Rutles4Ever]

Maybe the police want to talk with the family/friends of the shooter before they can prepare for the questions. I am curious about the names of the shooter(s) and the victims, as well as the stories of heroism that are starting to trickle out already. But why the rush?

Because the public wants to know that the situation is under control. Given the disorganized response to the first shooting, the public is rightfully skeptical of certain skillsets of the local law enforcement community. Additionally, the conflicting "persons of interest" sends the message that there still may be someone out there, unlikely as that is, but people want and need to be reassured.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Bust window, drive a cruiser through the door.

You can do anything if you want to!

[Tolsti]

Oh great. Well, here will come demands for the 7-day wait or more.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Why would the police at the first shooting conclude that 2 dead with no gun at the scene be called a “murder suicide?

I don't know if that report, or any particular report, is accurate yet. There is a lot of stuff circulating around, and until a day passes and major news articles are written, I'm not jumping to conclusions that anybody has all the facts.

I haven't decided to believe the "Cho" story either, as it seems driven by a blog. It could well be accurate, but I'll wait until the official reports name him.

As to Steger's comments, I heard him this morning and when he finally said they knew he was a student and did NOT live in AJ, the reporter asked what dorm he was in and Steger said he knew NOTHING else because he had JUST been handed a note with the information he gave.

So it's possible that 5 seconds earlier he didn't even know about the information. Things are being learned as we go.

I do expect that shortly they should be able to announce whether the bullets from the two shootings match or not. If they don't, it raises more questions, but still wouldn't PROVE it wasn't the same guy, just that he switched guns.

[milford421]

Not specifically Singapore, but the archives of the messages show 24 visa fraud incidents. (2 from Virginia) This one from March 9, 2005, 11:08 PM EST and this other connected with the ricin guy:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj—
immigrationfraud0309mar09,0,7340219.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Seven people, including the owners of two
immigration services companies,were charged Wednesday with “massive”
immigration fraud, the U.S. attorney said.

Naran J. Ivanchukov, 67, of McLean, Va.; George Tsui, 44, of
Clifton, Va.; Rex B. Wingerter, 51, of Hyattsville, Md.; Michelle I.
Pappadakis, 21, of Sterling, Va.; Bemba Balsirov, 48, of Howell,
N.J.; Robert J. Mafhood, 31 of Pocono Lake, Pa.; and Alis Jia, 41,
address unavailable, were charged with submitting fraudulent
immigration-related documents to get green cards.

Ivanchukov, owner of Global Recruitment and Immigration Services
Inc., and Tsui, owner of U.S. Eagle Inc., allegedly conspired with
the others to submit hundreds of false documents to the U.S.
Department of Labor and other government agencies. The certification
was so aliens could work in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, but
the jobs did not exist, U.S. Attorney Paul F. McNulty said.

The indictment also names as an unindicted coconspirator Paul V.
Mederos, who pleaded guilty to related charges in July 2004 and
admitted Global paid him $211,000 to sign false documents.

Ivanchukov and Pappadakis also are charged with money laundering and
tax-related charges for allegedly keeping cash they received from
illegal aliens in a safe rather than a bank account. The indictment
said Tsui charged aliens tens of thousands of dollars, which he
shared with Ivanchukov, to get the visas.

“This is another case of massive fraud demonstrating how criminals
undermine and abuse our immigration and visa systems,” McNulty
said. “In this post-9-11 era, these schemes must be detected and
prosecuted.”

A team of special agents with the Department of Labor’s Office of
Inspector General investigated the case, along with Internal Revenue
Service agents, the FBI, the Department of State’s Office of
Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security.

---

Ricin Investigation At Chesterfield Home - Virginia
... 24 year old Chetanand Kumar Sewraz, a citizen from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius here on a student visa, was involved in internet fraud. Chesterfield Police Major Warner Williams said, “during that time we uncovered a plot on the part of the ... milford421
milford421@yahoo.com