Virginia Tech shooter identified as Cho Seung-Hui
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as a English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school’s counseling service.
Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior, arrived in the United States as boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., officials said. He attended Westfield High School in Centreville, Virginia (the same high school as Michael Kennedy who shot and killed two police officers and wounded another outside the Sully district Fairfax County police station in Chantilly, Virginia).
Police and university officials offered no clues to his motive in the massacre, the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. “He was a loner, and we’re having difficulty finding information about him,” school spokesman Larry Hincker said.
Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university’s English department, said she did not personally know the gunman. But she said she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department’s director of creative writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as “troubled.”
Suicide note
According to reports, Cho left a “disturbing note” criticizing “rich kids”, “debauchery”, and “deceitful charlatans” before killing two people in a dorm room. Two hours later, he then crossed the campus to continue his rampage in a classroom building. Police identified Cho by matching fingerprints on the guns used in the shootings with immigration materials.
The words “Ismail Ax” were found inscribed on his arm in red ink, apparently a reference to his Xbox 360 gamertag. Friends said Cho would stay in his room and play Battlefield 2 for hours. Xbox Live have removed the gamer tag.
Officials have described finding a March purchase receipt for a GLOCK 9mm used in the assault and note that permanent residents in Virginia may legally purchase firearms with proof of residency.
http://charleypatton.blogspot.com/
What "Ismail Ax" might mean is still unclear. I'd like to read the entire text of Cho's suicide note.