Posted on 04/23/2007 2:04:40 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush ordered top federal officials on Friday to review issues raised by the Virginia Tech university shooting rampage, including how to deal with warning signs of people with mental illness.
Bush's announcement came amid criticism of campus authorities after it emerged they had become aware of the gunman's troubled mental state 17 months before he carried out the deadliest shooting spree in modern U.S. history.
Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 people and then himself on Monday at the sprawling campus in southwestern Virginia.
"We can never fully understand what would cause a student to take the lives of 32 innocent people," Bush said, according to an advance copy of his Saturday radio address released a day early.
"What we do know is that this was a deeply troubled young man -- and there were many warning signs," Bush said. "Our society continues to wrestle with the question of how to handle individuals whose mental health problems can make them a danger to themselves and to others."
Bush said he had instructed the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services to conduct a "review of broader questions raised by this tragedy."
"I have directed these officials to travel to communities across our nation, to meet with educators, mental-health experts, and state and local officials," he said.
He said he had asked Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt to report back to him with recommendations on how to prevent a repetition of such attacks.
He made no mention of questions surrounding the availability of handguns used in the attacks. Bush said earlier this week it was too early to debate gun control.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has already formed a panel to look into the university's response to the shootings, after it was criticized for being slow to warn students of the danger.
Cho's mental imbalance was displayed in a video diatribe he mailed to NBC News when he paused during his shooting spree.
University officials insisted they had no responsibility for monitoring Cho's psychiatric care after he was said to have been suicidal in 2005 and was sent to a mental-health center.
PANEL: WHITE PEOPLE BAD
“Bush said he had instructed the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services to conduct a ‘review of broader questions raised by this tragedy.’”
Funny, I was kind of counting on a Republican President to do away with 2 of these 3 departments. Sorry to be snarky, but what a joke. Let the Lefties do the feigning of faux compassion.
guns kill people...
Global warming at fault...
One issue raised by the shooting is the wisdom of gun-free zones. Should we continue to allow them?
How can you put that many defensless lambs in one place and then not expect that a wolf will show up once in a while? Need to get some armed citizens in these places to protect these little lambs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.