My understanding is that Cho was NOT a legal permanent resident. He was here on a student visa. Federal law specifically prevents anyone on non-immigrant visa status from purchasing handguns.
NO he was here since 1992 - he was NOT on a Student visa. He was a permanent resident. That rumor was false.
he lived in Northern VA with his family who owned a dry cleaning business, since 1992. he was a legal resident.
He had a green card, he was legal.
I have read in several news stories that he came here as a child with this parents and grew up in Northern Virginia; that he is a legal permanent resident.
Maybe it's mentioned below and I haven't gotten that far. There was a link to another message board from the gun shop owner who sold him the gun. (looks legit, since everything he said matches what has since been released, including the name.) He said that all the paperwork was in order and everything had been handled legally.
You are terribly misinformed! Cho and his parents came to America when he was 8 years old ( he was 23 when he committed the crimes on Monday ) and all of them are legal, resident aliens.