School shootings

[Diane Vera]

At least 31 dead in Virginia Tech shooting rampage
Gunman shoots 30 people in a dorm, second building; suspect also dead
BREAKING NEWS
NBC, MSNBC and news services
April 16, 2007
More than 30 people were killed at Virginia Tech in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history.
MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18134671/?GT1=9246)

About previous school shootings and other mass murders, this article says:

Until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard drove his pickup into a Luby’s Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

The deadliest previous campus shooting in U.S. history took place in 1966 at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a clock tower and opened fire. He killed 16 people before he was gunned down by police.

In the Columbine High School bloodbath near Littleton, Colo., in 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Texas, Colorado, and now Virginia.

[Diane Vera]

Also on the MSNBC site:


10 myths about school shootings (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/)
fact file: Deadliest shootings in the U.S. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18140540/) (in Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and California)
Fact file: Deadly college shootings in U.S. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18137414/) (the vast majority are in the Bible Belt, I noticed)

[Emproph]

But fortunately there’s still a ban on federally-funded stem cell research.

[Diane Vera]

When I hear about incidents like this, one of my first thoughts is to wonder what the consequences will be for whatever minority groups, if any, the perpetrator happens to belong to. The following New York Times article mentions that the gunman was a "young Asian."

A Barrage of Shots, Broken by Pauses to Reload
By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: April 17, 2007
New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/17scene.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin)

Will this result in a wave of bigotry against Asians? I sure hope not.

When I first heard about this incident earlier today, I worried about what might happen if the killer turned out to be gay. After all, Virginia already seems to be one of the most homophobic states in the country, so it would hardly be a surprise if life in Virginia were to drive at least one young gay man crazy enough to go on a shooting spree.

I also worried about what might happen if the gunman turned out to have had an interest in Satanism, or if he turned out to have had an interest in the Goth scene or any of the other nonmainstream subcultures that are often alleged to be "Satanic."

Time will tell what other characteristics the shooter may have had besides being Asian, and what will happen to innocent people who happen to share those characteristics.

[Diane Vera]

When I first heard about this incident earlier today, I worried about what might happen if the gunman turned out to be gay.

Most likely he is not, judging by the following news story:

Tech shootings
Student reports from scene of Virginia Tech shootings
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
By (on air) Ross Solly (online) Nicholas Kittel
ABC (http://www.abc.net.au/canberra/stories/s1899104.htm?backyard)

It is still unclear what the gunman's motives for these shootings were, but William said he has heard rumours that the person in question was a disgruntled lover.

"These are unconfirmed reports, but I've been told that it was a disgruntled ex-boyfriend, he initially went to the dorm room to shoot his girlfriend and when they came to the classroom, he was asking where she was and he was looking for her."

[Diane Vera]

U.S. Police May Have Identity of Virginia Tech Gunman (Update1)
By Vivek Shankar
Bloomberg.com Europe (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a5IVvsUIkoXA&refer=europe)

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said officers have a ``preliminary'' identification and declined to provide further details.

Authorities are investigating whether the shooter was a 24- year-old Chinese national who arrived in San Francisco on a United Airlines flight on Aug. 7 last year on a student visa issued in Shanghai, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported on its Web site, citing an unidentified official. Jennifer Galt, a spokeswoman for the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, declined to comment.

...

Witnesses described the Norris Hall shooter to MSNBC as a man in his 20s, wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket. He was armed with two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition, the Associated Press reported, citing unidentified law officials. At least two witnesses told CNN the shooter was Asian.

Questions remain after worst U.S. shooting rampage
By Patricia Zengerle and Andrea Hopkins
April 17, 2007
Reuters
The Star (Malaysia) (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/17/worldupdates/2007-04-17T113021Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-294494-2&sec=Worldupdates)

Witnesses said the killer was a black-clad Asian male, about 6 feet tall, who went wordlessly from room to room calmly shooting students and staff with at least one handgun.

I've heard that in some parts of the South, there's quite a fear of kids who wear black. Any kid who wears black is assumed to be a Satanist, and Satanists are assumed to kill cats and eat babies. Will those fears be stoked now?

[Diane Vera]

Update to an article linked earlier:

U.S. Police May Have Identity of Virginia Tech Gunman (Update4)
By Vivek Shankar
Bloomberg.com Europe (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=appTCu5BKu_Y&refer=europe)

Includes the following:

April 17 (Bloomberg) -- The gunman responsible for the massacre at Virginia Tech University, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, was an Asian male student who lived in a campus dormitory, President Charles Steger said today.

...

The man wore a black leather jacket with ammunition sleeves inside, jeans and a maroon hat, the student said.

The above story still mentions the theory that the killer was from China. However, other stories are now identifying him by name and saying that he is from South Korea. For example:

Va. Tech Gunman Was Student From S.Korea
By ADAM GELLER
April 17, 2007
Associated Press (AP National News)
New York Newsday (http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-virginia-tech-shooting,0,4920267.story?coll=ny-giants-print)

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A Virginia Tech senior from South Korea was behind the massacre of at least 30 people locked inside a campus building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university said Tuesday.

The Virginia Tech Police Department identified him as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior in the English department.

The following much longer version of the AP story does not yet identify the killer by name:

April 17, 2007, 8:08AM
Va. Tech president: Gunman was student
By ADAM GELLER AP National Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press
Houston Chronicle, TX (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4721905.html)

Erin Sheehan, who was in the German class near Calhoun's room, told the student newspaper, the Collegiate Times, that she was one of only four of about two dozen people in the class to walk out of the room. The rest were dead or wounded, she said.

She said the gunman "was just a normal-looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout-type outfit. He wore a tan button-up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something."

Some news stories, such as the following, say that there may have been two shooters:

Shooter Lived in Dormitory, Va. Tech President Says
President Charles Steger Said There Was Possibly More Than One Shooter Involved
ABC News (http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3048110&page=1)

[Diane Vera]

Associated Press
Va. Tech: Gunman Student From S. Korea
By ADAM GELLER 04.17.07, 11:14 AM ET
Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/17/ap3620969.html)

A gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that killed 33 people, the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, was identified Tuesday as a senior English major from South Korea.

Ballistics tests show one gun was used in two attacks on the campus Monday morning - at a dormitory were two people were killed and in a classroom building where 31 people, including the gunman, died locked inside, Virginia State Police said.

Police identified the classroom shooter as 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui (pronounced Choh Suhng-whee) of South Korea. There was no indication Tuesday of a possible motive for the attacks.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said.

Cho was in the U.S. as a resident alien with a residence established in Centreville, but living on campus in Harper Residence Hall, the university said.

Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of because the information had not been announced, said Cho's fingerprints were found on the guns used in both shootings. The serial numbers on the two weapons had been filed off, the officials said.

One law enforcement official said Cho's backpack contained a receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol.


Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said it was reasonable to assume that Cho was the shooter in both attacks but that the link was not yet definitive.

"There's no evidence of any accomplice at either event, but we're exploring the possibility," he said.

I certainly hope this doesn't result in any prejudice against Koreans. After all, here in this country, the vast majority of mass murderers, serial murderers, etc. have been white.

I certainly hope this doesn't result in prejudice against "loners" either.

[Diane Vera]

I see I'm not the only person wondering about this possibility:

S.Korea worries about racial backlash after shooting
Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:59AM EDT
Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1764452620070417)

This was listed as "related news" next to the following story:

S.Korean student blamed for U.S. shooting rampage
Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:59AM EDT
Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1631133620070417?&src=041707_1107_TOPSTORY_gunman_identified)

Another Reuters story on a different website:

Campus gunman lived in US since 1992 - official
Reuters
Malaysia Star (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/17/worldupdates/2007-04-17T205016Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-294564-1&sec=Worldupdates)

[Diane Vera]

Shooter, Cho, 'Was a Loner,' Official Says
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
ABC News (http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3048534&page=1)

April 17, 2007 — Cho Seung-hui, 23, the Virginia Tech student who police believe is responsible for killing 33 people yesterday, was "a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," said university spokesman Larry Hincker.

Police identified Cho, a native of South Korea and resident alien who lived in Centreville, Va., as the shooter by linking the fingerprints at the scene to his immigration documents.

...

According to the Washington Post, his parents live in Fairfax County, Va., an affluent Washington suburb, just outside of Alexandria, Va. He is a graduate of Westfield High School in Fairfax.

Since he was apparently "affluent," at least this incident probably will not cause any further prejudice against poor people, hopefully.