April 17, 2007
Va. Tech Shooter ID'd; Bush To Visit Campus
The gunman who slaughtered 32 people and wounded dozens more at Virginia Tech yesterday was identified as Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old South Korean national enrolled at the university. Cho, who was described as a legal, permanant resident of the United States, lived in Centreville, Va., in Fairfax County, home to one of the biggest Korean-American communities in the region.
(ABCNews.com has a photo of Cho.)
Cho was an English major in his senior year of undergraduate study, university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said in a press conference this morning. Flinchum said that Cho lived in Harper Hall, a residence on campus. Ballistics found that one of the two weapons used in yesterday's rampage was linked to both shooting sites, Flinchum said. The first shooting occurred early in the morning at West Ambler Johnston Hall, a freshman dorm.
Witnesses said Cho was looking for an ex-girlfriend. Student Emily Hilscher and senior resident adviser Ryan Clark were killed in the West Ambler Johnston Hall shootings, the New York Times reports.
About two and a half hours later, as police were investigating the first shootings, Cho began gunning down students, professors and personnel at Norris Hall, an engineering building on the other side of campus, before turning his weapon on himself. Cho did not have any identification on him, and his face was disfigured when he committed suicide, making it difficult for authorities to ID him, according to TV reports.
Flinchum told reporters this morning there were no indications Cho had an accomplice. Reports indicate Cho purchased the weapons used, a 9 mm and 22 mm handgun, in recent days.
Police were still questioning a man described as a "person of interest" who was an acquaintance of the female victim at WAJ, Flinchum said, possibly for information about Cho's motives.
The shootings were the worst such attacks in U.S. history. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were expected today at a 2 p.m. convocation on campus to mourn the dead. Gov. Tim Kaine was also due back for the convocation after abruptly canceling an official trip to East Asia yesterday.
Virginia Tech's student newpaper, the Collegiate Times, has more on the tragedy, including witness accounts and remembrances of the dead. The Washington Post, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Richmond Times-Dispatch and local TV news stations have photos, video and regular updates on the shootings and their aftermath.
Posted at 9:08 AM
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Crime, President Bush
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