Virginia Tech University shootings [Archive]

Neish

16/04/2007, 5:41 PM

Just after seeing this in the news

Police and university officials have confirmed that at least 22 people, including the suspect, were killed in a shooting rampage on the US campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.

More here
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0416/virginia.html?rss

When are the American's going to wise up to the fact that the only way they are going to put any kind of stop to such shootings is a radical change in their gun laws.

strangeirish

16/04/2007, 5:52 PM

Reports coming in up to 32 may have been killed. Awful.

pete

16/04/2007, 6:26 PM

When are the American's going to wise up to the fact that the only way they are going to put any kind of stop to such shootings is a radical change in their gun laws.

No chance. They will prefer to blame security staff, mental health officials or anything gun control laws.

jebus

16/04/2007, 6:43 PM

When are the American's going to wise up to the fact that the only way they are going to put any kind of stop to such shootings is a radical change in their gun laws.

What I want to know is where was Marilyn Manson in all this

el punter

16/04/2007, 10:08 PM

There's a guy called Van Cleave doing interviews (I saw him on BBC's Newsnight), saying that gun law should not be changed and that the people injured should have been able to "defend" themselves.

There's the problem with America for you: this chap's solution to tackling gun massacres is to get more guns in to circulation.

The mind boggles.

Lim till i die

17/04/2007, 10:00 AM

Heard a gun lobby guy on Morning Ireland this morning and he said something along the lines of:

"If students and staff had been allowed carry concealed weapons they could have shot the killer and stopped the shooting" :eek:

What I want to know is where was Marilyn Manson in all this

Is their any way we can get this blamed on crunk??

Risteard

17/04/2007, 12:14 PM

This is probably one of the few times where wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre) is the best place to look for info.
I'd presume those names were posted by students.
Jewish and Indian professors among the dead.

eamo1

17/04/2007, 1:07 PM

she lives very near a college.all i heard yesterday were the words "shooting" "college","virginia",and "many killed" and got a shock but thank God she answered the phone when i rang her straight away.
i just cannot believe these pro gun people.when i was there in january every hick village we drove through had a bar,a church and a gun store all beside eachother-so after youve drunkenly shot someone you can pray for them:rolleyes: .
terrible loss of life though.but 33 people being killed in U.S gets headline news whereas 60 people killed a few days before in baghdad gets only a few inches and seconds in the media-WRONG.

osarusan

17/04/2007, 1:22 PM

About time for Charlton Heston to drop in for a rally........

"It's in our constitution......."

"We have a violent history....."

"From my cold dead hands..."

A terrible day, but one which was preventable, perhaps not on the day, but in the years before.

Apparently an Asian student and campus resident was responsible.

Risteard

17/04/2007, 1:48 PM

Cho Seung-Hui

finlma

17/04/2007, 3:04 PM

terrible loss of life though.but 33 people being killed in U.S gets headline news whereas 60 people killed a few days before in baghdad gets only a few inches and seconds in the media-WRONG.

Well said Eamo and exactly my sentiments. Its a tragedy but nothing in comparrison to the daily loss of life in Iraq which is directly attributed to the American government.

The world I live in sickens me.

Dodge

17/04/2007, 3:10 PM

Have no doubt the fact he's from Korea will be used by the right wing zealots in US. "Leave the guns for Americans!"

Paulie

17/04/2007, 3:28 PM

terrible loss of life though.but 33 people being killed in U.S gets headline news whereas 60 people killed a few days before in baghdad gets only a few inches and seconds in the media-WRONG.

Yeah you're right. The thing is though it's amazing how quickly people become immune to violence. One of the main reasons the murders in Iraq don't get the same coverage is because of the frequency with which they happen. If yesterday's events in America were happening as often bombs are going off in Iraq then over a period of time they would cease to be huge news stories as the shock value is gone. Obviously I'm not saying that this is right, I'm just saying it as I see it.

Raheny Red

17/04/2007, 6:17 PM

terrible loss of life though.but 33 people being killed in U.S gets headline news whereas 60 people killed a few days before in baghdad gets only a few inches and seconds in the media-WRONG.

Well, it is devastating but it is happening so much now in the Middle-East people just think to themselves 'there goes another bomb' - it's unfortunate but that's the sad reality of it!

pete

17/04/2007, 10:13 PM

Heard a gun lobby guy on Morning Ireland this morning and he said something along the lines of:
"If students and staff had been allowed carry concealed weapons they could have shot the killer and stopped the shooting" :eek:

These guys? (http://www.nra.org/home.aspx)

:rolleyes:

eamo1

17/04/2007, 10:57 PM

how bad is the world now when as ye say a bomb that kills alot of people is so common that it doesnt make headline news.i realise that but "evil will only happen as long as good people stand back and do nothing"-we are nearly as much to blame as bush/blair/al quaida is for the current situation.

Risteard

18/04/2007, 12:22 AM

Whatever about the US networks, I'm annoyed that the Irish radio stations still give time to the token NRA nut on these occasions. IMO, neo-cons and Nazis just have bad priorities but NRA members are obsessed with death.
The works of Cho Seung-Hui (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0417071vtech1.html):eek:
Lovely stuff altogether.

Erstwhile Bóz

18/04/2007, 6:05 AM

Military dudes playing the Last Post at the vigil at the college. What the feck? Am I being paranoid or are they subconsciously claiming the dead as fallen warriors is this ongoing Good vs Evil thing?

Macy

18/04/2007, 8:30 AM

Think the Military dudes were college students who are cadets.

Interesting to compare the (rightly) sympathetic coverage of the Irish case of the mentally ill man who killed his sister on the radio this morning (Newstalk and Morning Ireland), compared to what they're saying about Cho Seung Hui.

jebus

18/04/2007, 10:21 AM

Clue as to why Cho Seung-Hui went off the rails comes with a soundbyte from one of the Virginia Tech students saying that he was called the Question Mark Kid, because no-one knew anything about him because no-one talked to him. Don't get me wrong, he's still an idiot, but I always hate the way no-one ever looks for the real reasons the killer did what he did. Instead we get 'he was a loner' over and over again

kingdom hoop

18/04/2007, 10:27 AM

The works of Cho Seung-Hui (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0417071vtech1.html):eek:
Lovely stuff altogether.

Whoa. Anyone looking to be disturbed or wearily amused should have a look.

Sample piece from the 13 year old character in the sketch;

'What are you, a Catholic priest! I will not be molested by an aging balding overweight pedophilic step-dad named Dick! Get your hands off me you sicko! Damn you, you Catholic priest. Just stop it, Michael Jackson. Let me guess, you have a pet named Dick in Neverland ranch and you want me to go with you to pet him, right?'

Those perturbed by the character's vitriol will be comforted by the play's conclusion; his death at the hands of the subject of the tirade; Out of sheer desecrated hurt and anger, Richard lifts his large arms and swings a deadly blow at the thirteen year old boy.

Maniac. That's from a college work, not some personal musing. His screws were obviously never tightened

RogerMilla

18/04/2007, 10:31 AM

i turned on fox news and it was the exact same crap ( i watch fox news exactly for this reason by the way , i know they wont fail to disgust me )
1 the campus authorities were at fault because there was a gun ban on campus and the students couldnt defend themselves!! ( so the sloution is more guns!!) this was put forward by a judge and a "legendary " NY detective
2 The "healer-in-chief" would come and make it all better just like he did for the families of those killed overseas and for the victims of disasters in the US!!

i just cannot compose an argument to compete with stupidity of the order of the above two comments on fox news...

jebus

18/04/2007, 10:40 AM

Erstwhile Bóz

18/04/2007, 12:25 PM

Think the Military dudes were college students who are cadets.

Ah right. Outrage somewhat soothed.

pete

18/04/2007, 12:41 PM

He was reported as South Korea exchange student yet accoding to the BBC
Immigration records show that he was born in South Korea on 18 January 1984 and had moved to the US in 1992, when he was eight. This means he has lived 3/4 of his life in the US so it hink probably more American than Korean now.

The NRA have just made one statement expressing condolences but also said they won't make further comment until all the facts emerge.

Dr.Nightdub

18/04/2007, 12:48 PM

how bad is the world now when as ye say a bomb that kills alot of people is so common that it doesnt make headline news.

Shouldn't come as a surprise, the same kind of boredom set in down here in relation to the Troubles long before the ceasefires and Peace Process.

RogerMilla

18/04/2007, 1:50 PM

[QUOTE=pete;668262]He was reported as South Korea exchange student yet accoding to the BBC This means he has lived 3/4 of his life in the US so it hink probably more American than Korean now.QUOTE]

parents moved from korea i think , they own a laundrette , sister went to princeton

eamo1

18/04/2007, 4:41 PM

killings during the troubles still got headline news whereas theres many more being killed in iraq etc and it doesnt get the same coverage.just after checking CNN website there and 170 people were killed in iraq today,thats 170,and yet its still not headline news.the headline is some backround on that korean nut.
the same comparison can be made to the medias coverage of hurricanes etc.even the irish media wont cover a hurricane story until it reaches the gulf coast and threatens american,theres never any mention of the lives lost from when the huuricane is in the caribean etc.

kingdom hoop

18/04/2007, 5:02 PM

just after checking CNN website there and 170 people were killed in iraq today,thats 170,and yet its still not headline news.the headline is some backround on that korean nut.

Relatively I think the shooting is bigger news. Iraq has been ongoing for years, another bombing isn't gonna make people shocked - it's a war you know!

But a shooting on a university campus is particularly shocking and unsettling for a day or two before we all move on again. I agree that all the analysis into his 'emotional well-being' etc is rubbish and has no place in the news but it's not surprising at the same time. All we hear is sad bad news of rapes, crashes, anyone who devoutly follows this 'news' must have a heart of stone

Risteard

18/04/2007, 11:35 PM

I agree that all the analysis into his 'emotional well-being' etc is rubbish and has no place in the news but it's not surprising at the same time.
While it can divert from the real problems and what can be done about them, I must admit i find it rivetting.
NBC just after showing a video of him talking in between the two killing sprees.
Just an insane/ depressed boy.

Eoingull

18/04/2007, 11:47 PM

Jebus, your reference to "The Question Mark Kid" is spot on. Having returned to full-time education after ten-plus years, I have observed a few sad and lonely people wandering around campus. Most folk are just friendly and as-normal-as-one-can-hope-for, but there are always a few who get lost in the education system, especially if they are not attending regular classes, eg. on a PhD. Their life can consist of sitting in the smallest of bedrooms by themselves, striving to maintain the status of a high achiever...and with an ever-increasing lack of social skills finding it difficult to make friends. I'd imagine there are people on the verge of cracking up in most universities. Sadly access to guns can facilitate the most lethal expression of this detachment from mainstream society.

anto1208

19/04/2007, 9:29 AM

I think it would be impossible to ban guns they said in one report that there is 200 mill in the US I suppose that’s the legal ones , While they are right that if the other students had guns they could have shot him but having everyone carrying guns would lead to the smallest of arguments being settled permanently .

But even with out a gun culture there will still be nut cases that will pick up a knife and go into a school like that school in Dumblane .

What is coming out at the moment is he shot 2 people went back to him room packed up a package made some videos saying things like this could have been avoided and he was going to be elevated up in legendary status ( I presume most number of people killed) . posted the package to NBC and set off to kill a further 30 people 2 hours later .

The lack of cctv in the campus cost those 30 peoples lives because the security didn’t know who they where looking for .

Jerry The Saint

19/04/2007, 9:55 AM

What I want to know is where was Marilyn Manson in all this

Not Manson's fault - this time AXL ROSE (http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/172/8171/Guns-N-Roses.html) is to blame. :eek:

Once these things start it's impossible to put the rumours back on the box. When I heard the Mr. Brownstone thing on the radio this morning they compared it to Marilyn Manson's involvement :rolleyes: in Columbine because the killers were big fans (even though it later turned out that Harris and Klebold had actually said on their website they hated Manson).

Jerry The Saint

19/04/2007, 10:11 AM

Link to the plays and a comment from the classmate who released them.

http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/04/17/cho-seung-huis-plays/

What happened yesterday:

When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho..."

I'm sure there's plenty of college-age kids writing profane and violent works but the most striking thing is the poor quality of these plays from a 23-year old student.

Lim till i die

19/04/2007, 11:14 AM

I'm sure there's plenty of college-age kids writing profane and violent works but the most striking thing is the poor quality of these plays from a 23-year old student.

Not really relevant but lord those plays are garbage :eek:

Anybody else notice the almost immediate shift in media coverage from "Hmm, should we maybe think about reviewing the gun laws" to "that kid was a Nut-Job I tell ya" :rolleyes:

danonion

20/04/2007, 5:26 AM

Don't even know where to begin with all this. Interesting to get the perspective of Irish people on this. Not really all that different from that of left-wing, American college students like myself.

The coverage on FOX is shockingly bad, even by their own standards imo. The gun lobby in America is as scarily powerful as the tobacco and oil ones, all big right-wing interests - also very scary. I don't need to point out that the content of FOX News is strongly influenced by those particular groups.

I hate gun control, or at least the fact that we need it. Our constitution is at fault here; our second amendment to it (right to bear arms) has given the NRA so much ammunition (no pun intended) over the years. The needs of the country are much different than they were in the 18th century and I think we need to seriously consider repealing that amendment.

In all my 22 or so trips to Ireland (not bad for an 18 year old) it has come to the point where I essentially belong to both cultures and have a reasonable understanding of how the place works. I think the stance on firearms in Ireland is far better than here, although I accept that Ireland's small size makes those sort of laws more enforcable.

I do feel though, that although a ban of firearms in the U.S wouldn't curb the vast number of guns already on the street, eliminating the comical ease in which people may obtain ammunition would be a great step in the right direction, until more and more guns are taken off the street.

jebus

20/04/2007, 9:39 AM

Not Manson's fault - this time AXL ROSE (http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/172/8171/Guns-N-Roses.html) is to blame. :eek:

Read in the news this morning that the quality Hong Kong movie Oldboy is the latest to be shown to have an influence on the killer :rolleyes:

I hate gun control, or at least the fact that we need it. Our constitution is at fault here; our second amendment to it (right to bear arms) has given the NRA so much ammunition (no pun intended) over the years.

Have never been able to understand why America clings with such intensity to its constitution in its original, fore-fathers days form. Surely it can be pointed out that times have changed and so the right to have a gun is no longer relevant in todays society?

Jerry The Saint

20/04/2007, 9:51 AM

Read in the news this morning that the quality Hong Kong movie Oldboy is the latest to be shown to have an influence on the killer :rolleyes:

Korean dude with a hammer, all makes sense now - BAN THIS SICK FILTH.:rolleyes:

jebus

20/04/2007, 10:18 AM

Korean dude with a hammer, all makes sense now - BAN THIS SICK FILTH.:rolleyes:

Haven't found out which genius added this set of 2 + 3, but I'll wager any money it had something to do with Shephard Smith, he's had it in for Koreans ever since he realised that if the Korean War had happened a few decades later he would have been able to whip up enough of a storm in America to get the entire Far East wiped off the map