2008 Woodie Awards
Shooter identified in Tech massacre
by Sarah Lipman
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News
At approximately 9:30 a.m. in a televised press conference Tuesday, Virginia Tech Police identified the gunman who killed 30 people before taking his own life in Norris Hall yesterday.
During the conference, University Police Chief Wendell Flinchum identified the shooter as 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui, a senior English major at Tech. Cho was a resident alien of the United States who immigrated from South Korea in 1992. He lived in the Harper Residence Hall, just a short distance from West Ambler Johnston Hall, where the first shooting occurred.
Officials are still trying to determine if Cho is responsible for both the shooting in the residence hall and the incident in Norris Hall, which occurred more than two hours later.
Flinchum said a 9-millimeter handgun and a 22-calibur handgun was recovered from the scene at Norris Hall. Ballistics tests have shown that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall was also used in the shootings at West Ambler Johnston Hall.
The massacre, which resulted in 33 deaths including the shooter and at least 15 injured between the two locations, is the worst in United States history.
At 4:07 a.m., The Collegiate Times, Tech's student newspaper, released a list of 14 names of confirmed deaths which included four professors. The list will be updated as more names are released.
According to The Washington Post news wire, students who witnessed the shooting at Norris described Cho as dressed in jeans, a black vest with what appeared to be ammunition and a maroon hat. Witnesses said he appeared "very serious but [with] a very calm look on his face."
English professors and students who knew Cho said he was quiet and often times his writing was of a disturbing nature and had all the clues of a potential school shooter, according to The Post wire reports. One English professor encouraged him to seek counseling for depression after reading his assignments.
Tech's University President Charles Steger and Zenobia Hikes, the vice president for student affairs at the university spoke to students and faculty at a televised convocation that was held today at 2 p.m. at Lane Field, the university's football field. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura joined Virginia's governor, Timothy Kaine, who flew back to Virginia from Asia, to attend a convocation.
During the conference, University Police Chief Wendell Flinchum identified the shooter as 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui, a senior English major at Tech. Cho was a resident alien of the United States who immigrated from South Korea in 1992. He lived in the Harper Residence Hall, just a short distance from West Ambler Johnston Hall, where the first shooting occurred.
Officials are still trying to determine if Cho is responsible for both the shooting in the residence hall and the incident in Norris Hall, which occurred more than two hours later.
Flinchum said a 9-millimeter handgun and a 22-calibur handgun was recovered from the scene at Norris Hall. Ballistics tests have shown that one of the two guns recovered at Norris Hall was also used in the shootings at West Ambler Johnston Hall.
The massacre, which resulted in 33 deaths including the shooter and at least 15 injured between the two locations, is the worst in United States history.
At 4:07 a.m., The Collegiate Times, Tech's student newspaper, released a list of 14 names of confirmed deaths which included four professors. The list will be updated as more names are released.
According to The Washington Post news wire, students who witnessed the shooting at Norris described Cho as dressed in jeans, a black vest with what appeared to be ammunition and a maroon hat. Witnesses said he appeared "very serious but [with] a very calm look on his face."
English professors and students who knew Cho said he was quiet and often times his writing was of a disturbing nature and had all the clues of a potential school shooter, according to The Post wire reports. One English professor encouraged him to seek counseling for depression after reading his assignments.
Tech's University President Charles Steger and Zenobia Hikes, the vice president for student affairs at the university spoke to students and faculty at a televised convocation that was held today at 2 p.m. at Lane Field, the university's football field. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura joined Virginia's governor, Timothy Kaine, who flew back to Virginia from Asia, to attend a convocation.
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