Virginia Tech Shooter Sends Video of Plans

In between the shooting at Ambler Johnston dorm and the shooting two hours later at Norris Hall, shooter Cho Seung-Hui sent a package containing video messages and a 1,800 word statement to NBC. It has been reported that the package was mailed around 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Cho's video message can only be described as a deeply disturbed individual who felt there was no other option. He appeared very angry, paranoid, and obsessed over being "forced into a corner". Over and over Cho claimed that the bloodbath could have been avoided, saying "You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today," and "All your debaucheries weren't enough"

Cho's package to NBC contained 27 video messages covering many topics, including his obvious despise for the privileged and wealthy to his ideas and views on religion. The package was sent by overnight mail but was not received until Wednesday due to a mistake in the address.

Experts have been analyzing the videos, as well as Cho's psychological past. In the videos, Cho believed himself to be a martyr, and referred to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of the 1999 Columbine shootings. In 2005, Cho was legally declared mentally ill and an "imminent danger" to himself. Cho was treated as an outpatient for depression, never being hospitalized despite the information and several claims made about his stability.

Even though Cho had been antisocial, his roommates and classmates found the messages to be surprising, but not out of character. As reported by CNN, "...a renowned poet and author who taught the 23-year-old gunman said she had threatened to resign if he wasn't removed from her class. 'I just didn't think he was disturbed as we would normally think of a kid as disturbed. I thought he was mean,' Nikki Giovanni said." Also told to CNN, Cho "never showed any interest in having a conversation with anybody."

Including Cho, 33 people lost their lives from Monday's shooting spree. One of the victims was Professor Liviu Librescu. Librescu, who was a Holocaust survivor, used his own body as a shield against the gunman to allow his students time to escape from the classroom. Librescu was honored at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and in reference to the day of the shooting being Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Bush had these words to say: "On the day of remembrance, this Holocaust survivor gave his own life so that others may live. And this morning, we honor his memory and we take strength from his example." America will honor the memory of Liviu Librescu, and the memory of so many lives tragically cut short.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/19/vtech.shooting/index.html