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Some government officials in other countries joined in the criticism of U.S. gun laws and policies.<ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/features/article_1292565.php/Massacre_sparks_foreign_criticism_of_U.S._gun_culture Massacre sparks foreign criticism of U.S. gun culture], MonstersandCritics.com, accessed [[April 22]] [[2007]]</ref> For example, [[Prime Minister of Australia|Australian Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]] said that tough Australian legislation introduced after a 1996 [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|mass shooting in Tasmania]] had prevented a problematic [[gun culture]] in Australia.<ref>"U.S. Gun Laws Draw Heat After Massacre" CBS NEWS </ref>
Some government officials in other countries joined in the criticism of U.S. gun laws and policies.<ref>[http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/features/article_1292565.php/Massacre_sparks_foreign_criticism_of_U.S._gun_culture Massacre sparks foreign criticism of U.S. gun culture], MonstersandCritics.com, accessed [[April 22]] [[2007]]</ref> For example, [[Prime Minister of Australia|Australian Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]] said that tough Australian legislation introduced after a 1996 [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|mass shooting in Tasmania]] had prevented a problematic [[gun culture]] in Australia.<ref>"U.S. Gun Laws Draw Heat After Massacre" CBS NEWS </ref>

In the aftermath of the killing, the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] passed legislation to enhance the mental health information collected in the national database used by gun dealers.<ref>{{cite web
|date=[[June 14]], [[2007]]
|author= Palank, Jacqueline and Urgina, Ian
|url= http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F30815FB3F5B0C778DDDAF0894DF404482
|title= House Votes to Bolster Database on Gun Buyers
|publisher= [[New York Times]]
|accessdate=2007-06-26}}</ref> Both the [[Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence]] and the [[National Rifle Association]] supported the legislation.


Responding to the Virginia Tech incident, [[Governor of Texas|Texas Gov.]] [[Rick Perry]] proposed that licensed gun owners be allowed to carry their weapons anywhere in Texas.<ref>{{cite news | author=Jay Root | title=Perry: Allow concealed handguns anywhere in Texas | publisher=Ft. Worth Star-Telegram | accessdate = 2007-05-01}}</ref> [[Governor of Virginia|Virginia Governor]] [[Tim Kaine]] condemned the gun politics debate following the massacre, saying: "To those who want to make this into some sort of crusade, I say take this elsewhere."<ref name=washtimes>"Fairfax man identified as Tech shooter" ''[[The Washington Times]],'' [[April 18]], [[2007]]</ref>
Responding to the Virginia Tech incident, [[Governor of Texas|Texas Gov.]] [[Rick Perry]] proposed that licensed gun owners be allowed to carry their weapons anywhere in Texas.<ref>{{cite news | author=Jay Root | title=Perry: Allow concealed handguns anywhere in Texas | publisher=Ft. Worth Star-Telegram | accessdate = 2007-05-01}}</ref> [[Governor of Virginia|Virginia Governor]] [[Tim Kaine]] condemned the gun politics debate following the massacre, saying: "To those who want to make this into some sort of crusade, I say take this elsewhere."<ref name=washtimes>"Fairfax man identified as Tech shooter" ''[[The Washington Times]],'' [[April 18]], [[2007]]</ref>

Revision as of 20:11, 17 October 2007

Virginia Tech massacre
Students gather to mourn after the shooting
LocationBlacksburg, Virginia, United States
DateMonday, April 16, 2007
7:15 a.m. and 9:41 a.m.–9:51 a.m.[1] (EDT)
TargetVirginia Tech
Attack type
School shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, massacre
WeaponsGlock 19, Walther P22
Deaths33 (including the perpetrator)[2][3]
Injured23[4]
PerpetratorsSeung-Hui Cho
Part of a series of articles
on the
Virginia Tech
shooting
A photo of one of the commemorative stones at the memorial with flowers laid on top of it.
Location
Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia)
Perpetrator
Seung-Hui Cho
Victims
Related

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting comprising two separate attacks about two hours apart on April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many more,[4] before committing suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.[5]

Cho, a South Korean who had moved to the United States at age eight, was a senior English major at Virginia Tech. Cho had been diagnosed with and treated for a severe anxiety disorder beginning in middle school, and he continued receiving therapy and special education support until his junior year of high school. While in college in 2005, Cho had been accused of stalking two female students and was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice.[6] At least one professor had asked him to seek counseling.

The incident received international media coverage and drew criticism of U.S. laws and culture from commentators around the world. It sparked intense debate about gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator's state of mind, the responsibility of college administrations, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. Television news organizations that aired portions of the killer's multimedia manifesto were criticized by victims' families, Virginia law enforcement officials, and the American Psychiatric Association.[7][8]

The incident prompted immediate changes in Virginia law that had allowed Cho, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns and led federal lawmakers to take up the issue of strengthening the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel, a state-appointed body assigned to review the incident, criticized Virginia Tech administrators for failing to take action that may have reduced the number of casualties. The panel's report also reviewed gun laws and pointed out gaps in mental health care as well as misinterpretations of privacy laws that left Cho's deteriorating condition in college untreated.

Attacks

Main article: Virginia Tech massacre timeline

Cho used two firearms during the attacks: a smallbore .22-caliber Walther P22 semi-automatic handgun and a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock 19 handgun.[9] The shootings occurred in separate incidents, with the first at West Ambler Johnston Hall and the second at Norris Hall.

West Ambler Johnston shootings

Cho was seen near the entrance to West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895 students, about 7 a.m. EDT.[9] Before 10 am, the hall was normally only accessible to its residents via magnetic key card. While it is not clear how Cho gained entrance to the facility, it is possible that he simply followed another authorized student in.

Cho shot his first victims around 7:15 a.m. in West Ambler Johnston Hall. A freshman, Emily J. Hilscher, aged 19, of Woodville, Rappahannock County, Virginia, and a male resident adviser, Ryan C. Clark, a senior, aged 22, of Martinez, Columbia County, Georgia, were shot and killed in the room Hilscher shared with another student.[10] Cho left the scene and almost 2 hours later mailed a package of writings and video recordings to NBC News; the package was postmarked 9:01 a.m.[11]

Cho's cell phone and computer hard drive were missing after the attack. Police suspected Cho had thrown them into a local pond, perhaps as he went to the post office. The pond was drained and inspected but the devices were not found.[12][13]

Norris Hall shootings

About two hours after the initial shootings, Cho entered Norris Hall, which houses the Engineering Science and Mechanics program among others, and chained the three main entrance doors shut. He went to the second floor and began shooting students and faculty members.[3][14]

Aerial photo showing location of Norris and West Ambler Johnston Halls.

Erin Sheehan, an eyewitness and survivor of Norris 207, told reporters that the shooter "peeked in twice" earlier in the lesson and that "it was strange that someone at this point in the semester would be lost, looking for a class." Shortly thereafter, Cho began shooting. Sheehan said that only four students in the German class were able to leave the room on their own, two of them injured. The rest were more severely wounded or dead.[15][16][17]

By the end of this second attack, which lasted nine minutes, Cho had fired at least 174 rounds,[1] killing 30 people and wounding 17 more.[18][4] Sydney J. Vail, the director of the trauma center at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, said that Cho's choice of 9mm hollow point ammunition had worsened the injuries.[19]

It took police nearly five minutes to gain entry to the barricaded building. When they could not break the chains, an officer shot out a deadbolt lock leading into a laboratory; they then moved to a nearby stairwell.[9] As police reached the second floor, they heard Cho fire his final shot.[9][20] Cho was found dead in Jocelyne Couture-Nowak's classroom, Room 211, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the temple.[18] During the investigation, State Police Superintendent William Flaherty told a state panel that police found 203 live rounds in Norris Hall. "He was well-prepared to continue on," Flaherty testified.[21]

Elementary French class students take cover in Holden Hall Room 212.

Virginia Tech student Jamal Albarghouti used his mobile phone to capture video footage of a part of the attack from the exterior of Norris Hall; this was later broadcast on many news outlets.[22]

Student Nikolas Macko described to BBC News his experience at the center of the shootings.[23] He had been attending an issues in scientific computing computer science class (near the German class) taught by graduate student Haiyan Cheng, who substituted for the professor that day.[24] They heard gunshots in the hallway. At least three people in the classroom, including Zach Petkewicz, barricaded the door using a table. At one point, Macko said, the shooter attempted to open the classroom door and then shot twice into the room; one shot hit a podium and the other went out the window. The shooter reloaded and fired into the door, but the bullet did not penetrate into the room. Macko stated there were "many, many shots" fired.[14][25]

In the aftermath, high winds related to the April 2007 nor'easter prevented emergency medical services from using helicopters for evacuation of the injured.[26] Victims injured in the shooting were treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Radford, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, and Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem.[27]

Victims

Main article: List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre

During the two attacks, the shooter killed five faculty members and 27 students and wounded many more. Eleven students died in an intermediate French language class in Norris Room 211. Nine students died in an advanced hydrology class in Room 206. Four students died in an elementary German language class in Room 207. One student died in a solid mechanics class in Room 204.[20] Two students died from the earlier attack in West Ambler Johnston. The Virginia Tech review panel reported that Cho's gunshots wounded 17 other people; 6 more were injured when they jumped from second-story windows to escape.[4]

Resistance

Several people tried to help others during the attack, including:

  • Professor Liviu Librescu held the door of his classroom, Room 204, shut while Cho attempted to enter it. Librescu was able to prevent the shooter from entering the classroom until most of his students escaped through the windows, but he died after being shot multiple times through the door. One student in his classroom died.[28][29]
  • Jocelyne Couture-Nowak tried to save the students in her French classroom, Room 211, after looking Cho in the eye in the hallway.[30] Colin Goddard, one of seven survivors in the French class,[31] told his family that Couture-Nowak ordered her students to the back of the class for their safety and made a fatal attempt to barricade the door.[32]
  • Student Henry Lee was also killed while trying to help Professor Couture-Nowak barricade the door. [33]
  • In Room 206, the movements of a wounded Waleed Shaalan distracted Cho from a nearby student after the shooter had returned to the room, according to a student eyewitness. Shaalan was shot a second time and died.[34]
  • Also in Room 206, Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan may have protected fellow student Guillermo Colman by diving on top of him;[35] Colman's various accounts make it unclear whether this act was intentional or the involuntary result of being shot. Multiple gunshots killed Lumbantoruan, but Colman was protected by Lumbantoruan's body.[36][37][38][39]
  • Student Zach Petkewicz barricaded the door of Room 205 with a large table after substitute professor Haiyan Cheng and an unidentified female student in the same class saw Cho heading toward them. Cho shot several times through the door but failed to force in. No one in that classroom was wounded or killed.[40][41][20]
  • Katelyn Carney, Derek O'Dell, Trey Perkins, and Erin Sheehan barricaded the door of Room 207, the German class, after the first attack and tended to the wounded. Cho returned minutes later but O'Dell and Carney prevented him from re-entering the room. Both were injured.[42][43][44][45]
  • Hearing the commotion on the floor below, Professor Kevin Granata brought 20 students from a nearby classroom into an office, where the door could be locked, on the third floor of Norris Hall. He then went downstairs to investigate and was shot by Cho. Granata died from his injuries. None of the students locked in Granata's office were injured.[46]

The perpetrator

One of the photographs of Seung-Hui Cho sent to NBC News on the day of the massacre.
Main article: Seung-Hui Cho

The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho, a South Korean citizen with U.S. permanent resident status living in Virginia. An undergraduate at Virginia Tech, Cho lived in Harper Hall, a dormitory west of West Ambler Johnston Hall.

The Virginia Tech review panel's August 2007 report devoted more than 30 pages to Cho's troubled history.[4] At three years of age, Cho was shy, frail, and wary of physical contact.[47] While early media reports carried speculation by South Korean relatives that Cho had autism,[48] the review panel report dismissed this diagnosis.[49][50][51] In eighth grade, Cho was diagnosed with depression as well as selective mutism, a social anxiety disorder which inhibited him from speaking.[4][52][53] Cho's family sought therapy for him, and he received help periodically throughout middle school and high school.[4] Early reports also indicated Cho was bullied for speech difficulties in middle school, but the Virginia Tech review panel could not officially confirm this.[54] High school officials worked with his parents and mental health counselors to support Cho throughout his sophomore and junior years. Cho eventually chose to discontinue therapy. School officials did not report his speech and anxiety-related problems and special education status when he applied and was admitted to Virginia Tech because of federal privacy laws which prohibit such disclosure unless a student requests special accommodation.[53]

The Virginia Tech review panel detailed numerous incidents of aberrant behavior beginning in Cho's junior year of college that should have served as warning signals of his deteriorating mental condition. Several former professors of Cho reported that his writing as well as his classroom behavior was disturbing, and he was encouraged to seek counseling.[55][56] He was also investigated by the university for stalking and harassing two female students.[57] In 2005, Cho had been declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice and ordered to seek outpatient treatment.[58]

The Virginia Tech review panel report faulted university officials for failing to share information that would have shed light on the seriousness of Cho's problems, citing misinterpretations of federal privacy laws.[59][60] The report also pointed to failures by Virginia Tech's counseling center, flaws in Virginia's mental health laws, and inadequate state mental health services, but concluded that "Cho himself was the biggest impediment to stabilizing his mental health" in college.[4]

Cho's underlying psychological diagnosis at the time of the shootings remains a matter of speculation.[61] Media outlets routinely compared Cho's motives and mental state to those of the Columbine killers; however, it remains unclear whether Harris and Klebold's motives and mental states were similar to Cho's.

Early reports had suggested that the killing resulted from a domestic dispute between the killer and his supposed former girlfriend Emily Hilscher, whose friends said she had no prior relationship with Cho. In fact, there is no evidence that Cho had ever met or talked with Hilscher.[62] In the ensuing investigation, police found a suicide note in Cho's dorm room that included comments about "rich kids", "debauchery", and "deceitful charlatans". On April 18 2007, NBC News received a package from Cho time-stamped between the first and second shooting episodes. It contained an 1,800-word manifesto,[63] photos, and 27 digitally recorded videos, in which Cho likened himself to Jesus Christ and expressed his hatred of the wealthy.[11]

Responses to the incidents

University response

Prior to their 2007 football opener, the Hokies release 32 balloons as a part of a ceremony commemorating the victims

The university first informed students via e-mail at 9:26 a.m., more than two hours after the first shooting, which was thought at the time to be isolated and domestic in nature.[64] The state review panel, which issued its final report in August 2007, validated public criticisms that university officials erred in "prematurely concluding that their initial lead in the double homicide was a good one," and in delaying a campus-wide notification for almost two hours.[4] The report analyzed the feasibility of a campus lockdown and essentially agreed with police testimony that such an action was not feasible. An immediate decision to cancel classes and a stronger and clearer initial alert of the presence of a gunman were crucial measures the university mishandled which could have reduced the toll in this event, the report concluded.[4]

Virginia Tech canceled classes for the rest of the week, closed Norris Hall for the remainder of the semester, and held an assembly and candlelight vigil on April 17.[2] The university offered counseling for students and faculty, and the American Red Cross dispatched several dozen crisis counselors to Blacksburg to help students.[2] University officials also allowed students, if they chose, to abbreviate their semester coursework and still receive a grade.[65]

Shortly following the events of April 16, the Virginia Tech Foundation, in conjunction with Hokies United, formed the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund (HSMF) to help remember and honor the victims of the tragic events. The fund is used to cover expenses including, but not limited to: assistance to victims and their families, grief counseling, memorials, communications expenses, and comfort expenses.[66] In early June 2007, the Virginia Tech Foundation announced that US$3.2 million was moved from the HSMF into 32 separate named endowment funds, each created in honor of a victim lost in the shooting. This transfer brought each fund to the level of full endowment, allowing them to operate in perpetuity. The naming and determination of how each fund will be directed is being developed with the victims' families. By early June, donations to the HSMF had reached approximately $7 million.[67] In July 2007, Kenneth R. Feinberg, who served as 'Special Master of the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, was named to administer the fund's distributions.[68]

In early June, the university announced it would begin reoccupying Norris Hall in mid-June. The building is to be used for offices and laboratories for the Engineering Science and Mechanics and Civil and Environmental Engineering departments, its primary occupants before the shootings. The building is to be completely renovated over time, and it will no longer contain classrooms.[69]

Following a board meeting on July 3, Les Saltzberg of New River Valley Community Services, a mental health agency that had a role in the treatment of Cho, resigned his position as executive director. Agency officials state that the resignation is unrelated to the April 16 incident.[70]

After the release of the Virginia Tech review panel report, some parents of those slain called for Virginia's governor to relieve Virginia Tech's president and campus police chief of their positions. However, Governor Kaine rejected the notion, saying that the school officials had "suffered enough."[71]

Student response

Virginia Tech students mourn the victims at a candlelight vigil.

After becoming aware of the incident, students communicated with their family and peers about their conditions, using telephones and social networking services;[72][73] some bodies were found with cell phones and PDAs still ringing.[74]

Tech students of South Korean descent initially feared they would be targeted for retribution.[75][76] No cases of discrimination against Asian Virginia Tech students were reported in the weeks following the shootings.[77]

Campus memorial

Memorial display on the drillfield commemorating the victims

In the hours and days following the shooting, makeshift memorials to those killed or injured began appearing in several locations on the campus. Many people placed flowers and items of remembrance at the base of the Drillfield observation podium in front of Burruss Hall. Later, members of Hokies United placed 32 pieces of Hokie Stone, each labeled with the name of a victim, in a semicircle in front of the Drillfield viewing stand.[78]

This initial memorial was replaced by an interim memorial constructed over the summer on the same site and dedicated just before the start of the fall semester.[79] The location and design for a permanent memorial have not been finalized, but a campus committee has recommended that the permanent memorial be constructed in the plain between Davidson and Price Halls at the western end of the Drillfield .[78] Following the shootings, members of the Virginia Tech community wondered whether Norris Hall, the site of the shooting, would be reopened, transformed into a memorial, or torn down.[80] Administrators decided to keep the building open.[81]

Government response

President George W. Bush with Virginia Tech Student Government Association President James Tyger after his speech at the school's convocation.

President George W. Bush and his wife Laura attended the convocation at Virginia Tech the day after the shootings.[82] The Internal Revenue Service and Virginia Department of Taxation granted six-month extensions to individuals affected by the shootings.[83] Virginia Governor Tim Kaine returned early from a trip to Tokyo, Japan,[64] and declared a "state of emergency" in Virginia, enabling him to immediately deploy state personnel, equipment, and other resources in the aftermath of the shootings.[84]

Governor Kaine later created an eight-member panel, including former U.S. homeland security secretary Tom Ridge, to review all aspects of the Virginia Tech massacre, from Cho's medical history to the school's widely criticized delay in warning students of danger and locking down the campus after the bodies of Cho's first two victims were discovered.[85] In August 2007, the panel concluded, among more than 20 major findings, that the Virginia Tech Police Department "did not take sufficient action to deal with what might happen if the initial lead proved false".[4] The panel made more than 70 preventative recommendations, directed to colleges, universities, mental health providers, law enforcement officials, emergency service providers, law makers and other public officials in Virginia and elsewhere.

The incident also caused Virginia Commonwealth elected officials to re-examine gaps between federal and state gun purchase laws. Within two weeks, Governor Kaine had issued an executive order designed to close those gaps (see Gun Politics, below).

Also prompted by the incident, the U.S. Congress took action in June 2007. On June 13, 2007, the United States House of Representatives passed a federal gun control law. The bill, passed on voice vote, would improve state reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to halt gun purchases by criminals, those declared mentally ill, and other people prohibited from possessing firearms. If this law passes the Senate and is signed by the President, it would become the most important gun control act for over a decade. The National Rifle Association, which supported the bill, insists that this is not a gun control measure since it does not hinder the sale of guns that would otherwise be legal.[86]

Responses from other educational institutions

Penn State students pay tribute to the fallen Hokies at the Nittany Lions spring football game.
East Carolina University presents a gift of $100,000 to the Virginia Tech memorial fund prior to the Pirates opening game against the Hokies

In addition to official condolences from many universities, both inside of the United States and abroad, many universities initiated examinations of existing and possible local response procedures.[87] Some schools provided housing for officers, cash assistance, and other emotional support.[88][89][90][91]

An adjunct professor at Emmanuel College in Boston re-enacted the shooting during a classroom discussion and was summarily dismissed,[92] provoking some debate.[93]

South Korean response

When the citizenship of the shooter became known, South Koreans expressed shock and a sense of public shame,[94] while the South Korean Cabinet convened an emergency meeting to consider possible ramifications. A candlelight vigil was held outside the Embassy of the United States in Seoul. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun expressed his deepest condolences.[95] South Korea's ambassador to the U.S. and several Korean American religious leaders called on Korean Americans to participate in a 32-day fast, one day for each victim, for repentance.[96][97][98] The foreign minister, Song Min-soon, announced that safety measures had been established for Koreans living in the U.S., in apparent reference to fears of possible reprisal attacks against Koreans in the U.S.[99] A ministry official expressed hope that the shooting would not "stir up racial prejudice or confrontation."[100]

As of June, no backlash against Asian Virginia Tech students was publicly reported.[77] Some Korean-Americans criticised the fasting proposal, saying that it directed undue and irrelevant attention on Cho's ethnicity and not other, more salient, reasons behind the shooting. News reports noted that South Koreans seemed relieved that American news coverage of Cho focused on his psychological problems.[94] The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) pulled its "Sparkling Korea" television advertisements off CNN after the shootings. A KTO official said it would be inappropriate to air the advertisements featuring images of Korea's culture and natural beauty split between the news reports of the shooting rampage.

Media response

Main article: Media coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre

The incident generated extensive coverage worldwide and sparked intense debate for several days over the state of mind of the perpetrator, American gun control, and journalism ethics. Editorial response in international newspapers of record was widely critical of U.S. gun laws and gun culture.[101] In Sweden, Göteborgs-Posten called the killings "preventable,"[101] in Japan, the Asahi Shinbun said gun fatalities were "disturbingly common in the United States."[102] Times columnist Gerard Baker predicted that "only an optimist would imagine Virginia Tech will hold the new record for very long" and expressed doubt that the incident would change "America's deep-rooted and sometimes lethal commitment to its own freedoms."[103] Commentators from both the BBC[104] and The Economist[105] also predicted little chance of tougher gun laws or changes to the U.S. gun culture.

Other responses

  • Some of Cho's family members expressed sympathy for the victims' families and described his history of mental and behavioral problems. Cho's maternal grandfather was quoted in The Daily Mirror referring to Cho as a person who deserved to die with the victims.[50] On Friday, April 20, Cho's family issued a statement of grief and apology, written by his sister, Sun-Kyung Cho.[106]
  • Many heads of state and international figures offered condolences and sympathy,[107] including Pope Benedict XVI,[108] Queen Elizabeth II, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
  • Sporting teams and leagues at both the college and professional levels, as well as sports figures from football, baseball, hockey, soccer, and NASCAR racing, paid their respects and joined fundraising efforts to honor the victims.[109]
  • The Fox Network TV show Bones postponed airing an episode that involved a death at a university. The network executives felt that it would be in bad taste to air the episode.[110]
  • Despite the timing of the shootings, as prospective students were replying to offers of admission from colleges and universities, Virginia Tech exceeded its recruiting goal of 5,000 students for the class of 2011.[111]

Gun politics debate

See also: Gun politics in the United States

The massacre reignited the gun politics debate in the United States, with proponents of gun control legislation arguing that guns are too accessible, citing that Cho, a mentally unsound individual, was able to purchase two semi-automatic pistols. Proponents of gun rights and the Second Amendment argued that Virginia Tech's gun-free "safe zone" policy ensured that none of the students or faculty would be armed and able to stop Cho's rampage. Others[who?] argued that coherent and consistent federal and state laws combined with adequate communication between government entities could have prevented Cho from acquiring weapons without compromising Second Amendment rights.

Background

Law enforcement officials have described finding a purchase receipt for at least one of the guns used in the assault.[112] The shooter had apparently waited one month after buying a Walther P22 pistol before he bought a second pistol, a Glock 19.[113] Cho used a 15-round ammunition magazine in the Glock.[114] The serial numbers on the weapons were filed off, a felony, but the ATF National Laboratory was able to reveal them and performed a firearms trace.[114]

The sale of firearms to permanent residents in Virginia is legal as long as the buyer shows proof of residency.[115] Additionally, though, Virginia has a law that limits purchases of handguns to one every 30 days.[116] Federal law requires a criminal background check for handgun purchases from licensed firearms dealers, and Virginia checks other databases in addition to the Federally-mandated NICS. A federal law passed in 1968 in response to the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King,[86] also prohibits those "adjudicated as a mental defective" from buying guns. This exclusion applied to Cho after a Virginia court declared him to be a danger to himself in late 2005 and sent him for psychiatric treatment.[6][4] Because of gaps between federal and Virginia state laws, the state did not report Cho's legal status to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.[6]

Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine addressed this problem on April 30 2007, by issuing an executive order intended to close those reporting gaps.[117] In June 2007, the U.S. Congress also took up the issue, introducing legislation to improve state reporting to the NICS. In August 2007, the Virginia Tech review panel report called for a permanent change in the Code of Virginia to clarify and strengthen the state's background check requirements.[4]

The shootings also renewed debate surrounding Virginia Tech's blanket ban on possession or storage of firearms on campus, even by state-licensed concealed weapons permit holders. In April 2005, a student licensed by the state to carry concealed weapons was discovered possessing a concealed firearm in class. While no criminal charges were filed, a university spokesman said the University had "the right to adhere to and enforce that policy as a common-sense protection of students, staff and faculty as well as guests and visitors."[118]

In 2006, a bill intended to prohibit public universities in Virginia from preventing students from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun on campus was introduced into the Virginia House of Delegates by delegate Todd Gilbert. The university opposed the bill, HB 1572, which died in subcommittee in January 2006.[119]

In August 2007, the Virginia Tech review panel report recommended that the state's General Assembly adopt legislation "establishing the right of every institution of higher education to regulate the possession of firearms on campus if it so desires" and went on to recommend campus gun bans, "unless mandated by law."[4] The incident and its aftermath energized student activist efforts seeking to overturn bans that prevent gun permit holders from carrying their weapons on college campuses; 38 states throughout the U.S. ban weapons at schools, 16 of those specifically ban guns on college campuses. [120]

Political response

The response to how gun law affected the massacre was divided. The White House issued a statement saying "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed."[121] The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said that it was easy for an individual to get powerful weapons and called for increased gun control measures.[122] Gun rights activist and National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent, commenting on CNN, called for an end to gun-free zones and contrasted the Virginia Tech massacre with other incidents in which mass shootings have been ended by law-abiding gun owners.[123]

Some government officials in other countries joined in the criticism of U.S. gun laws and policies.[124] For example, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that tough Australian legislation introduced after a 1996 mass shooting in Tasmania had prevented a problematic gun culture in Australia.[125]

In the aftermath of the killing, the House of Representatives passed legislation to enhance the mental health information collected in the national database used by gun dealers.[126] Both the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association supported the legislation.

Responding to the Virginia Tech incident, Texas Gov. Rick Perry proposed that licensed gun owners be allowed to carry their weapons anywhere in Texas.[127] Virginia Governor Tim Kaine condemned the gun politics debate following the massacre, saying: "To those who want to make this into some sort of crusade, I say take this elsewhere."[128]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Robert Bowman. "Panel receives details, roadblock". Collegiate Times. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  2. ^ a b c "Virginia Tech homepage". Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. April 17 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Vtfront" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Gunman killed after deadly Virginia Tech rampage". CNN. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel" (pdf). Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved 2007-08-31. Cho shot and wounded a further 17 people and caused injury to 6 others as they tried to flee. Cite error: The named reference "August panel report" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Fact File: Deadliest shootings in the U.S." MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-04-28.There have been several deadlier massacres in U.S. history, but not by a single gunman, and not on a school campus.
  6. ^ a b c Luo, Michael (2007-04-21). "U.S. Rules Made Killer Ineligible to Purchase Gun". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  7. ^ Maddox, Bronwen (2007-04-20). "Why NBC was right to show those demented ramblings". The Times. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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    "Nats Show Their Support". Washington Post. 2007-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    "Houston Dynamo to hold tribute and fundraiser for Virginia Tech". Houston Dynamo. 2007-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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