Virgina Tech

[reeper]

General News story just in case you didn't hear

Two shooting incidents on campus today have left 33 dead. Thirty-one, including the gunman, died at Norris Hall; two died at West Ambler Johnston Hall. Fifteen other victims from Norris are being treated at area hospitals.

The university is in the process of identifying victims and notifying next-of-kin. Names will not be released until that process is complete.

Counseling assistance for students is available at West Ambler Johnston and McComas halls until 9 p.m. tonight. Students are encouraged to utilize these services.

Counseling for faculty and staff is available in the Bowman Room on the fourth floor of Jamerson Athletic Center, accessible from Jamerson or the Merryman Athletic Facility.

The university will remain closed Tuesday. Essential personnel are to report for work. Classes are canceled.

A public gathering will be held Tuesday at Cassell Coliseum at 2 p.m.

And the blame on Video games

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/04/16/dr-phil-suggests-video-games-to-blame-for-virginia-tech-shootings/

On the heels of Jack Thompsonââ,¬â,,¢s rush to blame video games in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, Dr. Phil has chimed in with support for this theory. Speaking on Larry King Live tonight, Dr. Phil had this to say on the issue,

    ââ,¬Å"The problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me - common sense tells you - that if these people are playing video games where theyââ,¬â,,¢re on a mass killing spree in a video game, itââ,¬â,,¢s glamorized on the big screen, itââ,¬â,,¢s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath, or someone suffering from mental illness, add in a dose of rage, the suggestability is just too high. And weââ,¬â,,¢re going to have to start dealing with that. Weââ,¬â,,¢re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murderers of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.ââ,¬Â�

At the time of this writing, the identity of the shooter (or possibly shooters) has not been released. So Dr. Philââ,¬â,,¢s suggestions are not based on credible, or any, specific information about this particular shooting. At least he lumped in movies while throwing out baseless and pre-mature conclusions.

We are just hearing the beginning of what will certainly be many people placing the blame for this tragedy on video games and the mass media culture.

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/04/18/howard-stern-bashes-dr-phil-and-video-gamevirginia-tech-connection

Howard Stern eloquently expressed his opinion about Dr. Phil this morning after hearing the docââ,¬â,,¢s comments on video games and the Virginia Tech massacre:

    ââ,¬Å"Heââ,¬â,,¢s a fucking asshole!ââ,¬Â�

Youââ,¬â,,¢ll have to excuse me because thatââ,¬â,,¢s the only direct quote I could get down, the following are half-quotes, half-paraphrased. If anyone can provide a clip of the actual audio, it would be greatly appreciated.

Howard, Robin, and other in-studio personalities ridiculed the idea that video games could have caused the shootings, sarcastically suggesting that ââ,¬Å"Hitler played Donkey Kongââ,¬Â� and ââ,¬Å"Osama Bin Laden played Grand Theft Auto.ââ,¬Â�

Howard went on to explain, ââ,¬Å"You know the reason why Dr. Phil is an asshole? ââ,¬Â¦because whenever something like this happens he wants to play the ââ,¬Ëœblame gameââ,¬â,,¢.ââ,¬Â� He and Robin both commented that many people play video games ââ,¬Å"all day and all nightââ,¬Â� and do not act out violently. Howard sarcastically remarked that blame is always placed on ââ,¬Å"the movies or something.ââ,¬Â� He then concluded the discussion saying what many gamers have been saying for years, ââ,¬Å"This is so stupid.ââ,¬Â�

The self-proclaimed ââ,¬Å"King of All Mediaââ,¬Â� is known as a staunch protector and advocate of First Amendment rights. His show can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio from 6am to around 11am Monday through Thursday.

Ba-Ba-Bouey!

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/04/18/rush-limbaugh-on-va-tech-shootings/

All that America has had on its mind the past few days has been the massacre at Virginia Tech. What were the killerââ,¬â,,¢s motives? What was the killerââ,¬â,,¢s background? And thanks to Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil, how have videogames affected Cho Seung Huiââ,¬â,,¢s killing spree agenda?

From those that have obviously portrayed a stance opposite from that of many gamers, there have risen a few notable public figures out there, who carry some heavy weight with their words, speaking out against these claims ââ,¬â€� most notably Howard Stern, and now the ever outspoken radio host: Rush Limbaugh.

After receiving a question concerning the matter of videogames being a factor, Limbaugh responded:

    Not every video gamer goes out and murders 33 people on the college campus though. Thereââ,¬â,,¢s more to this than that. We can find all kinds of societal problems and ills, but the fact of the matter is that whatever you would look at as a bad influence ââ,¬â€� video games as you mentioned ââ,¬â€� it may desensitize people, but it doesnââ,¬â,,¢t turn everybody into mass murderersââ,¬Â¦But how many people are playing video games out there? How many millions of people play video games, and how many millions of people have guns?

Itââ,¬â,,¢s a very valid point, and it certainly brings out a fault with the media that many people have complained about for years. While news outlets certainly jump through hoops just to get the latest scoop on a big story, they sometimes lack the journalistic integrity to check their facts before announcing it to the world.

The VA Tech shootings havenââ,¬â,,¢t just brought about faults within the mediaââ,¬â,,¢s reporting of the videogames world though, keep in mind that a certain news outlet mistakenly misstated the shooterââ,¬â,,¢s name three times before announcing the real facts.

[ClassicTyler]

Because people have no fucking life. This only proves that our society is doomed and we will all perish because of ourselves.










I hate fucking people.

[Daddy]

So was the reason actually ever confirmed?

[reeper]

So was the reason actually ever confirmed?

So far everyone that's talked about this, really just kept saying "33 are dead" 

[LCK]

That's some crazy shit there. I feel sorry for all those people.

On to my point. Who are they going to blame for this one? That whole "Columbine Massacre" was blamed on Marilyn Manson or something.

The point is, they're going to make some fucking stupid accusation. Assholes.

[reeper]

That's some crazy shit there. I feel sorry for all those people.

On to my point. Who are they going to blame for this one? That whole "Columbine Massacre" was blamed on Marilyn Manson or something.

The point is, they're going to make some fucking stupid accusation. Assholes.

And the funny thing is, they'll never blame the actual teachers or school, 

[anus]

Have they confirmed why it was done?


Either way, it's a really sad thing to see. A lot of innocent people die because of one fucking crazy person. It's really a shame to see.

[Tri4se]

My uncle is going  to have a heart attack over this. 

[LCK]

That's some crazy shit there. I feel sorry for all those people.

On to my point. Who are they going to blame for this one? That whole "Columbine Massacre" was blamed on Marilyn Manson or something.

The point is, they're going to make some fucking stupid accusation. Assholes.

And the funny thing is, they'll never blame the actual teachers or school, 

IT'S OBVIOUS WE SHOULD BLAME VIDEO GAMES FOR THIS SENSELESS VIOLENCE.

[Rugals]

So was the reason actually ever confirmed?

Not yet, the only reason given so far is something about a Love Triangle.
Bah, don't they use that to explain everything these days?

[Riosan]

To copy what I posted from Outsider.

I used to live in Virginia, and I live in a state near there, so I hope that doesn't happen to me. My prayers are for the families involved in the students' deaths. As for Jack Thompson, his name is fitting; he's a Jack, and he needs to be shot multiple times with a Thompson. He's taking advantage of the worst school shooting to date just to spew out more crap about video games killing people.

[Lozal]

To copy what I posted from Outsider.

I used to live in Virginia, and I live in a state near there, so I hope that doesn't happen to me. My prayers are for the families involved in the students' deaths. As for Jack Thompson, his name is fitting; he's a Jack, and he needs to be shot multiple times with a Thompson. He's taking advantage of the worst school shooting to date just to spew out more crap about video games killing people.

I used to live in Virginia as well. I don't live there anymore, but I was scared to go to school today for fear of being shot.

[LCK]

I've been thinking about this whole thing all day. I can't help it, actually. I see crap about it everywhere. Damn media coverage.

Anyway, I can't help but wonder what his motive was. Was he just fucked up? Or did he have a reason.

For all we know, the school could've brought this upon themselves. This Korean guy could've been one of those kids that the whole school hates. You know that kid, every school has one. They all snap at some point.
Maybe the kid was singled out for his Asian-ness, and he got tired of the assholes. I don't really know at this point.

And another thing. Now people are going to start doing to the Koreans what they did to the Iraqis and such. They'll assume every Korean person is some sort of terrorist type.
One Korean person does something and the whole country is generalized as crazy death bringers.

Ah, here 'goes.

[Daddy]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

LACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman in the Virginia Tech massacre was a sullen loner who alarmed professors and classmates with his twisted, violence-drenched creative writing and left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids.
A chilling picture emerged Tuesday of Cho Seung-Hui ââ,¬â€� a 23-year-old senior majoring in English ââ,¬â€� a day after the bloodbath that left 33 people dead, including Cho, who killed himself as police closed in.

News reports said that he may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic.

Despite the many warning signs that came to light in the bloody aftermath, police and university officials offered no clues as to exactly what set Cho off on the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," school spokesman Larry Hincker said.

A student who attended Virginia Tech last fall provided obscenity- and violence-laced screenplays that he said Cho wrote as part of a playwriting class they both took. One was about a fight between a stepson and his stepfather, and involved throwing of hammers and attacks with a chainsaw. Another was about students fantasizing about stalking and killing a teacher who sexually molested them.

"When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of," former classmate Ian McFarlane, now an AOL employee, wrote in a blog posted on an AOL Web site. He said he and other students "were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter."

"We always joked we were just waiting for him to do something, waiting to hear about something he did," said another classmate, Stephanie Derry. "But when I got the call it was Cho who had done this, I started crying, bawling."

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said Cho's writing was so disturbing that he had been referred to the university's counseling service.

"Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real it might be," Rude said. "But we're all alert to not ignore things like this."

She said she did not know when he was referred for counseling, or what the outcome was. Rude refused to release any of his writings or his grades, citing privacy laws. The counseling service refused to comment.

Cho ââ,¬â€� who arrived in the United States as boy from
South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., where his parents worked at a dry cleaners ââ,¬â€� left a note in his dorm room that was found after the bloodbath.

A law enforcement official who read Cho's note described it Tuesday as a typed, eight-page rant against rich kids and religion. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"You caused me to do this," the official quoted the note as saying.

Cho indicated in his letter that the end was near and that there was a deed to be done, the official said. He also expressed disappointment in his own religion, and made several references to Christianity, the official said.

The official said the letter was either found in Cho's dorm room or in his backpack. The backpack was found in the hallway of the classroom building where the shootings happened, and contained several rounds of ammunition, the official said.

Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said authorities were going through a considerable number of writings.

Citing unidentified sources, the Tribune also said Cho had recently set a fire in a dorm room and had stalked some women.

Monday's rampage consisted of two attacks, more than two hours apart ââ,¬â€� first at a dormitory, where two people were killed, then inside a classroom building, where 31 people, including Cho, died. Two handguns ââ,¬â€� a 9 mm and a .22-caliber ââ,¬â€� were found in the classroom building.

The Washington Post quoted law enforcement sources as saying Cho died with the words "Ismail Ax" in red ink on one of his arms, but they were not sure what that meant.

According to court papers, police found a "bomb threat" note ââ,¬â€� directed at engineering school buildings ââ,¬â€� near the victims in the classroom building. In the past three weeks, Virginia Tech was hit with two other bomb threats. Investigators have not connected those earlier threats to Cho.

Cho graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., in 2003. His family lived in an off-white, two-story townhouse in Centreville, Va.

At least one of those killed in the rampage, Reema Samaha, graduated from Westfield High in 2006. But there was no immediate word from authorities on whether Cho knew the young woman and singled her out.

"He was very quiet, always by himself," neighbor Abdul Shash said. Shash said Cho spent a lot of his free time playing basketball and would not respond if someone greeted him.

Classmates painted a similar picture. Some said that on the first day of a British literature class last year, the 30 or so students went around and introduced themselves. When it was Cho's turn, he didn't speak.

On the sign-in sheet where everyone else had written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "Is your name, `Question mark?'" classmate Julie Poole recalled the professor asking. The young man offered little response.

Cho spent much of that class sitting in the back of the room, wearing a hat and seldom participating. In a small department, Cho distinguished himself for being anonymous. "He didn't reach out to anyone. He never talked," Poole said.

"We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole said.

One law enforcement official said Cho's backpack contained a receipt for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol. Cho held a green card, meaning he was a legal, permanent resident. That meant he was eligible to buy a handgun unless he had been convicted of a felony.

Roanoke Firearms owner John Markell said his shop sold the Glock and a box of practice ammo to Cho 36 days ago for $571.

"He was a nice, clean-cut college kid. We won't sell a gun if we have any idea at all that a purchase is suspicious," Markell said.

Investigators stopped short of saying Cho carried out both attacks. But State Police ballistics tests showed one gun was used in both.

And two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information had not been announced, said Cho's fingerprints were on both guns, whose serial numbers had been filed off.

Gov. Tim Kaine said he will appoint a panel at the university's request to review authorities' handling of the disaster. Parents and students bitterly complained that the university should have locked down the campus immediately after the first burst of gunfire and did not do enough to warn people.

Kaine warned against making snap judgments and said he had "nothing but loathing" for those who take the tragedy and "make it their political hobby horse to ride."

On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of people gathered in the basketball arena for a memorial service for the victims, with an overflow crowd of thousands watching on a jumbo TV screen in the football stadium.
President Bush and the first lady attended.

"As you draw closer to your families in the coming days, I ask you to reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who are never coming home," Bush said.

Virginia Tech President Charles Steger received a 30-second standing ovation, despite the criticism of the school administration.

With classes canceled for the rest of the week, many students left town in a hurry, lugging pillows, sleeping bags and backpacks down the sidewalks.

Jessie Ferguson, 19, a freshman from Arlington, headed for her car with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm still kind of shaky," she said. "I had to pump myself up just to kind of come out of the building. I was going to come out, but it took a little bit of 'OK, it's going to be all right. There's lots of cops around.'"

She added: "I just don't want to be on campus."

Stories of heroism and ingenuity emerged Tuesday.

Liviu Librescu, an Israeli engineering and math lecturer, was killed after he was said to have protected his students' lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the gunman. And one student, an Eagle Scout, probably saved his own life by using an electrical cord as a tourniquet around his bleeding thigh, a doctor reported.

I wonder if the pharmaceutical industry will get any blame.   

I'd say they are more to blame than the video game industry.

[Placebo Headwound]

Now is it just me, or does anyone else think he might have been a /b/tard?

I dunno why, but I just have a strong feeling that he was. Also considering some of the stuff I've seen on 4Chan about him.