Lone gunman seldom spoke, students say – Note reveals young man consumed with anger
News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against ?rich kids,? ?debauchery? and ?deceitful charlatans? on campus.
Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English, arrived in the United States as boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., officials said. He was living on campus in a different dorm from the one where Monday?s bloodbath began.
Police and university officials offered no clues as to exactly what set him 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.
On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of people gathered in the basketball arena, and when it filled up, thousands more filed into the football stadium, for a memorial service for the victims. President Bush and the first lady attended.
A vast portrait of the victims began to emerge, among them: Christopher James Bishop, 35, who taught German at Virginia Tech and helped oversee an exchange program with a German university; Ryan ?Stack? Clark, a 22-year-old student from Martinez, Ga., who was in the marching band and was working toward degrees in biology and English; Emily Jane Hilscher, a 19-year-old freshman from Woodville, Va., who was majoring in animal and poultry sciences and, naturally, loved animals; and Liviu Librescu, an Israeli engineering and math lecturer who was said to have protected his students? lives by blocking the doorway of his classroom from the approaching gunman.
Chilling image emerges
Meanwhile, a chilling portrait of the gunman as a misfit began to emerge.
Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university?s English department, said she did not know Cho. But she said she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department?s director of creative writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as ?troubled.?
?There was some concern about him,? Rude said. ?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. But we?re all alert to not ignore things like this.?
She said Cho was referred to the counseling service, but she said she did not know when, or what the outcome was. Rude refused to release any of his writings or his grades, citing privacy laws.
The Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site that he left a note in his dorm room that included a rambling list of grievances. Citing unidentified sources, the Tribune said he had recently shown troubling signs, including setting a fire in a dorm room and stalking some women.
ABC, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the note, several pages long, explains Cho?s actions and says, ?You caused me to do this.?
Classmates said that on the first day of an introduction to British literature class last year, the 30 or so English students went around and introduced themselves. When it was Cho?s turn, he didn?t speak.
The professor looked at the sign-in sheet and, 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.?
Two attacks leave 33 dead
The rampage consisted of two attacks, more than two hours apart ? first at a dormitory, where two people were killed, then inside a classroom building, where 31 people, including Cho, died after being locked inside, Virginia State Police said. Cho committed suicide. Two handguns ? a 9 mm and a .22-caliber ? were found in the classroom building.
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, federal officials said. 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.