Hall Elizabeth Unit Five Va Tech Massacre Mentally Ill Or Monster

Running Head: VA Tech Massacre: Mentally Ill or Monster?

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VA Tech Massacre: Mentally Ill or Monster?

A Story of System Failure

Elizabeth Hall

Kaplan University

Deviance and Violence CJ 266

Melissa Amaya

February 9, 2010

Snapshot from one of several videos Cho Seung-Hui sent to NBC News

NBC News / MSNBC


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VA Tech Massacre: Mentally Ill or Monster?

A Story of System Failure

April 16, 2007 is a day that the college of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the rest of America will not

soon forget. A lone gunman performed a double murder, then opened fire and killed 30 people at the college

and wounded over half as many more faculty, and students then turned the gun on himself. Was Seung Hui Cho

mentally ill or a monster? He had several instances on the campus the year before the shooting. In all actuality,

his mental problems appeared in middle school. Research indicates that there was a breakdown in the system of

mental health reporting, officers responsible for dealing with the incident, school officials, and nuances of our

country’s privacy laws. Could the worst school shooting in our great nation have been prevented with a better

system of communication for troubled students? The Virginia Tech Review Panel, created after the massacre,

found several items in the application of national, state, and collegiate laws that prevented officials from

responding to the red flags exhibited by Cho in his junior year at the college, causing the panel to suggest some

changes be made to existing polices to prevent this sort of catastrophe from repeating itself (Panel, 2009).

No one in Virginia or the rest of America will forget the incident on April 6, 2007 when Seung Hui Cho

killed two people in the West Ambler Johnson Hall, then, two and a half hours later opened fire in Norris Hall

killing 30 people and wounding 17 more students and faculty of the college before turning the gun on himself.

In order to understand the events of the worst school shooting incident in our history, Governor Tim Kaine

appointed a panel of nine experts from the various fields associated with the tragedy, such as university

administration and law, the Dept of Public Safety and Security, Virginian law enforcement, and Virginian

experts on mental health. This panel was given a direct executive order from the Governor to find the answers

to these questions:

How did Cho manage to attain firearms and carry out the killing 32 people and the wounding, of

17 more?


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Investigate the mental history of Cho from childhood to the time of the crime, and determine if there were

warning signs missed by the school and or mental health services, that might have prevented this tragedy.

The commitment hearing would be included in this investigation.

Review the timelines of the incident beginning when he went into West Ambler Johnson dorms to the end

of the incident at Norris Hall.

Review and assess all of the States services and agencies involved in the incident for the

recommendations on improving any State responses to any future incidents of this kind.

Investigate anything else that the panel sees a need to in order to improve responses to any other incidents

such as this.

After all investigations and reviews, they were to make appropriate recommendations to the governor about changes that

need to me made to improve “laws, policies, procedures, systems, and institutions of the Commonwealth and the

operation of public safety agencies, medical facilities, local agencies, private providers, universities, and mental health

services delivery system.” (Panel, 2009).

The review panel conducted over 200 interviews, and asked for documentation from institutions and

offices involved including but not limited to VA Tech Staff, families of victims, Cho’s family, medical

examiners, and law enforcement. They also researched literature, held public meetings, maintained a website

and post office box, conducted numerous telephone inquiries and sent out countless e-mails What they found

was a definite breakdown of the systems involved, due to campus policies, law enforcement policies, and the

various privacy laws such as HIPPA, and FERPA that govern the medical and educational institutions right to

share information. (Panel, 2009)

Cho’s early years began in Korea on January 18, 1984. He was born the second child of his family

following a daughter three years earlier. The troubles began when he was just 9 months old with a bout of

whooping cough complicated by pneumonia. During the course of treatments for this, doctors discovered that

he had a heart murmur. When he was three, they ran tests on his cardiac system to examine the extent of the


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problem. The examination included a procedure that caused considerable discomfort to the infant and from that

time on he had a definite aversion to being touched, and was considered frail, fussy and sick most of the time.

He was noticeably quiet, however he did have a few friends that would come over his house and spend time

with him. Even though being quiet and calm is considered desirable qualities in Korea, Cho was already

concerning his parents. (Panel, 2009)

When Cho was eight, his parents moved to the United States to pursue a better life. This was a very

difficult transition for all of them, but most of all for Cho. Along with moving to a foreign country with a new

language, customs, and people, both of his parents were forced to work long hours outside of the home to make

ends meet. Because they worked for dry cleaners, learning English was never a priority for them since it was

not required for their jobs. When he was nine, they moved to Virginia. At this time, his family thought he was

improving; he took Tae Kwon Do, played video games, and collected figurines much like any normal kid. The

only things standing out at this time were the facts that getting Cho back and forth to activities proved to be a

problem due to his parent’s long working hours, and Cho’s introverted nature. At this time, he would only speak

to his sister Sun, and even that was sparse. At school, his introverted nature was noticed, and he was referred to

the educational screening committee because of it. (Panel, 2009)

All of this caused considerable stress to the family. Cho’s mother and sister tried to help him join groups

and have extracurricular activities, but his father remains distant, obviously favoring his sister Sun. His

problems with introversion followed him all through middle school and high school with an actual diagnosis

being rendered as selective mutism. His writings begin to reflect suicide along with homicide, which raises

some red flags with teachers. He is given antidepressants by the Multicultural Center for Human Services where

he received a psychiatric evaluation during this time. (Panel, 2009)

Cho was on medication for roughly a year, and seemed to be improving. Because he responded so well,

doctors took him off the antidepressants at that time. When he started Westfield High School, he was diagnosed


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with an “emotional disability”, and because of his refusal to communicate was enrolled in a special Individual

Educational Program and is enrolled in art therapy through the Multicultural Center for Human Services. For

the rest of his high school years, Cho conforms relatively to his program requirements, poses no threats, and has

no behavioral problems outside of his shyness. He graduates with a 3.5 GPA, and enrolls in VA Tech. While his

parents are opposed to this, because they believe the school is too large for him to handle, Cho goes anyway. He

is given a number to contact a person at the local high school if he feels like he needs help, but Cho never calls

the number. (Panel, 2009)

Nothing remarkable happened in his freshman year, aside from changing rooms because of a messy

roommate. He majored in Business Information Systems major, sees his parents weekly, and gets good grades.

It was in his second year at VA Tech that the old issues started creeping back in. He moves off campus into an

apartment. He had a roommate, but the roommate was rarely home, and Cho was there alone most of the time.

(Panel, 2009)

During this time, he cultivated an interest in writing. When his grades fall, he considers changing majors

to English the following year. He also submits a book idea to a publishing house. When the spring semester

arrives in 2005, Cho requests a change of major to English, even though his book idea was rejected. This

appears to depress him, but there are no problems, and he seeks no counseling or help of that nature. The only

outward signs are his continued silence. In the fall of 2005, junior year starts with him moving back to the

dorms. It wasn’t long after this that problems of a more serious nature emerged. (Panel, 2009)

In the beginning of the semester, Cho attempted to socialize by attending a couple of parties with his

suitemates. That was short lived because he was soon labeled as a little strange because he spent one of those

parties stabbing the carpet with a knife in the presence of Margaret Bowman and his suitemates. Shortly after

this, trouble arises in his English class with Professor Nikki Giovanni when she confronted him in a letter,

concerned about the violence in his writing, and the behavior he was exhibiting in class. She tells him that she


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will help him get into a different teacher’s class. She then requests that Dr. Roy (English Dept Chair) remove

him from her class. Dr Roy, then informs the Associate Dean of Liberal Arts And Human Sciences, Mary Ann

Lewis of the problem of the violent poem, and adds that students have reported that Cho is hanging around

taking unwanted pictures of them. She also contacted the Dean and Vice Presidents of Student Affairs, and the

VA Tech police department along with the Cook County Counseling Center, attempting to gain advice on the

matter. (Panel, 2009)

Student affairs advises her that Cho may be moved from Professor Giovanni’s class if there was

somewhere else for him to go, and the CCC advises her that even though they agree that the poem is violent in

nature, there really is no particular direct warning or intimidation mentioned in the prose. They do agree that

Cho should have a referral made so that they could treat him. The Director of Judicial Affairs and the Dean of

Student affairs both concur with Dr. Roy on this plan of action and tell Dr. Roy to inform Cho that any more

problems of this nature will be handled by Judicial Affairs. When Dr. Roy accompanied by Cheryl Ruggiero

talk with him about this the next day, Cho replies with the notion that his poems are satirical, and promises not

to take any more pictures of his classmates. In this meeting, and followed with an e-mail, Cho is advised to seek

counseling services and of the study options available to him. This turned out to be private tutoring by Dr. Roy,

and another professor. Cho would not accept any counseling at this time, so Dr. Roy informed the following

agencies and Departments of this: Student Affairs, VA Tech police department, CCC, Schiffert Health Center,

the Virginia Tech Care Center, and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. (Panel, 2009)

The Virginia Tech Care Center had a meeting to discuss the arrangement made to remove Cho from

Professor Giovanni’s class, it was decided that the arrangement of Dr. Roy and colleague tutoring the boy was

agreeable, and the subject was closed. This was only the beginning of the problems to come during the school

year. (Panel, 2009)


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In November of 2005 Cho was accused of setting fires, and by Jennifer Nelson of making “”annoying”

contact with her on the Internet, by phone, and in person” (Panel, 2009). She decided not to file charges, even

though Cho had been questioned by the Virginia Tech Police Department. The officers investigating the case

turned it over to the Office of Judiciary Affairs. They informed Nelson that in order to go further with this, she

would have to file a written grievance. She never went to do this, so the matter was dropped without a hearing.

Three days later the CCC was called by Cho in the follow up after the questioning by VA Tech Police

department. They conducted a triage on the phone, but didn’t see Cho in person. (Panel, 2009)

December of the same year, besides beginning with the RA’s discussions about the previous month’s

activity with the activities regarding Cho and Nelson, there were three more girls complaining about the same

sort of behavior directed at them, by the troubled young man and that he had possession of knives. One RA

contacted Rohsaan Settle from the Resident Life Staff, e-mailing a detailed list of grievances against Cho. He

advises her that they should discuss the situation with the knives. (Panel, 2009)

The third student to complain about the aggravating behavior is Margaret Bowman, who was one of the

people who witnessed Cho at a party stabbing the carpet with a knife. In this encounter, he Im’s her, and leaves

a message on the whiteboard outside her dorm room. Two days later, he quotes Shakespeare on the board. The

next day, he leaves more messages, and she finally files a grievance with the VA Tech police. They question

Cho, and he replies, “Shakespeare did it” VA Tech Police attempt to find Cho at his room, but only find his

roommate so they leave a message. On this same day, December 12, 2005 Cho cancels his appointment at the

CCC, however phones in and is triaged at that time. The next day, VA Tech Police inform Cho that there is to

be no more contact with Bowman. He then IM’s his roommate indicating that he might want to commit suicide.

This causes the roommate to alert VA Tech Police who pick him up and take him to the station. There he is

prescreened by someone from the New River Valley Community Services Board. They decide that he is a high

risk of harming either himself or others, and gets the magistrate to sign an order to detain Cho. They take him to


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Carilion St Albans Psychiatric Hospital where he is kept overnight and evaluated. During this time, Cho’s

parents are not notified of this. (Panel, 2009)

In the morning, Cho is evaluated by Roy Crouse and considered to be in no danger of harming himself.

He is evaluated again by a staff psychiatrist from the hospital and recommended that he be treated on an

outpatient basis. Special Justice Barrett then conducts the commitment hearing and rules that he must have

outpatient treatment as recommended. When the hearing was over, Cho arranged to be seen at CCC and leaves

upon released. In the report from the staff psychiatrist, it is indicated that Cho is appearing normal in insight and

judgment. The CCC is notified of the judgment and is given copies of the evaluations from St Albans. When

Cho goes to his appointment, they triage him again. This has happened three times in two weeks. (Panel, 2009)

The CCC receives a summary of the psychiatric evaluation from St. Albans in January of 2006, but does

not, nor does anyone else, follow up on Cho. In February, Dr Miller, the CCC Director is let go and accidently

packs Cho’s file when vacating his office. In April Cho is again asked by a professor to drop a class. This time

it is his technical writing professor, Carl Bean. He has talked to Cho on several occasions about his writing

subjects being inappropriate for his class, and refusal to communicate. Cho then proceeds to follow him to his

office, and yells heatedly at him. The professor asks him to leave, but does not report this to anyone. (Panel,

2009)

In the fall of 2006, Cho wrote a play about a student who cannot stand his classmates and decides to kill

both his classmates and after himself. The professor Ed Falco talks with Cho’s former teachers Norris and Roy.

They filled him in on the previous events of 2005. Norris talks to Dean Mary Ann Lewis, but is informed that

there are not any psychological or police reports on Cho. She then tries with no avail to convince Cho to try

counseling. Cho goes on to write a few more aggressive assignments English class. (Panel, 2009)

Unbeknownst to anyone, Cho orders a .22 caliber gun online, and picks the gun up in February 2007.


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In March, he rents a van that he videotapes some of the content delivered to NBC. He also buys a 9mm

Glock 19 and ammunition. Since Cho had waited the required 30 days between gun purchases, and there were

no mental health records on file, he had absolutely no trouble purchasing these weapons. He also purchases

another gun and ammunition on e-bay, and at local chain stores ammunition, magazines, chains, and other

supplies he used. He continued these purchases in April as well as finishing videotaping his rant that ended up

at NBC a couple of days after the massacre, and practiced chaining the doors in Norris Hall. There were a few

bomb threats made in April to various buildings on campus that month, and while some speculate that Cho

made these threats to test campus police response to major situations. (Panel, 2009)

The day before the massacre, April 15, 2007 passed without incident, with Cho completing his weekly

call to his parents with no indication of any trouble to come. On the fateful day, Cho was noticed by his

roommates to be at his computer early at 5:00 am, and to be gone by 5:30. The rest of the events are as follows:

6:45 am Cho seen in the lobby of West Ambler Johnston Hall

7:02 am, Emily Hirscher, dropped off by her boyfriend, enters West Ambler Johnston Hall

followed by Cho

7:15 am she is shot in her room by Cho along with RA Ryan Clark

7:17 am Cho cancels accounts and changes clothes in his room.

7:20 am Va Tech Police receive a call from a student about a secondhand report of a student in

Hirscher’s room falling off a loft bed.

By 7:24 am, VA Tech Police are aware of the double shooting, and are on scene asking for more

staff and crime scene technicians.

By 7:30 am, the investigation is underway, and police interview witnesses, no one was able to

give a description of anyone leaving the dorm after shots were heard.


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7:40 am VA Tech police chief is notified. He tries to notify the Office of the Executive Vice

President, and notifies the Blacksburg Police Dept. asking for detectives and evidence

technicians.

7:55 am Dr. Spencer arrives from Burruss Hall after being told by a housekeeper that an RA was

shot in West Ambler Johnston Hall.

7:57 am VA Tech Police Chief finally reaches the Office of the Executive Vice President to

inform him of the events in West Ambler Johnston.

8:00 am classes begin as scheduled. The Tech Center for Continuing Education is locked down

without orders to do so.

President Steiger finds out about the shootings at approximately 8:10 am

Between 8:10 and 8:40 am, police from all agencies involved continue to investigate the shooting,

interview Emily’s roommate who informed them that Kevin Thornhill her boyfriend, always drops her off on

Monday mornings before class. He is then named a “person of interest” and police begin looking for him. They

put his house under scrutiny until he could be found. Two Virginia Tech Senior officials have talked to people

one about the shooting, and the other to arrange for a babysitter. The Emergency Response Team is called to

handle the possible arrest of a suspect. Some students who are able to leave West Ambler Johnston go to class

at Norris Hall. Chief Flinchum and President Steiger are in communication with each other. One student is in

critical condition, and the other is dead. This is a domestic incident as far as all are concerned at this point.

More police from both the Blacksburg and the VA Tech departments are added to the investigation. Someone

with Cho’s general description was observed around the area known as the Duck Pond around 8:20 am. Bank

deposits scheduled for daily pick up are cancelled, and the Policy Team meets to discuss what the plans are to

inform students of the incident at West Ambler Johnston. (Panel, 2009)


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From 8:40-9:00 am, President Steiger is updated that the female victim’s boyfriend is being searched for

as a person of interest, and the Governor’s Office is notified by the Policy Team of the incident. Police are

making phone calls to each other’s officers and alerting the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office advising them

to watch out for Kevin Thornhill’s vehicle. A member of the Policy Team leaks an e-mail to a colleague in

Richmond, telling them that a student had been killed, and another wounded and saying that the colleague

should not tell anyone about this. With the first class ending, the Policy Team comprises a notification to be

sent out via e-mail to the university, advising students of the incident at West Ambler Johnston. The message

was delayed at first as technical difficulties arise. The public school in Blacksburg is locked down until further

notice, and the College of Veterinary Medicine is locked down. No one is expecting the horrors yet to come

later in the morning. (Panel, 2009)

Between 9:00 am and 9:40 am, Cho goes to the Blacksburg Post Office, where he sends a package to

NBC, which contains his videotapes ranting about wanting to even the score with everyone who has oppressed

him, an 1800 word tirade and photos depicting himself with various weapons. He hints at the events to follow,

in the contents of the package. He mails a letter to the English Department as well, criticizing Carl Bean. The

second class of the day convenes on campus, and the college decides to postpone sanitation services for the day.

People see Cho both outside and inside Norris Hall, but he has a class in this building. No one notices him chain

three entrance doors. A bomb threat is found and the faculty member passes it to the cleaning staff to deliver to

the Dean. Meanwhile a traffic stop produces Kevin Thornhill, who was headed back to the campus to locate the

female victim, as she was not responding to his calls. A VA Tech Police captain is appointed as liaison on the

Policy Team. The management of the college sends out messages via e-mail informing the entire campus of the

morning incident. The Policy Team is updated to the police opinion that Thornhill does not seem to be the

gunman although residue test results are forthcoming. (Panel, 2009)


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Roughly 9:40 am, gunfire breaks out in Norris Hall as Cho begins shooting. The unlucky group of 13

Engineering students were in room 206, where he murders 9 students and the professor and wounds 3 more

students. He moves across to room 207 and after shooting the teacher turns the gun on the students moving up and down

the aisles. In room 205, hearing the noise down the hall, they manage to barricade the door keeping Cho out. Further away

in room 211, a student is asked by the teacher to dial 911. Despite putting a desk in front of the entrance, Cho manages his

way through the door to room 211, and begins to shoot the occupants of this room as well. During this time, 911 is on the

line of Colin Goddard who called them. He is shot in the leg, dropping the phone, which is then picked up by Emily Haas,

another student in the French Class. She is heard by Cho as she begs police to arrive. He fires at her and two bullets graze

her head. She appears dead, but she is hiding the phone, keeping the connection with the 911 operator. There are two other

students feigning death, and all three survive. Cho has been silent during the whole incident. (Panel, 2009)

For the next ten minutes, as Cho continues with his rampage, the Blacksburg Police Department receives a call

concerning the shooting, has trouble understanding the caller, and finally realizing that the problem was on campus,

transfers the call to the VA Tech Police Department. When the message reaches them, they call for the EMS personnel in

the county to react to the situation at the campus. Police are arriving on the scene at Norris Hall, and attempt to shoot the

locks open, which doesn’t work. President Steiger notices police activity around Norris Hall. While all of this is

happening, Cho tries to reenter room 207 unsuccessfully, finally making his way back to room 211. He returns to walking

up the aisles and shooting people again. Goddard is hit a couple more times. A janitor runs into Cho, but manages to

escape to another floor. Cho then attempts to get into room 204 where the professor uses his body to keep the door shut

while 10 students manage to escape from the window. Cho pushes his way in, shooting the professor and two additional

students who were attempting escape out of the window. Moving on, he goes back to room 206, shooting more people.

(Panel, 2009)

9:50 am, police gain entry into Norris Hall, and following the sound of gunfire make their way to the second

floor of the building, beginning the task of rescue and assessment of the wounded. Just as police start on the second floor,

Cho commits suicide, by gunshot wound to the head. The whole massacre in Norris Hall only lasted 11 minutes; however,


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Cho managed to squeeze off 174 shots, kill 30 victims, himself included, and wound 17 additional people during that

small window of time. (Panel, 2009)

Due to a lack of communication at the college level, the seriousness of Cho’s problems were never addressed, as

they were in the elementary, grade school, and high school levels. His parents were not included in the situations

concerning their son at school, so they could not intervene, and help Cho during these stressful years. While the review

panel found many faults in the system, including but not limited to: a lack of interdepartmental sharing of information, a

lack of communication between medical facilities, and a failure of the system in general in regards to the way

commitment to a mental facility is conducted, they did not fail to recognize that the biggest impediment to Cho was

himself, in hiding his mental history when questioned. (Panel, 2009)

In conclusion, this incident was the largest school shooting in the history of our country. It drew national attention

as well as local. The way this incident was handled, and the red flags missed by VA Tech and the Virginia Medical

Professionals was studied extensively by a review panel of experts in order to recommend changes in the law to prevent

this sort of incident from repeating itself. Had anyone looked more closely at the warning signs, or connected the dots in

this case, informed his parents, or insisted that more action be taken as early as 2005, 32 people may still have been alive

today. Privacy laws such as HIPPA and FERPA may have been put into place with good intentions, however this country

needs to make sure that those laws are completely understood by the professionals charged with keeping them, and there

should be instances where in the interest of public safety, troubled students should be taken more seriously. More

precautions must be taken to identify and treat these students, and mental history information should have a special

category of privacy laws, allowing institutions a way to track these records.


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References:

NBC/MSNBC. (n.d.). Seung-Hui Cho. Retrieved February 08, 2010, from

http://www.bing.com/reference/semhtml/Virginia_Tech_massacre?

fwd=1&qpvt=va+tech+massacre&src=abop&q=va+tech+massacre

Panel, V. T. (2009, November 15). Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech Addendum to the report of the review

panel,presented to Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved February 11, 2010

Pumroy, D. K. (2007). What Caused the Tragedy at Virginia Tech? (J. Wyatt, Ed.) Behavior Analysis Digest International

, 19 (2), pp. 5-7.

Hall Elizabeth Unit Five Va Tech Massacre Mentally Ill Or Monster

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