Cho Seung-Hui. That was the killer’s name before he took his life and those of 32 others, most complete strangers to him. He’s left a note behind in what looks like an off-campus townhouse. [Update: New information from police chief clearly states, finally, that Seung-Hui was living on campus at Harper Hall.] He wasn’t an American citizen. I already guessed that the killer lived off-campus; the foreign-born part was just as likely, but I had no real evidence to put out an opinion on that.
The South Korean arrived with his family as a child back in 1992 via Detroit. Via Detroit. That part could become part of the story, we’ll have to wait and see.
An English Major and yet “a real loner” according to police. Again, that part is bizarre. You’d think that someone studying our language would be more social, but it explains why he was so hard to identify by other VA Tech students.
He used at least one 9 MM pistol. These pistols can generally hold a maximum of 16 shots fully loaded — 1 in the chamber and 15 in a clip. Clips are very fast to reload and the rate of fire can easily be 1 per second with a pull of the trigger. The serial numbers were filed off any weapons recovered. This is done to hide someone’s identity, but if this man was planning on killing himself and leaving a note, he certainly wasn’t worried about hiding his identity. Authorities will no-doubt seek to find the sellers of the weapon(s) used. An INS Green Card is often enough to be able to legally purchase a license to carry firearms. This aspect of U.S. law certainly needs closer examination.
The shooter, a 23 year old Senior at VA Tech, fits the earliest descriptions, but important details such as his religion, most importantly to me, are still not being declared.
Cho Seung-Hui and his victims are now forever a part of the darker side of U.S. history. I will have more to say on this matter as more information becomes available, but for now I have to say that there are many figureheads at Virginia Tech that should prepare their resignations. The campus should have been locked down or evactuated after the first 2 murders. Instead, we have evidence that the email warning, entirely inadequate in and of itself, was issued only minutes before the second shooting commenced while students were in class. Short-sightedness and not erring on the side of caution ultimately ended in the massacre of innocent American students in the prime of their lives. To me this is unforgivable.
*UPDATE* News just in — the killer’s note was signed “Ishmael X” and complained of “debauchery” on campus. Considering these new points along with the killer’s point of entry as a legal alien into Detroit leaves me now considering the distinct possibility that this may yet end up related to Islamic jihad in some way. The facts need to come out to put this into the proper perspective.
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Biblical, English
Pronounced: ISH-may-el [key]
From the Hebrew name ??????????? (Yishma’el) meaning “God will hear”. In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of Abraham. He is the traditional ancestor of the Arabs.
Details coming out of the press are so scattered and jumbled, it could very well be that the name is actually Ismael Axe, not Ishmael X. Stay tuned.
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shooter lived on-campus in Harper Hall…not off campus as you report…plus, English major…could be referencing anything..Ishmael goes deep in a lot of literature
[quote post=”613″]shooter lived on-campus in Harper Hall[/quote]
Then I guess the photos of off-campus townhouses I saw are not correct?
Obviously mixed reports are still swirling.
As for the nature of what Ismael relates to, I think you’re stretching.
The second and yet unclear part of that name is what gave me more pause than the first. ‘X’ or ‘Axe’, the implications of either of those in combination with a name of a Son of Abraham is fairly stark.
Detroit, Michigan means the boy had more than the usual access to Islamic influences. I’d like to know how long he lived in the region of the U.S., where Islam is so strong and if a Koran is found in his possessions.
Everything is conjecture at this point, but as I’ve stated on JW, I have no reason to buy the excuse that this was a purely domestic incident. This man had a plan and an agenda and an ideology of some sort and the wording of what I know of his note so far confirms that much.
And finally, if it turns out this killer did indeed live ON CAMPUS, then the firing of several officials in charge will be mandatory at that point. This would be even more outrageous that the campus was not cleared or locked down with a killer possibly still running around the university.
Whoa, this is getting interesting. I had decided he was just a nut job, but it is looking like he was at leasta sympathizer with jihadists.
In this day and age,ISHMAEL has certain connotations, deny it all you want but it means something. We may never know the truth.
Ishmael/Ishmail could also references several works in literature, including the main character in Moby Dick and a James Fennimore Cooper novel. (In the Cooper novel, a character named Ishmael carries an ax. The ax symbolizes both creation and destruction - an ax can be used to build or destroy.)
Since the guman was an English major, he could easily have been familiar with both works. I would hesitate to draw any conclusions until more evidence comes to light.
Maybe it was his response to Pink floyd’s “Careful with that axe, Eugene”.
[quote post=”613″]Since the guman was an English major, he could easily have been familiar with both works. I would hesitate to draw any conclusions until more evidence comes to light.[/quote]
Trouble is I hold an English degree. If the Press finally has the story and spelling straight, and it’s ‘Ismail Ax‘, then there is absolutely no chance that this maniac was referring to some obscure relevance in Moby Dick. Ishmael and Ismail are not minor alterations on a theme, and an English major would know how to spell, I should hope, even if he didn’t have respect for human life.
FH
I would like to use your forum to express my deepest sympathy to all Americans, but especially the families of the victims.
Let’s hope this guy was a deranged loner and doesn’t encorage ANY copy-cat acts.
I have read the search engines are overloaded for “Ismail Ax”.
Just dropped in on Sheik’s site.
http://sheikyermami.com/2007/04/18/ismail-ax/
Someone came up with a possible explanation.
“ismail ax = ismailax = is mai lax = is my luck — written in red for a korean? that’s bad luck? ”
I can’t say for sure about the above post. But I had always thought red was a colour of luck in Asian countries, epspecially China…which really doesn’t help much.
I know there are literary and biblical references.
Still thinking this guy was a lu-lu! A one-off case that comes up all over the world from time to time. Hope so anyway.