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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