Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The Virginia Tech Massacre

The Virginia Tech shooting was aschool shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, at two buildings,West Ambler Johnston Hall and Norris Hall, on the campus of theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg,Virginia. Seung-Hui Cho, an undergraduate student at the universityand a U.S. resident of South Korean origin, shot and killed 32 peopleand wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pistols. Six otherswere injured jumping out of windows to escape Cho. As police stormedNorris Hall, Cho committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.It is the deadliest school shooting in the history of the UnitedStates, and was also the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman inU.S. history until it was surpassed nine years later by the Orlandonightclub shooting.

The attacks received internationalmedia coverage and provoked widespread criticism of U.S. gun culture. It sparked intense debate about gun violence, gun laws, gaps in theU.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator'sstate of mind, the responsibility of college administrations, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. Television newsorganizations that aired portions of the killer's multimediamanifesto were criticized by victims' families, Virginia lawenforcement officials, and the American Psychiatric Association.

Cho had previously been diagnosed withselective mutism and severe depression. During much of his middleschool and high school years, he received therapy and specialeducation support. After graduating from high school, Cho enrolled atVirginia Tech. Because of federal privacy laws, Virginia Tech wasunaware of Cho's previous diagnosis or the accommodations he had beengranted at school. In 2005, Cho was accused of stalking two femalestudents. After an investigation, a Virginia special justicedeclared Cho mentally ill and ordered him to attend treatment;however, because he was not institutionalized, he was still allowedto purchase guns. The shooting prompted the state of Virginia toclose legal loopholes that had previously allowed individualsadjudicated as mentally unsound to purchase handguns withoutdetection by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System(NICS). It also led to passage of the only major federal gun controlmeasure in the U.S. since 1994. The law strengthening the NICS wassigned by President George W. Bush on January 5, 2008.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel is astate-appointed body that was assigned to review the incident. Thepanel criticized Virginia Tech administrators for failing to takeaction that might have reduced the number of casualties. The panel'sreport also reviewed gun laws and pointed out gaps in mental healthcare as well as privacy laws that left Cho's deteriorating conditionuntreated when he was a student at Virginia Tech.

Attacks

The shootings occurred in two separateincidents. The first incident was in West Ambler Johnston Hall, aresidence hall where Seung-Hui Cho killed two students. The secondincident was in Norris Hall, an academic building on the oppositeside of the campus where the other 31 deaths, including that of Chohimself, and all the nonlethal injuries, occurred. Cho used twopistols during the attacks: a .22-caliber Walther P22 semi-automatichandgun and a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock 19 handgun.

West Ambler Johnston shootings

Cho was seen near the entrance to WestAmbler Johnston Hall, a co-ed residence hall that houses 895students, at about 6:47 a.m. EDT. Normally, the hall is accessibleonly to its residents via magnetic key cards before 10:00 a.m.; Cho'sstudent mailbox was in the lobby of the building, so he had a passcard allowing access after 7:30 a.m., but it is unclear how he gainedearlier entrance to the building.