Virginia Tech Massacre: Where Things Stand

Once again, I want to extend my condolences to the families and friends of those affected by yesterday's murderous rampage on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Reading the news reports this morning doesn't exactly shed any new light on the incident. The basic questions - who, what, when, where, why, and how are still unknown for the most part. We only have a vague description of one person who was involved in the shooting and officials are leaving the door open to the possibility of another gunman or co-conspirator involved. An Asian man was identified as a gunman in one of the two shooting locations. He was apparently a student at the university.

Results from forensics and ballistic tests are being run to determine whether the two shootings are related and if the same weapons were used in both.

MSNBC, among others, conflate the total number dead - those murdered and one gunman - to bring the total death toll to 33.

“We learned that the shooter in the second instance in Norris Hall is an Asian male who is a resident of one of our dormitories on campus,” university president Charles Steger said in an interview with NBC’s “Today” show, confirming that the killer was a student. His name was not released.

“We’ll be getting the ballistics report this morning to see whether or not the gun in the first shooting is the same weapon ... used in the second.”

Injured victims in stable condition
At least 15 people were injured during the shooting, some seriously. Victims were reported early Tuesday to be in stable condition at two area hospitals.

Local authorities have scheduled a media briefing for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will attend Tuesday’s convocation at Virginia Tech to remember those affected by the deadliest campus violence ever in this country.

The names of all the victims have not yet been released by law enforcement, but that doesn't mean that people don't know who some of the victims are. Virginia Tech students have been using online community sites to share information and find out what is going on. Some of those murdered have been identified:

Liviu Librescu,76, engineering science and mathematics lecturer, according to Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.

-- Kevin Granata, age unknown, engineering science and mechanics professor, according to Puri.

-- Ryan Clark, 22, of Martinez, Ga., biology and English major, according to Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins.

-- G.V. Loganathan, 51, civil and environmental engineering professor, according to his brother G.V. Palanivel.

No one knows any other details about the shooter, other than the reports that the individual had two handguns. No word on extended ammo clips. No word on how, where, or if the guns or ammo were purchased. Debate began almost immediately over concealed weapons bans and gun control. Campus security was also questioned, especially considering the timeframe and location of the two shootings.

Speculation on such topics appears to be the name of the game at many of the media outlets and on some blogs. My coverage yesterday pointed out some of the stories.

Politicians are jumping into the fray as well, though some are cancelling appearances out of respect for the families and victims. Sen. John McCain for one issued a statement on the Second Amendment and his support for lawful gun ownership. That's just what we need is for bloviation by politicians before all the facts are even known. One gets the sense that McCain just loves to hear his voice. I don't. I think he needs to really back off here. It's unseemly.

Indeed, this is a time for prayer, remembrance, and support of the university community.

UPDATE:
Via Michelle Malkin, here's a clearinghouse of information for Virginia Tech students, faculty, family and friends who are trying to get information about loved ones. Also, an Israeli lecturer was among those murdered. Dan Riehl has more.

UPDATE:
A more complete list of those killed in the attacks is here. The New York Times is now reporting that the same gun was used in both the Norris Hall shooting and the Johnston dorm.

The name of the shooter has also been released:

Ballistics tests confirm one handgun was used in both shootings. Name of shooter is confirmed as Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old English major from South Korea. A 9 milimeter handgun and a .22 caliber handgun were recovered at Norris Hall.

UPDATE:
Hot Air has more on Cho's background:

Seung Hui Cho, a permanent resident of the United States, a Korean national and a Virginia Tech student has been identified as the gunman in the shootings that left 33 people dead on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, ABC News has learned.

The student left a “disturbing note” before killing two people in a dorm room, returning to his own room to re-arm and entering a classroom building on the other side of campus to continue his rampage, sources said.

Cho’s identitiy has been confirmed with a positive fingerprint match on the guns used in the rampage and with immigration materials. It is believed that he was the shooter in both incidents yesterday. Sources say Cho was carrying a backpack that contained receipts for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol, sources said. Witnesses had also told authorities that the shooter was carrying a backpack. Sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting that left 31 dead, were found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory, sources confirmed to ABC News.

It is interesting that there was a series of photos taken of an Asian man being detained somewhere on the campus as the incident was progressing.

Also, Hot Air notes that one of the professors murdered, Prof. Liviu Librescu had been trying to keep the door shut was a Holocaust survivor and gave his students time to escape through the window before being shot.

UPDATE:
Reports now indicate that Cho may have been behind the bomb threats called into the campus two weeks ago.

A bomb threat directed at Virginia Tech engineering school department buildings was found Monday at the scene of the mass shooting at Norris Hall, an engineering building, according to a search warrant affidavit filed this morning in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

The affadavit said the suspect in the shootings, who has been named as 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui, was believed to have multiple firearms, including but not limited to Walther P22 and Glock 9mm handguns. The affadavit goes on to say that an investigation has revealed the suspect recently purchased a handgun at a Roanoke firearms store.

"It is further reasonable to believe suspect is the author of the bomb threat note," reads the affadavit written by a Virginia State Police special agent.

The warrant was taken out to search a dorm room at 2121 Harper Hall for tools, documents, computer hardware, weapons, ammunition, explosives, instructional manuals for criminal acts of mass destruction, writing utensils and/or paper similar to that used to communicate threats to Tech's campus in the recent past.

The contents of another note, left by Cho, has not been released.

UPDATE:
Details relating to the note :

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationhave been releasedThe note included a rambling list of grievances, according to sources. Cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women.

A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against “rich kids,” “debauchery” and “deceitful charlatans” on campus.

The English major from Centreville, Va., a rapidly growing suburb of Washington, D.C., came to the United States in 1992, an investigative source said. He was a legal permanent resident.

His family runs a dry cleaning business and he has a sister who graduated from Princeton University, according to the source.

The legal permanent resident would appear to be the reason that no red flags were raised when Cho went to purchase the two guns used in this horrific attack.

UPDATE:
Fox News is reporting that at least one family is calling for the Virginia Tech President and police chief fired. Expect to hear more reports such as this, but I'd caution against making these kinds of conclusions before all the information is available.

UPDATE:
Fox News is reporting:

According to the Chicago Tribune, the note railed against "rich kids" and "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus.

The Tribune also said Cho had been behaving strangely lately, setting a dorm room on fire and allegedly stalking women.

Sources told the Tribune that the words "ISMAIL AX" were also found written in red ink on the inside of one of Cho's arms.

The reference may be to the Biblical sacrifice of Abraham, in which God commands the patriarch to sacrifice his own son. Abraham begins to comply, but God intervenes at the last moment to save the boy.

In the Jewish and Christian traditions, the son is Isaac, father of the Jewish people; in Islam, it is his older half-brother, Ismail (Ishmael in Hebrew).

Beats me what to make of that, though it is quite possible for people to conclude that Cho may have been a Muslim based on the scrawled name and biblical references. It is quite curious.

UPDATE:
Apparently Cho's writings were so disturbing that he was referred to the university's counseling service.

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said she did not personally know the gunman. 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 identified sources, the Tribune said he had recently shown troubling signs, including setting a fire in a dorm room and stalking some women.