by Sean Winkelmann

Created on: April 30, 2007   Last Updated: December 21, 2007

Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007. Virginia Tech student and gunman Seung Hui Cho killed 32 victims and successfully carried out the worst mass shooting in American history, before ending his own life with a single gunshot to the temple.

The rampage began at about 7:15 a.m. at the West Amble Johnson, a residence hall that houses about 895 people where Cho allegedly killed two people. Strangely, two hours later Cho began his murderous rampage at Norris hall, about one half mile from the original shootings at the opposite end of the 2.6 acre campus.

Conflicting stories were released regarding the true nature and events of this crime, such as initial media reports stating the suspect had been detained and led away in handcuffs, then secondary reports stating police had shot and killed the suspect, followed by yet a third report of a secondary gunman's involvement. How Cho was able to claim so many victims also remains a mystery. Dr. Massello, the Assistant Medical Examiner, said "Cho was not especially accurate with his shots but had hit his victims several times causing over 100 wounds", also stating several victims suffered from gunshot wounds to the head. Some have speculated the assassin must have used a shotgun or an assault rifle to carry out such widespread killing, but police reports show Cho used a 9mm handgun along with a .22 caliber handgun. These are generally considered "close range" guns, not extremely effective or accurate at long range shooting.

More questions have arisen surrounding the actions of the police and the University; as to why the campus was not locked down immediately after the first shooting. Many police agencies report that in situations such as this, it is routine to immediately seal off the campus. There was no effective system in place to notify other students of the earlier murders. How did a gunman walk into a crowded dorm room and carry out a double homicide, then make it across the campus unchecked, only to begin a fresh round of shootings two hours later? Police have now reported they believed the first shooting was a domestic incident, and that the killer had fled the campus. It has also been reported that police (in some reports) were told to stand down and not enter the building while Cho was left to his macabre bidding. As shown in mass media broadcast of the incident, the police did not engage the suspect until the shooting was well underway, at which point there was clearly not a hostage situation. The swat team should have made contact and eliminated the killer but no such action was taken.

New reports have claimed Cho used a rental car to drive to the local post office and ship his video manifesto to NBC studios in New York, which was broadcast nationwide. This has caused great distress to all involved in and affected by the shootings. Some believe this gave Cho the spotlight he craved. On the eve of this disaster, some have called for stricter gun laws. Others see any expansion of existing gun laws as an attack on the Second Amendment. To date, these discussions have left our nation divided.

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