By Marilyn Bardsley
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April 18, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. (Crime Library) — Once Cho Seung-Hui was positively identified as the person responsible for the worst mass murder in American history, the spotlight focused on his exceptionally bizarre and anti-social behavior which had been going on for quite some time. The Roanoke Times reported that Lucinda Roy, one of Cho's professors, alerted the university administration to his troubling behavior three semesters ago.
"All of those signs, and I've been in teaching a long time, signified to me that this was a student who was very troubled," she said. But because Cho had not directly threatened anybody, the school believed that it could not force him into counseling.
Professor Roy believed that some of Cho's writing did carry an implied threat, even though Cho denied it.
Hopefully, the "rules and regulations" that prevented any investigative activity on the part of Virginia Tech will be up for review in the near future
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| Cho Seung-Hui |
Cho apparently was a loner with very few friends. According to the Chicago Tribune, Cho left a very troublesome note in his dorm room that provides a few clues to his disturbed state of mind. The note, reported by the Tribune, rails about "rich kids" on the campus, "debauchery" and "deceit" by "charlatans." He signed the note "Ismail Ax" in red ink.
The Washington Post reported that "affidavit for a search warrant filed this morning in Montgomery County, VA., circuit court said police found a "bomb threat note . . . directed at engineering school department buildings" near the bodies of the shooter and some victims..... The affidavit said that investigators were searching Cho's room in Harper Hall."
Three weeks earlier written bomb threats were found that targetted the engineering building. A bomb threat note was reportedly found at the scene of the shooting tragedy.
Some students told Fox News that when they would greet Cho, he would ignore them and not return the greeting. He was said to wear a hat and sunglasses all the time.
Another incident was reported at the beginning of one of Cho's literature classes. The students all introduced themselves except for Cho who refused to speak. On the signup sheet, he put a question mark instead of his name.
Certainly, more will be learned when (and if) police make public the "rambling manifesto" that was found in Cho's room. Allegedly, it is a diatribe against rich kids and religion. Already there is speculation about the "Ismail Ax" that Cho wrote in red ink on his arm and the significance of the reference to the Islamic interpretation of history. Releasing the note could dampen the speculation that Cho was a secret Muslim convert.
Reportedly, Cho was suffering from depression and was prescribed medication for that condition.
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