By Katherine Ramsland
Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
(Continued)
Yet one thing hints at the possibility that suicide was not necessarily going to be the outcome: he'd filed off the serial numbers of his weapons. If he intended to die, why would he do this? Perhaps we will yet learn of a plan to leave the country.
Because there's another mystery as well. Penned on Cho's arm in dramatic red ink was the name, "Ismail Ax." Some people suggest that he identified with others who exhibited hate — terrorist Muslims. One clever person raised the possibility that the name was a nod to author James Fennimore Cooper, who penned a story featuring an Ishmael, who seeks to leave civilization, and the ax he uses represents destruction and creation. The name, Ismail, in some contexts also refers to people who feel orphaned from society.
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| Cho Seung-Hui (high school yearbook) |
Cho apparently appreciated symbolism. Certainly, the many students who died were symbols of something against which he was acting out. Eventually his manifesto, found in his room, might be revealed, but for now all we know is that he disliked rich kids, debauchery, and charlatans. He may well have disliked himself.
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VA Tech Massacre Full Coverage & Breaking News
Video Footage:
Sequence of Events
VA Tech buildings on campus
Police respond on campus
Volunteer Medical Responders
Press Conference 4-17-2007
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