The Investigation Into the Virginia Tech Shooting
April, 18, 2007 — -- This is a compilation of reporting by ABC News and other organizations on the developing investigation into the massacre at Virginia Tech. This is a developing situation and the facts are subject to change.
Virginia Tech police have identified the shooter responsible for Monday's attack as Seung-hui Cho ("SOONG HEE CHO"). Cho apparently purchased the recovered murder weapons within the last two months -- a 9 mm Glock handgun on March 13 and a .22-caliber gun within the last week, sources tell ABC News.
So far 33 people are reported dead -- 32 victims plus the gunman, Cho, who killed himself -- making this the deadliest campus shooting in American history. As of now two victims have died from the shooting at West Ambler Johnston Hall; 30 from the attack on Norris Hall. University staff members are among the deceased. At least two classroom doors at Norris Hall were chained shut, according to university police.
At least 31 people have been identified in media reports as being among deceased victims -- five professors and 26 students. At least three foreign nationals are among the dead (two Indians and one Indonesian, based on media reports). See the "about victims" section below for names and more information.
Latest About Seung-Hui Cho and the Investigation
A cryptic writing -- an inscription of "Ismail Ax" in red ink -- was found on Cho's arm. The same words, "Ismail Ax," were signed at the bottom of the disturbing note Cho left in his dorm room. (ABC News)
Two of Cho's roommates described coming home to police after a woman reported Cho had sent her repeated text messages and later followed her home. (CNN/"Anderson Cooper 360")
Cho's classmates were alarmed that he was taking inappropriate pictures of women under desks (New York Times)
Cho was portrayed by fellow students and teachers as an insecure loner who ate by himself night after night, watched TV wrestling shows alone and, when spoken to, had little to say. His one known passion was downloading music. (Los Angeles Times)
In recent weeks Cho's habits changed. He ventured out at night to the campus gym, lifting weights to beef up his skinny frame. He trimmed his hair into a military-style buzz cut. (LA Times)
Cho, a senior majoring in English, was normally in bed by 9 p.m. each night, up again by 7 a.m. But he began rising earlier, sometimes by 5:30 a.m., to put in his contact lenses, take prescription pills and apply acne medicine. (LA Times)
Two 22-year-old Virginia Tech seniors, Holly Huse and Christina Lilick, said in interviews with USA Today that they received a barrage of unwanted instant messages and phone calls from Cho last year. They said they became concerned enough by what they called "stalking" that they reported the matter to the resident advisers in their dorm. (USA Today)
Heather Haugh, the roommate of Emily Hilscher, one of the victims killed in West Ambler Johnston dormitory, had been off campus for the weekend. She walked up to the dorm shortly before 7:30 a.m., planning to meet her roommate to walk to chemistry class with her. But police pulled her aside at the door. That interview would shape the terrible day that followed. (LA Times)
Investigators told Haugh, 18, that her roommate had been shot. They began asking about Hilscher's romances. Haugh told them what she knew: Her roommate had spent the weekend on another college campus with her boyfriend, Karl Thornhill. (LA Times)
The police asked about guns; Haugh told them Thornhill had recently taken both girls to a shooting range for fun. She told police she believed he kept the weapons at his home in Blacksburg, Va. (LA Times)
Though Haugh described her roommate as having "a perfect relationship with her boyfriend," investigators suspected the shooting was prompted by a lovers' quarrel. They relayed their theory to university administrators at an 8:25 a.m. meeting. By then, classes were already under way, and Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger saw no need to cancel them. "We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," he said.
The long delay between the first and the second set of killings at Virginia Tech on Monday -- presuming there was only one gunman -- puts the attacker in a small minority of mass killers. In a database of murder and mayhem that goes back more than 100 years, Michael Stone, an expert on personality disorders and killers, said he found only a few apparent delays among more than 40 rampage killings, at offices and schools. (NY Times)
Several experts said Tuesday that the nearly three-hour delay between shootings might have been a matter of nerves, or practical necessity. The gunman may have gone into hiding or abandoned one plan for another, for maximum effect. (NY Times)
Another mass killer who took a break between killings was Charles Whitman, who in 1966 killed his wife and his mother. Hours later he climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of the clock tower at the University of Texas and opened fire, killing 14 people before he was killed by the police. (NY Times)
Latest on the Investigation -- Police Chased Down Fruitless Lead
A law enforcement official who read Cho's note described it Tuesday as a typed, eight-page rant against rich kids and religion. Cho indicated in his letter that the end was near and that there was a deed to be done, the official said. He also expressed disappointment in his own religion, and made several references to Christianity, the official said. (AP)
Citing unidentified sources, the Chicago Tribune reported Cho had recently set a fire in a dorm room and had stalked some women. (AP)
New information emerged that may help explain a fateful two-hour delay by university officials in warning the campus of a gunman at large. According to search warrants and statements from the police, campus investigators had been busy pursuing what appears to have been a fruitless lead in the first of two shooting episodes Monday. (NY Times)
After two people, Emily Jane Hilscher, a freshman, and Ryan Clark, the resident adviser whose room was nearby in the dormitory, were shot dead, the campus police began searching for Karl D. Thornhill, who was described in Internet memorials as Hilscher's boyfriend. (NY Times)
According to a search warrant filed by the police, Hilscher's roommate had told the police that Thornhill, a student at nearby Radford University, had guns at his townhouse. The roommate told the police that she had recently been at a shooting range with Thornhill, the affidavit said, leading the police to believe he may have been the gunman. (NY Times)
But as they were questioning Thornhill, reports of widespread shooting at Norris Hall came in, making it clear that they had not contained the threat on campus. Thornhill was not arrested, although he continues to be an important witness in the case, the police said. (NY Times)
At the time of the dormitory shootings, Col. W. Steven Flaherty, the superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said, "There was certainly no evidence or no reason to think that there was anyone else at that particular point in time." (NY Times)
Virginia Governor Orders Investigation Into University's Handling
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine ordered an independent review Tuesday of Virginia Tech's handling of Monday's massacre after 24 hours of criticism that the university waited too long to inform students and faculty of a potential danger.
Kaine's announcement came in response to a request from the school's president and board of visitors that the governor take the lead in finding a group of credible, experienced outside examiners.
He said the investigation would cover actions taken Monday and questions about whether university officials were warned earlier that the shooter was troubled.
The Washington Nationals Show 'Hokie Spirit,' Falcons QB Raises Funds
The Washington Nationals paid tribute to Virginia Tech when they took the field Tuesday by wearing Virginia Tech baseball hats in a game against the Atlanta Braves. The Nats donned the hats when the team ran onto the field during the top of the second inning. Many players wore maroon hats with a white VT trimmed in orange, although some players, coaches and staff wore different Virginia Tech hats. (Collegiate Times)
Former Hokie quarterback Michael Vick is helping launch an effort to help victims of Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback's foundation is making a $10,000 donation to a newly established United Way fund. (Roanoke Times)
Kymn Davidson-Hamley, executive director of the United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd, said the money will provide assistance for funeral expenses, transportation for victims' relatives and mental health services, among other costs. (Roanoke Times)
More vigils for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre will take place at colleges across the country in the coming days. There have been many already, including 300 people who turned out at Miami University in Ohio to place candles around a reflecting pool. (AP)
About the Victims -- Names We Know to Date
32 Deceased, 31 of Whom Have Been Identified in Media Reports
Deceased
Professor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak. Originally from Montreal. She was one of 32 people killed by a gunman at Virginia Tech in Monday's tragedy, state police have confirmed. Nowak taught French in Virginia Tech's department of foreign languages. (CBC News)
Professor Liviu Librescu. Confirmed by his wife, Marlon. Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 22 years and had been married for 42 years.
The class schedule indicates Librescu was teaching Solid Mechanics in room 204 in Norris Hall. This is his Web site: http://www.esm.vt.edu/php/person.php?id=10023
Professor Jamie Bishop. (full name Christopher James Bishop.) He was teaching German at the time of the shooting. Bishop wore his hair long, rode his bike to campus and worked alongside his wife in the foreign languages department at Virginia Tech. Colleagues confirmed that Bishop, 35, was among the 33, including the shooter, killed during the rampage. (Roanoke Times)
Professor Kevin Granata Engineering science and mathematics professor "killed while serving Virginia Tech," (according to an e-mail sent out by the head of the ESM department at 11:39 p.m. on Monday.) The Associated Press reports a colleague described Granata as one of the top biomechanics researchers in the country working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy.
Professor G.V. Loganathan. Professor, civil and environmental engineering
Austin Cloyd., Charlotte, N.C., freshman, international studies and French
Maxine Turner. Vienna, Va., senior, chemical engineering
Henry Lee. Roanoke, Va., freshman, computer engineering
Matt La Porte. Dumont, N.J., freshman, university studies
Juan Ramon Ortiz. Puerto Rico, graduate student, civil engineering. Graduate student from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He was recently married -- his wife is also a student at Virginia Tech.
Jarrett Lane. Narrows, Va., senior, civil engineering
Daniel Perez Cueva. Native of Peru studying international relations, according to his mother, Betty Cueva. (AP)
Mary Karen Read, 19. Annandale, Va. Mary was born in South Korea and spent the last few years of her life in Annandale, Va. Mary's father, Peter Read, grew up in Palmyra, Wayne County, and joined the Air Force. (Star-Gazette.com)
Waleed Shaalan.
Minal Panchal, 26. Graduate student. Panchal, a first year master's building sciences student in the faculty of architecture from Mumbai, India, was found dead at Norris Hall, CNN-IBN television channel reported, quoting international student council head Saurabh Attarde. Panchal was the second Indian casualty reported in Monday's shootings -- the other was Professor G.V. Loganathan.
Leslie Sherman. Sophomore, history and international studies
Caitlin Hammaren. Sophomore, international studies and French
Reema Samaha Centreville, Va. Samaha graduated from Westfield High in 2006 -- three years after Cho. Authorities haven't said whether Cho knew the two young women and singled them out. (AP)
Ryan Clark. Augusta, Ga. Resident adviser shot at West Ambler Johnston dormitory (NY Times.) Clark was apparently rushing over to investigate what was going on when he came upon the gunman. Clark was well-liked and a member of the university's marching band, the Marching Virginians.
The band's Web site has an image of him participating in a food drive and says he enjoyed, among other things, "making T-shirts with his partner in crime, Kim Daniloski, and haggling with street vendors."
Emily Jane Hilscher Virginia, freshman. Identified by other students on her floor as one of two students killed at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory. Came to Virginia Tech from rural Rappahannock County and was majoring in animal and poultry sciences.
Hilscher and Clark lived next door to each other on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall -- in rooms 4040 and 4042. (New York Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch).
Ross Abdallah Alameddin. Massachusetts, sophomore, English major. The Boston Herald reports that Alameddin, a graduate of Austin Preparatory School in Reading, was in French class in Room 211 of Norris Hall when he was shot. Messages from friends and family members were pouring in all day on Alameddine's Facebook page, begging him to get in touch with anyone.
Erin Peterson of Virginia.
Michael Steven Pohle Jr.
Julia Pryde. Graduate student.
Lauren Ashley McCain. Hampton, Va. Class of 2010, international studies.
Dan O'Neill. Lincoln, R.I., graduate student, civil engineering
Rachael Hill.
Matthew Gwaltney. Graduate student.
Jeremy Herbstritt. Graduate student.
Nicole Regina White. Carrollton, Va. Junior, international studies and German.
Brian Bluhm. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, graduate student, civil engineering
Injured
Guillermo Colman. Student.
Heidi Miller. Student.
Kristina Heeger. Student.
Derek O' Dell. Student.
32 Deceased, 31 of Whom Have Been Identified in Media Reports
Deceased
Professor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak. Originally from Montreal. She was one of 32 people killed by a gunman at Virginia Tech in Monday's tragedy, state police have confirmed. Nowak taught French in Virginia Tech's department of foreign languages. (CBC News)
Professor Liviu Librescu. Confirmed by his wife, Marlon. Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 22 years and had been married for 42 years.
The class schedule indicates Librescu was teaching Solid Mechanics in room 204 in Norris Hall. This is his Web site: http://www.esm.vt.edu/php/person.php?id=10023
Professor Jamie Bishop. (full name Christopher James Bishop.) He was teaching German at the time of the shooting. Bishop wore his hair long, rode his bike to campus and worked alongside his wife in the foreign languages department at Virginia Tech. Colleagues confirmed that Bishop, 35, was among the 33, including the shooter, killed during the rampage. (Roanoke Times)
Professor Kevin Granata Engineering science and mathematics professor "killed while serving Virginia Tech," (according to an e-mail sent out by the head of the ESM department at 11:39 p.m. on Monday.) The Associated Press reports a colleague described Granata as one of the top biomechanics researchers in the country working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy.
Professor G.V. Loganathan. Professor, civil and environmental engineering
Austin Cloyd., Charlotte, N.C., freshman, international studies and French
Maxine Turner. Vienna, Va., senior, chemical engineering
Henry Lee. Roanoke, Va., freshman, computer engineering
Matt La Porte. Dumont, N.J., freshman, university studies
Juan Ramon Ortiz. Puerto Rico, graduate student, civil engineering. Graduate student from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He was recently married -- his wife is also a student at Virginia Tech.
Jarrett Lane. Narrows, Va., senior, civil engineering
Daniel Perez Cueva. Native of Peru studying international relations, according to his mother, Betty Cueva. (AP)
Mary Karen Read, 19. Annandale, Va. Mary was born in South Korea and spent the last few years of her life in Annandale, Va. Mary's father, Peter Read, grew up in Palmyra, Wayne County, and joined the Air Force. (Star-Gazette.com)
Waleed Shaalan.
Minal Panchal, 26. Graduate student. Panchal, a first year master's building sciences student in the faculty of architecture from Mumbai, India, was found dead at Norris Hall, CNN-IBN television channel reported, quoting international student council head Saurabh Attarde. Panchal was the second Indian casualty reported in Monday's shootings -- the other was Professor G.V. Loganathan.
Leslie Sherman. Sophomore, history and international studies
Caitlin Hammaren. Sophomore, international studies and French
Reema Samaha Centreville, Va. Samaha graduated from Westfield High in 2006 -- three years after Cho. Authorities haven't said whether Cho knew the two young women and singled them out. (AP)
Ryan Clark. Augusta, Ga. Resident adviser shot at West Ambler Johnston dormitory (NY Times.) Clark was apparently rushing over to investigate what was going on when he came upon the gunman. Clark was well-liked and a member of the university's marching band, the Marching Virginians.
The band's Web site has an image of him participating in a food drive and says he enjoyed, among other things, "making T-shirts with his partner in crime, Kim Daniloski, and haggling with street vendors."
Emily Jane Hilscher Virginia, freshman. Identified by other students on her floor as one of two students killed at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory. Came to Virginia Tech from rural Rappahannock County and was majoring in animal and poultry sciences.
Hilscher and Clark lived next door to each other on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall -- in rooms 4040 and 4042. (New York Times, Richmond Times-Dispatch).
Ross Abdallah Alameddin. Massachusetts, sophomore, English major. The Boston Herald reports that Alameddin, a graduate of Austin Preparatory School in Reading, was in French class in Room 211 of Norris Hall when he was shot. Messages from friends and family members were pouring in all day on Alameddine's Facebook page, begging him to get in touch with anyone.
Erin Peterson of Virginia.
Michael Steven Pohle Jr.
Julia Pryde. Graduate student.
Lauren Ashley McCain. Hampton, Va. Class of 2010, international studies.
Dan O'Neill. Lincoln, R.I., graduate student, civil engineering
Rachael Hill.
Matthew Gwaltney. Graduate student.
Jeremy Herbstritt. Graduate student.
Nicole Regina White. Carrollton, Va. Junior, international studies and German.
Brian Bluhm. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, graduate student, civil engineering
Injured
Guillermo Colman. Student.
Heidi Miller. Student.
Kristina Heeger. Student.
Derek O' Dell. Student.