# Shooting at Virginia Tech **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338 "2007-04-16T15:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/241 "2007-04-17T10:51:08Z")
[minor hijack] Isn’t the term _Oriental_ no longer kosher? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/242 "2007-04-17T11:05:16Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] [minor hijack] Isn’t the term _Oriental_ no longer kosher? [/hijack] [/QUOTE] It’s fine with people here. Wasn’t there a thread about this before? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/243 "2007-04-17T11:09:06Z")
[http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200209\NAT20020917a.html](http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200209%5CNAT20020917a.html) Apparently, people with guns stopped the _last_ school shooting in VA. [http://timlambert.org/guns/appalachian/nd/tackle/gun/054.html](http://timlambert.org/guns/appalachian/nd/tackle/gun/054.html) Seems to be accurate. They were both ex-cops, but still, there you go. Maybe it would have helped in this case, maybe it wouldn’t. It has at least once. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/244 "2007-04-17T11:44:16Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] The gun debate is being discussed in the Pit thread, not here. The man was initially described as “Asian,” which to most people means East Asian. (I don’t think Oriental was used anywhere in the reports, at least not from what I’ve seen.) [/QUOTE] No, it probably wasn’t, but it was late, I was tired, and I couldn’t think of the more appropriate word. Thank you for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/245 "2007-04-17T11:55:43Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I’m a liberal, I do not own a firearm, I’m for reasonable gun control, but I do believe in the right for ordinary people to bear arms. What’s so hard to understand about the mindset? It’d be nice to have one around if I ever needed to defend my home and family against an intruder. They’re also a ton of fun at the shooting range. [/QUOTE] This is why I don’t like getting into debates. I just don’t like guns. The idea of even wanting to go to a shooting range baffles me. FWIW, I feel the same way about collecting knives and swords and stuff like that. I simply find it totally unappealing. I realize I’m in the minority on this issue. That’s okay with me. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/246 "2007-04-17T12:42:11Z")
**Siam Sam** , I’ve _twice_ told people in this very thread to take the gun debates elsewhere. This may have been the longest thread concerning the shooting, but that doesn’t excuse you from reading the entire thing and paying attention to my posts. Now, please take your debate elsewhere; there’s a nice thread in the Pit where you can hash this out. **Euthanasiast** , no insults are allowed in MPSIMS. Telling someone you aren’t insulting him and then implying he doesn’t have “a modicum of intelligence” doesn’t really do much for your case. Move it to the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/247 "2007-04-17T13:05:00Z")
Why is it taking so long for the people involved to just come out and say it was a Chinese citizen? We have witholding of names going on right and left. Is there some complicated political shit being hashed out? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/248 "2007-04-17T13:28:13Z")
The shooter’s name is Seung-Hui Cho. The [Roanoke Times](http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/breaking/wb/113294) is periodically updating a log that has started to list the names of some of the victims. I assume the reason some names haven’t been released yet has something to do with prior notification of their families. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/249 "2007-04-17T13:36:29Z")
[QUOTE=zuma] Why is it taking so long for the people involved to just come out and say it was a Chinese citizen? [/QUOTE] Because he’s not. He’s a 23 year old South Korean man named Cho Seung-Hui. (Cho is his last name.) They don’t announce it prematurely because when you rush to make announcements you get the facts wrong… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/250 "2007-04-17T13:36:51Z")
That name has been corrected to Cho Seung-Hui, reportedly a Korean permanent legak resident. Actually the name is still being spelled both ways. Confusion can be expected in most every aspect of this for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/251 "2007-04-17T13:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=Jelymag] Because he’s not. He’s a 23 year old South Korean man named Cho Seung-Hui. (Cho is his last name.) [/QUOTE] Another missing piece of the puzzle – It took 24 hours to know this much, but yesterday we all knew that Cho shot his girlfriend. How do we know that? (In fact, it turns out that it may have been her roommate). In fact, has any ex of Cho turned up anywhere, dead or alive? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/252 "2007-04-17T13:49:58Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] **Siam Sam** , I’ve _twice_ told people in this very thread to take the gun debates elsewhere. This may have been the longest thread concerning the shooting, but that doesn’t excuse you from reading the entire thing and paying attention to my posts. Now, please take your debate elsewhere; there’s a nice thread in the Pit where you can hash this out. [/QUOTE] Sorry, Skip. No, I didn’t see that. Will do. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/253 "2007-04-17T13:55:37Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Another missing piece of the puzzle – It took 24 hours to know this much, but yesterday we all knew that Cho shot his girlfriend. How do we know that? (In fact, it turns out that it may have been her roommate). In fact, has any ex of Cho turned up anywhere, dead or alive? [/QUOTE] No. Any conjecture about any girlfriend has not officially been confirmed or denied. In fact, no information at all has been officially released about any personal relationship he may have had with any victims. And no information on motive either. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/254 "2007-04-17T14:37:37Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] The [Roanoke Times](http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/breaking/wb/113294) is periodically updating a log that has started to list the names of some of the victims. I assume the reason some names haven’t been released yet has something to do with prior notification of their families. [/QUOTE] Thank you **lieu** for posting that link. The girl I know (I keep catching myself typing in the past tense event though I don’t know if she’s alive or dead. I try to correct this when I catch it.) isn’t on the list of the dead as of this morning. I pray that we find out that she’s alive and well and staying with relatives or something like that soon. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week. That’s a bit of a surprise, given Tech’s aversion to canceling classes. I guess at a time like this, they don’t really have any choice. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/255 "2007-04-17T14:54:11Z")
I suppose they can guess what the condemnation would be like if they did not cancel classes. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/256 "2007-04-17T14:54:20Z")
Sorry for what you’re going through, friend. There are two names not on that list in the second paragraph of [this link](http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/257 "2007-04-17T15:10:19Z")
[Here’s](http://www.cnn.com/) Cho’s picture. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/258 "2007-04-17T15:59:53Z")
Hope this is not OT. How will they notify the Next of Kin? Just call? Ask the local police to help? Local funeral directors? Hospital? Hell of a call to get, or to make. What if the next of kin is overseas, does their embassy help? ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/259 "2007-04-17T16:08:00Z")
According to the article on [CNN.com](http://CNN.com), the shooter was a legal immigrant who came over with his parents in 1992, so they shouldn’t need to go through an embassy. Still, it has to awful for the family of the perpetrator of something like this. They lost their son too, and won’t get as much sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338/260 "2007-04-17T16:25:23Z")
**Paul** , [here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/17victims.html?hp) a description of how at least one of the notifications was made. Just breaks your heart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-virginia-tech/400338.md?page=14)