# VA Tech shooter sent package to NBC News **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683 "2007-04-18T21:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/1 "2007-04-18T21:13:05Z")
Just in on CNN and MSNBC: the VA Tech shooter seems to have mailed a package containing a manifesto, video, and photographs to NBC News in New York. Mailed BETWEEN the two shootings. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/2 "2007-04-18T21:24:05Z")
[Link](http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/18/vtech.shooting/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/3 "2007-04-18T22:10:08Z")
:speechless: ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/4 "2007-04-18T22:32:52Z")
It’s rather amazing how he has a history of disturbing behaviour, and yet there didn’t seem to be a sufficient sharing of information among all concerned to build a case for involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility, particularly in light of the fact that, at the very least, he was deemed an imminent threat to himself back in 2005, to say nothing of the continuing disturbed behaviour since. If his “plays” and poetry are disturbing, I’m afraid of what his package contains. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/5 "2007-04-18T22:35:17Z")
Well, we know where he was for 2 hours now - standing in line at the post office behind some guy that can’t decide if he wants to pay the extra money for 2 day delivery! ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/6 "2007-04-18T22:36:14Z")
Wow. It didn’t arrive the next day as Cho planned because he got the street (“Rockefeller Ave.”) and the zip wrong. They’ve turned the original over to the FBI and Brian Williams has experts giving a summary of the video confession and now some pix of him aiming handguns at the camera. Has an 1800-word diatribe; incoherent, profane, anti-Christian, and aimed at an unspecified “you”. He has the same dead eyes as the gangbangers and murderers I see being led on perp walks here in NYC. What an evil thug. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/7 "2007-04-18T22:38:07Z")
Burn the fucking tapes, at least in terms of public play. The bastard denied 32 people their voices, why should he be allowed to speak? His victims are silent - so should he. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/8 "2007-04-18T22:51:43Z")
[QUOTE=cerberus] Burn the fucking tapes, at least in terms of public play. The bastard denied 32 people their voices, why should he be allowed to speak? His victims are silent - so should he. [/QUOTE] Hear, hear! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/9 "2007-04-18T23:34:41Z")
I disagree. Obviously, we’re still not very good at recognizing the “signs” in time enough to stop such incidents, so the more clues we can gather in that area the better. I say Cho’s manifesto will be an invaluable text in the science/art of predicting and preventing such catastrophes. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/10 "2007-04-18T23:48:26Z")
I agree with **lissener**. If Cho’s rantings can give any insight into how this happened, they must be examined fully. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/11 "2007-04-19T00:41:05Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I agree with **lissener**. If Cho’s rantings can give any insight into how this happened, they must be examined fully. [/QUOTE] That’s true. But I hope they’re not made available for public viewing. It’s exactly what he would have wanted, for everyone to hear his rage and hatred. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/12 "2007-04-19T00:47:10Z")
Let the abnormal psychology/criminal profilers study them, but no public play - the sick fuck wanted the attention, he wanted a post-mortem voice after denying his victims their voices. We can study these things in a professional setting, but airing them now is akin to building a webpage and/or leaking the CID evidence on network news. Hell, the in-fighting among the news sources is sickening. Airing this stuff gives the next guy the motivation to do his thing, with the promise of post-mortem, mass-media attention. If, in the process of airing your screed, you silence many victims, then you should lose your audience share. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/13 "2007-04-19T01:10:57Z")
Unfortunately, I think CNN or somebody already has parts of the videos online and viewable. But we knew this was going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/14 "2007-04-19T01:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=cerberus] Let the abnormal psychology/criminal profilers study them, but no public play . . . [/QUOTE] Seriously, cerberus, the more people who interact with such a person on a daily basis who are able to recognize such signs, the higher the likelihood that they will be recognized and stopped. In your scenario, this will happen only AFTER they interact with an abnormal psychology/criminal profiler. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/15 "2007-04-19T01:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Seriously, cerberus, the more people who interact with such a person on a daily basis who are able to recognize such signs, the higher the likelihood that they will be recognized and stopped. [/QUOTE] From his classmates to professors and even a judge, it looks like a bunch of people figured out what was wrong with Cho well ahead of time. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/16 "2007-04-19T01:44:11Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Unfortunately, I think CNN or somebody already has parts of the videos online and viewable. But we knew this was going to happen. [/QUOTE] Well, that begs, where is the line drawn? Weren’t we looking for a motive and other pieces to the ‘puzzle’ ? Is it still news, or is it just a ratings stunt? ((Indirectly related, and perhaps way NON-PC, but boy, can NBC use this.)) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/17 "2007-04-19T01:48:10Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting.victims/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting.victims/index.html) I started reading about the victims, and got to **Liviu Librescu** … He apparently stood in a doorway to block the attack, allowing students to flee out a window. The man survived the _Holocaust_ and is killed by a deranged university student on a rampage. What the hell is wrong with this world? I couldn’t make it through the two plays that supposedly were written by Cho… mainly because they were so poorly written. I can’t imagine what the manifesto must be like to read! I think it _does_ need to be studied, though, because it might tell us something about the kind of people who could do something like this. Though part of me doubts it, based on the plays. It’s probably incoherent juvenile ranting, driven by the misplaced rage of an insane mind. I don’t think Cho has a point to make at all. And yet, it’s unlikely to be forgotten. ☹☹ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/18 "2007-04-19T01:55:55Z")
[QUOTE=Meeko] Well, that begs, where is the line drawn? Weren’t we looking for a motive and other pieces to the ‘puzzle’ ? [/quote] He already left a lengthy note AND mailed another to NBC. I’m all for giving the people information, but I think most people in the news business know what this is. [QUOTE=mnemosyne] I started reading about the victims, and got to **Liviu Librescu** … He apparently stood in a doorway to block the attack, allowing students to flee out a window. The man survived the _Holocaust_ and is killed by a deranged university student on a rampage. What the hell is wrong with this world? [/QUOTE] It’s terrible. On the other hand, the man survived one horrible slaughter to save lives during another. More people might be dead if not for him. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/19 "2007-04-19T01:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] It’s terrible. On the other hand, the man survived one horrible slaughter to save lives during another. More people might be dead if not for him. [/QUOTE] That’s a good point. And right now, I’ll take any straw. Thank you for putting that in perspective. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683/20 "2007-04-19T02:00:29Z")
One crazy man manages to kill 30 people with two handguns. What chance do we have against terrorists? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/va-tech-shooter-sent-package-to-nbc-news/400683.md?page=2)