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It is the consensus on the talk page that the perpetrator's name should be rendered in the American fashion, as Seung-hui Cho. Repeated attempts to change it back to Cho Seung-hui may be considered disruptive.



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{{current-related|article|Virginia Tech massacre}}
{{current-related|article|Virginia Tech massacre}}
{{pp-semi-protected|reason=the subject of the article is related to the [[Virginia Tech massacre]] and may be the target of malicious edits}}
{{pp-semi-protected|reason=the subject of the article is related to the [[Virginia Tech massacre]] and may be the target of malicious edits}}

Revision as of 05:09, 18 April 2007

Template:Korean name

Seung-Hui Cho
StatusDeceased (suicide)

Template:Koreanname

Cho Seung-hui (Korean: 조승희; January 18, 1984[1] – April 16, 2007) was the spree shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre[2][3][4] of April 16, 2007 in Virginia, United States, according to police reports. He committed suicide after law enforcement officers breached the doors of the building in which he had killed the majority of his victims.

ABC News renders his name in the Western order as Seung-hui Cho [5], while all other English-language outlets use Cho Seung-hui. [6] [7] [8]

Biography

Cho was born in South Korea. His family lived in Seoul, staying in a rented basement apartment. Landlord Lim Bong-ae states that "I didn't know what (Cho's father) did for a living. But they lived a poor life," Lim told the newspaper. "While emigrating, (Cho's father) said they were going to America because it is difficult to live here and that it's better to live in a place where he is unknown."[9]

Cho emigrated to the United States with his parents in September 1992 at the age of eight.[10] He was a permanent legal resident of the United States and a South Korean citizen.[11] Cho had a permanent address in Centreville, Virginia, an unincorporated community in western Fairfax County, 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. and a few miles directly south of Washington Dulles International Airport.[12] Cho graduated in 2003 from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia.[13]

According to Virginia Tech, Cho was an undergraduate majoring in business[14] but switched to English in his senior year.

Cho had an older sister named Sun-Kyung Cho [2] [3].

Virginia Tech massacre

Main article: Virginia Tech massacre

According to television news reports on April 17, Cho left a note criticizing "rich kids," "debauchery," and "deceitful charlatans". He supposedly killed two students, Emily J. Hilscher and Ryan C. "Stack" Clark, on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston, a high-rise coeducational dorm, around 7:15 AM,[15] although police are not entirely sure if Cho was the perpetrator of that shooting in addition to the later one.[16][17] Within the next two and a half hours, Cho returned to his room to re-arm himself and then crossed the campus to continue his rampage in a classroom building, Norris Hall, at 9:45 AM.[4][15] Police identified Cho by matching fingerprints on the guns used in the shootings with immigration materials.[4] The words "Ismail Ax" were found written on his arm in red ink.[18] Police found a receipt for the Glock 19 pistol dated March 13, 2007.[19] Permanent residents in Virginia may legally purchase firearms as long as they provide proof of residency,[20] pass an immediate automated background check,[21] and answer a questionnaire.[22] Cho bought the second weapon, a Walther P22 pistol, on February 9th, 2007.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Cho committed suicide in Norris Hall with a gunshot to his head as police closed in on him.[23]

Behavior

A university spokesman described Cho as a "loner," and said university officials were having a difficult time finding information about him. [24] A Korean club on campus reported that he rarely joined or talked with them.[25] Cho is also believed to have been taking psychiatric medications for depression,[26] and had earlier been accused of setting a fire in a dormitory and stalking women on campus.[27]

According to a classmate in Cho's 300-level Playwriting class, "Cho was really, really quiet. I can't even remember one word he said the entire semester." Although the class was a workshop class, in which students were encouraged to submit their plays for class discussion, when Cho was asked to comment, "he would just shrug and say nothing." According to the professor who taught the class, Cho never participated in class discussions. "He was just there, I can't even describe it. He would just sit and watch us, but wouldn't say anything. It was his lack of behavior that really set him apart. He basically just kept to himself, very isolated. I remember only once he smiled, but it wasn't very big."[28] Lucinda Roy, one of Cho's professors, described Cho as "an intelligent man" but seemed to be an awkward and very lonely man who never took off his sunglasses, even indoors. By fall 2005, Roy removed Cho from her class after he became angry in the classroom. She said she tried several different ways to help him, including a decision to refer him for counseling.[15]

Roy would not comment at length on Cho’s writings, saying only that in general they “seemed very angry.”

According to a professor who taught Cho in a poetry class in 2005, Cho was "extraordinarily lonely—the loneliest person I have ever met in my life." She said that he whispered, took 20 seconds to answer questions, and took cell phone pictures of her in class. After becoming concerned with his behavior and the themes in his writings, the professor started meeting with Cho to work with him one-on-one. She said she was concerned for her safety when she met with him. After notifying the legal authorities about his behavior, the professor urged Cho to seek counseling, but he refused.[29][30]

Neighbor Abdul Shash described Cho as "very quiet, always by himself," and said he spent a lot of time playing basketball and would not respond if someone greeted him. Fellow student Julie Poole said that on the first day of a literature class last year the students introduced themselves one by one, but when it was Cho's turn, he did not speak. The professor, she said, looked at the sign-in sheet and where everyone else had written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole added.[31]

According to an interview on CNN, in which both his roommates were questioned, Cho listened to Collective Soul's "Shine" repeatedly. His roommates also said he repeatedly stalked their friend and took pictures of girls in public places. Cho also would only talk to his roommates on AIM and rarely talk in person.[citation needed]

Attributed writings

Cho wrote under the name Seung Cho. The head of the Virginia Tech English Department quoted a colleague, Lucinda Roy, as describing Cho as "troubled."[32] Roy was concerned about an assignment that Cho turned in last year, a one-act play he wrote entitled "Richard McBeef". The play is about a 13-year-old boy, John, who accuses his stepfather, Richard McBeef, of molesting him. John expresses a desire to kill McBeef and the two start a violent argument. The play ends with McBeef striking John with "a deadly blow".[33]

In a second play attributed to Cho, titled "Mr. Brownstone", three 17-year-olds are gambling at a casino while discussing their deep hatred of their 45-year-old math teacher, Mr. Brownstone. One of the students proclaims twice that he wants to kill Mr. Brownstone. Another student wishes for Mr. Brownstone to die and that she wants to watch him bleed. The students sing the lyrics to "Mr. Brownstone" by Guns N' Roses, focusing on how they are "gonna kick him on down the line." At the end of the play, one of the students wins a 5 million dollar jackpot. Mr. Brownstone appears and convinces the casino officials that the students attacked him and stole the 5 million dollar ticket from him. The casino officials give the winning ticket to Mr. Brownstone and order the students to be removed from the casino. The play ends with the students threatening revenge.[34][35]

According to a classmate in Cho's 300-level play-writing class, Cho's "writing, the plays, were really morbid and grotesque."[28]

According to an unnamed professor who taught Cho, Cho's work was characterized as "very adolescent" and "silly", with attempts at "slapstick comedy" and "elements of violence."[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ NPR
  2. ^ VT front page
  3. ^ John M. Broder. "Virginia Gunman Identified as a Student". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  4. ^ a b c "Gunman Identified as Massacre at Virginia Tech Enters Second Day". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  5. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/VATech/story?id=3050437&page=1
  6. ^ http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=66723&r=1
  7. ^ http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=66723&r=1
  8. ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3DF7A928-5282-44F8-9861-174D6FBE7182.htm
  9. ^ Jae-Soon Chang. "Gunman's Family Had Hard Life in Korea." Associated Press. Last accessed April 18, 2007.
  10. ^ "Campus gunman lived in U.S. since 1992 - official". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  11. ^ Gunman's writings raised concerns
  12. ^ Centreville Student Was Va. Tech Shooter
  13. ^ Gunman Is Described as Quiet and 'Always by Himself'
  14. ^ Chicago Tribune
  15. ^ a b c "Gunman disturbed teachers, classmates - Massacre at Virginia Tech". MSNBC and NBC News. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Aamer Madhani (17 Apr 2007). "Gunman's bizarre writings surface". Newsday. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  17. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/vtech.shooting/index.html
  18. ^ Aamer Madhani. "Sources: College gunman left note", Chicago Tribune, April 17, 2007
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ "Shooter Identified as Cho Seung-Hui". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  21. ^ "Virginia Firearms Transaction Program". Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  22. ^ "Firearms Purchase Eligibility Test". Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  23. ^ "CNN profile of Cho". CNN.
  24. ^ Gunman identified in Virginia Tech shootings
  25. ^ "범인은 '외톨이'" 조승희 누구인가" (in Korean). Chosun. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Virginia Tech Police Still Search for Motive After Identifying Shooter".
  27. ^ "Source: Gunman angry at 'rich kids'". CNN. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ a b Cho's classroom colleague reacts to tragedy The Collegiate Times. Accessed 4-17-2007
  29. ^ "Cho Seung-Hui, 23-Year-Old Shooter, Wrote 'Disturbing' Note and Violent Plays". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  30. ^ "Suspect's writing 'macabre, twisted'". NBC, MSNBC and news services. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "The 'loner' behind campus killing". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  32. ^ "Killer's Note: 'You Caused Me to Do This'". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  33. ^ Virginia Killer's Violent Writings The Smoking Gun. Accessed 4-17-2007
  34. ^ "Richard McBeef" script posted at AOL Accessed April 17, 2007.
  35. ^ MSNBC News announcement at 3:45 pm ET April 17, 2007; transcript not yet available.
  36. ^ Pat, Wingert (2007-04-17). "'He Was Just Off'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

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