Seung-Hui Cho and the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre
Background
Seung-Hui Cho was born on January 18, 1984, in South Korea and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was eight years old. The family settled in Fairfax County, Virginia. Cho later attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly known as Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia. By April 2007, he was a 23-year-old senior majoring in English.
Cho experienced serious emotional and communication difficulties from an early age. He was diagnosed with selective mutism, severe anxiety and depression while in school. Selective mutism made it extremely difficult for him to speak in certain social situations. His family arranged treatment, and school officials provided accommodations, but he became increasingly isolated as he grew older.
Several Virginia Tech instructors became alarmed by Cho's behavior and violent writing. Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni removed him from one of her classes after students reported that his conduct made them uncomfortable. Lucinda Roy, then a senior university administrator and English professor, met privately with Cho in an effort to help him. Roy later described him as withdrawn and deeply troubled, although he never directly told her that he intended to commit an attack.
Virginia Tech police investigated two complaints involving unwanted communications Cho sent to female students during 2005. Neither woman pursued criminal charges. On December 13, 2005, after Cho sent a suicidal message to a roommate, police transported him for an emergency mental-health evaluation. A court found that he was mentally ill and presented an imminent danger to himself, and outpatient treatment was ordered. However, significant failures occurred in the treatment and recordkeeping systems surrounding his case.
Weapons and Preparations
During the months before the massacre, Cho legally obtained two semiautomatic handguns. On February 9, 2007, he received a .22-caliber Walther P22 that he had purchased through an online firearms dealer. On March 13, 2007, he purchased a 9mm Glock 19 from a gun store in Roanoke, Virginia. He also obtained ammunition and additional magazines and practiced firing at a shooting range.
Cho prepared a collection of photographs, writings and recorded statements in which he expressed anger, resentment and a desire for revenge. The material did not provide a single rational motive for his crimes. Investigators concluded that his grievances were broad, deeply personal and distorted. He blamed other people for his suffering and attempted to portray himself as a victim, but the people he murdered had not caused his problems and many had no previous relationship with him.
The First Attack at West Ambler Johnston Hall
On Monday, April 16, 2007, Cho entered West Ambler Johnston Hall, a large residence hall on the Virginia Tech campus. At approximately 7:15 a.m., he went to a fourth-floor dormitory room occupied by 19-year-old freshman Emily Jane Hilscher.
Cho fatally shot Hilscher inside her room. Ryan Christopher Clark, a 22-year-old senior and resident adviser who was known to friends as Stack, apparently went to investigate the disturbance. Cho also shot Clark. Clark died at the scene, while Hilscher was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Investigators initially considered the possibility that the dormitory shooting had resulted from a personal dispute. Police questioned Hilscher's boyfriend, who had dropped her off that morning, and university officials did not immediately recognize that the gunman remained on campus. The mistaken belief that the first attack was an isolated event contributed to the absence of an immediate campus-wide lockdown.
The Interval Between the Attacks
After killing Hilscher and Clark, Cho returned to his own residence in Harper Hall. Evidence later recovered from his room included clothing connected to the first crime scene. Cho changed clothes, collected additional ammunition and continued preparing for a much larger attack.
At approximately 9:01 a.m., Cho mailed a package from the Blacksburg post office to NBC News in New York. The package contained photographs of Cho posing with firearms, written statements and recorded monologues. NBC received the package after the massacre and provided it to federal investigators. Portions were broadcast publicly, a decision that was later criticized by victims' families and media-ethics experts because it gave Cho the attention he had sought.
Virginia Tech sent its first campus-wide email concerning the dormitory shooting at approximately 9:26 a.m., more than two hours after the first emergency call. The message stated that a shooting had occurred and advised the university community to use caution. By that time, Cho was already approaching Norris Hall.
The Norris Hall Massacre
Norris Hall was an engineering and classroom building on the Virginia Tech campus. Cho entered the building carrying the Walther P22, the Glock 19, numerous loaded magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He chained several exterior doors from the inside, delaying entry by police and making escape more difficult for the people inside.
At approximately 9:40 a.m., Cho began moving through the second-floor hallway and attacking classrooms. He repeatedly entered rooms, fired at students and instructors, stepped into the hallway to reload and then returned to shoot victims again. The main attack lasted approximately nine to eleven minutes.
Cho first entered Room 206, where Professor G. V. Loganathan was teaching an advanced hydrology class. Loganathan and nine students were killed. Cho then attacked Room 207, where instructor Jamie Bishop was teaching German. Bishop and four students were killed, while several other students suffered gunshot wounds.
In Room 204, Professor Liviu Librescu and his students attempted to barricade the door. Librescu, a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor and internationally respected engineering professor, held the door closed while students climbed through windows. Cho fired repeatedly through the door, killing Librescu. His resistance allowed many students to escape.
In Room 211, instructor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak and her students also attempted to block the entrance. Cho forced his way inside and killed Couture-Nowak and numerous students. Survivors later described students and faculty members protecting one another, barricading doors, helping wounded classmates and pretending to be dead as Cho continued firing.
Virginia Tech police received the first emergency call from Norris Hall at approximately 9:42 a.m. Officers reached the building within minutes but found the entrances chained. They broke through a door and moved toward the second floor. As police approached, Cho entered Room 211 and fatally shot himself. He died at Norris Hall on April 16, 2007.
Victims
Cho murdered 32 people: 27 students and five faculty members. Two victims were killed at West Ambler Johnston Hall, and 30 were killed inside Norris Hall. Every victim died on April 16, 2007, as a result of the attacks on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Jamie Bishop, 35 — German instructor killed on April 16, 2007, while teaching in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Brian Roy Bluhm, 25 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Ryan Christopher Clark, 22 — Student and resident adviser killed on April 16, 2007, on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Austin Michelle Cloyd, 18 — Freshman killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, 49 — French instructor killed on April 16, 2007, while teaching in Room 211 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Kevin P. Granata, 45 — Engineering professor killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Matthew Gregory Gwaltney, 24 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Caitlin Millar Hammaren, 19 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Jeremy Michael Herbstritt, 27 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Rachael Elizabeth Hill, 18 — Freshman killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Emily Jane Hilscher, 19 — Freshman fatally shot on April 16, 2007, inside her room in West Ambler Johnston Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Jarrett Lee Lane, 22 — Senior killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Matthew Joseph La Porte, 20 — Student and Air Force ROTC cadet killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Henry J. Lee, 20 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Liviu Librescu, 76 — Engineering professor killed on April 16, 2007, while holding the door of Room 204 closed so students could escape from Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- G. V. Loganathan, 53 — Engineering professor killed on April 16, 2007, while teaching in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan, 34 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Lauren Ashley McCain, 20 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Daniel Patrick O'Neil, 22 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz, 26 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Minal Hiralal Panchal, 26 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva, 21 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Erin Nicole Peterson, 18 — Freshman killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Michael Steven Pohle Jr., 23 — Senior killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Julia Kathleen Pryde, 23 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Mary Karen Read, 19 — Freshman killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Reema Joseph Samaha, 18 — Freshman killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Waleed Mohamed Shaalan, 32 — Graduate student killed on April 16, 2007, in Room 206 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Leslie Geraldine Sherman, 20 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Maxine Shelly Turner, 22 — Senior killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
- Nicole Regina White, 20 — Student killed on April 16, 2007, in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Injured Survivors
Seventeen people suffered gunshot wounds during the Norris Hall attack. Other students were injured while escaping through second-floor windows. Some survivors sustained broken bones and other serious injuries after jumping to the ground, but their escape was made possible by the efforts of professors and students who blocked classroom doors.
Among those credited with helping others were Liviu Librescu, who held the Room 204 door closed; students who reinforced barricades with desks and their bodies; and survivors who tended to wounded classmates while the shooting continued. Several people were shot while attempting to prevent Cho from reentering classrooms.
Investigation and Findings
Investigators determined that Cho acted alone. Ballistics evidence connected both of his handguns to the shootings at West Ambler Johnston Hall and Norris Hall. Physical evidence found in his residence, including clothing and footwear, also linked him to the first attack.
Cho fired approximately 174 rounds during the two attacks. Police found additional loaded magazines and more than 200 unused rounds in Norris Hall, indicating that he had brought enough ammunition to continue killing. His attack ended only when officers entered the building and closed in on the second floor.
No definitive motive was established. Cho's recorded statements contained expressions of rage and persecution, but they did not identify a coherent grievance against the victims. Authorities found no evidence that the people in the classrooms had been selected because of personal conflicts with him. Most were victims of opportunity who happened to be attending or teaching classes that morning.
Failures Identified After the Massacre
The tragedy prompted investigations into Virginia Tech's emergency response and the handling of Cho's mental-health history. The Virginia Tech Review Panel concluded that the university had misunderstood the nature of the first attack and had waited too long to warn the campus. The panel also identified failures in communication among university officials, courts, mental-health providers and law-enforcement agencies.
Questions were also raised about how Cho had legally purchased firearms after a court had found him mentally ill and dangerous to himself. Problems in the reporting of mental-health disqualifications meant that the court ruling did not prevent him from passing the background check required for his purchases. Virginia and the federal government later changed reporting practices intended to prevent similar failures.
Aftermath and Memorials
The massacre killed 32 innocent people and ended with Cho's suicide, bringing the total number of deaths to 33. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting committed by a single gunman in modern United States history. It remains the deadliest school shooting in United States history.
Virginia Tech canceled classes and held vigils and memorial services. Thirty-two memorial stones were placed on the campus Drillfield to honor the students and faculty members who were murdered. The university community adopted the phrase Virginia Tech Strong, while survivors, relatives and supporters gathered annually to remember those lost.
The attack led to nationwide debates concerning campus security, emergency notifications, firearm background checks, mental-health treatment and media coverage of mass murderers. It also demonstrated the courage of victims and survivors who tried to protect others under extraordinary circumstances. The enduring focus of Virginia Tech's memorial observances remains on the lives of the 32 people Cho murdered rather than on the attacker who ended them.
