US college faulted over massacre

US college faulted over massacre

news.bbc.co.uk

Lives might have been saved if Virginia Tech officials had acted sooner after student Cho Seung-hui's first killings, a state report into the shootings says.

"Warning students, faculty and staff might have made a difference," it says.

The independent panel also concluded that though Cho had demonstrated signs of mental instability earlier, college staff had not intervened effectively.

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This was explored at the time of the massacre, however, we now have official confirmation that lives could have been saved had the authorities acted sooner - not just on the day of the shootings, but also with regard to Cho's mental state.

it's clear from watching his recorded monologue that he was a very disturbed young man.



news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

You can almost see the lawyers circling lilke vultures over this story...where there's blame, there's a claim

yeah, we could all see that the day it happened what with the coppers hiding behind the trees and the school not alerting the rest of the students.
lotsa people should have acted sooner

I agree - I watched the story unfold with horror first, then indignation, then anger at the incompetence of the authorities.

Blame needs to be laid at someones door, but only in order to learn from it and try to prevent another tragedy of such magnitude.

Another problem that needs addressing is why cho "slipped through the net" of mental healthcare - the authorities were aware of his state of mind and his obvious psychosis, but didn't act.
Perhaps they didn't understand the severity of his delusional state, but an hour with a half decent psychiatrist would have uncovered it, and yet this didn't happen.

I say that the lessons must be learned, to prevent this happening again.

Unfortunate event for sure. The people who knew Cho was a threat fumbled, and shame on them. Each shooting give the anti-gun lobby more momentum, and the media just fuels the fire.

Originally posted by DamnedDirtyApes
Unfortunate event for sure. The people who knew Cho was a threat fumbled, and shame on them. Each shooting give the anti-gun lobby more momentum, and the media just fuels the fire.

Whilst gun laws are not the actual topic, I think they're worth a mention.
I had a very interesting discussion about this here, and came away with a better understanding of the issues, even though it didn't change my opinion.

Good point too about the hysteria in the media at the time - the only people that helps are the media tycoons who try to control our opinions.

reply to post by budski


Thanks for the link. Everyone has a different perspective on gun legislation, what it should and shouldn't be. Here in the US, there is little done to enforce the existing legislation.

reply to post by DamnedDirtyApes

Which begs the question "is there any point having it?"

Perhaps that's a topic for a different thread - although I'm perfectly willing (and able ) to discuss it here if you want to - it certainly pertains to the OP.



[edit on 30/8/2007 by budski]

I thought colleges did interviews..They did in my day..you didn't have to be a shrink to see that this kid was off his rocker..he would never have made it past admissions..just based on his everyday demeanor .. or have they substituted counselors with turnstyles . I can't address guntrol except just to say that I believe in walking the Earth with the love of Jesus in my eyes , a Bible in one hand and a Smith and Wesson in the other.

SyS

How could they have acted sooner?

I dont know about Virginia Tech, but most college/university police departments are unarmed. The State University of New York (SUNY) Police were unarmed until 1999 and in the City University of New York Public Safety Dept. only supervisors (Corporals and up) can carry guns. The public safety dept at the community college I go to is totally unarmed.

In mental health parlance, he "slipped through the net"..The brains a funny organ - it can't be defined.
One man's meat is another mans poison