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seung-hui.
He was a 23-year-old south
korean here in the U.S. As a
resident alien.K>?l
cho was enrolled as an
undergraduate student in his
senior year as an english
major at virginia tech.
Cho was in the U.S. With the
residence established in
centerville virginia and was
living on campus in harper
hall.
>> Suarez: Harper hall is
adjacent to ambler johnston
hall where the first shootings
took place yesterday.
Two people died there.Thorities believ to his dorm room to
reload following the first
shootings which occurred just
after 7:00 A.M.
He then proceeded to norris
hall, the engineering building,
where most of the killing was
done two hours later.
Cho, a south koreannt
status.
He was a green card holder.
Cho's family lives west of
washington D.C. In centerville
virginia.
He had graduated from high
2003.
Both communities are about 225
miles from blacksburg.
Police said two handguns, a
nine millimetre and a 22
caliber were found with choe's
body.
Backpack for a glock 9
millimetre pistol like this
one purchased in march.
Green card holders are
permitted under federal law to
purchase firearms if they have
no felony conviction.
Localn the
gunman's neighborhood today,
but there was little in way of
definitive information on the
young man or his family.
>> Can you describe the family
as you saw them throughout the
years.
>> Friendly.
Connected.
>> Very quiet.
I didn't know them at all.
I don't even know their name.
>> Suarez: That seeming
anonimity initially perplexed
investigators and officials as
well.
>> If guy was a loner.
We're having difficulty trying
to find any information about
him.
>> Suarez: Two english
professors were surprised they
didn't know the gunman.
>> Did you know the student.
>> No.
He wasn't known to me.
>> Does that surprise you that
you wouldn't know a senior
english student.
>> Yes, i find it surprising.
Our department is pretty tight-
knit community.
We know our students fairly
well.
So this person was on the
periphery as far as i know.
>> Suarez: I talked earlier
today to mark fisher of the
"washington post."
Mark fisher, welcome.
This morning when authorities
and the university identified
the virginia tech student
involved in the shootings, had
they already established that
he was the gunman in both
attacks?
>> That seems to be the case.
They at least know that the
same weapon was used in both
attacks.
They're trying to piece
together the other pieces of
evidence that would conclude
that he was the sole gunman.
>> Suarez: Is there any
information on a motive?
>> There's just a rambling
note that he left behind which
is a very angry note against
rich people.
He talks about debauchery and
generally wealth in which he
seems to be upset by.
He also signed it with the
same name that he wrote on his
arm.
Smael ax.
And the police don't seem to
know what that means.
>> Suarez: What has emerged
through the day about cho
seung-hui and his life in the
U.S.?
When did he come to this
country?
>> He came with his parents.
He was eight years old.
His pareed t
in 1992.
They run a dry cleaners about
40 minutes outside of
washington D.C. In
centerville.
His older sister is gradwa(
from princeton university,
just a couple of years ago.
They live in a house, a town
house in a very new
development in a part of the
suburbs where many of the
>> Suarez: Were there signs of
emotional problems before
yesterday.
>> There seemed to have been.
Especially at virginia tech.
Some of the kids referred to
him as question mark man
because in a british
literature class when all the
other students introduced
themselvess to the professor
by writing their name down on
a sign-in sheet he only listed
a question mark.
When the professor asked him
about that he remained silent.
>> Suarez: Did his teachers
see in his work anything that
bothered them about this young
man.
>> Indeed.
One of his english professors
was very disturbed by a piece
he did in a creative writing
assignment, so disturbed that
she referred him to counseling
because of the content.
We don't have that concept but
it must have been quite
extreme for a professor to
take such a step.
>> Suarez: You mentioned that
he comes from centerville
virginia.
That's near dulles
international airport.
Last night the police made a
visit to the cho residence.
What was that like?
>> A number of police cars
both marked and unmarked
arrived late last night.
Police went into the house,
gathered up a bunch of
materials, came out with a
number of boxes.
The family either left with
them or had been escorted away
in the hours right before that.
They've gone into hiding since
then.
What i found fascinating about
this is that one neighbor
after another told me about
this.
Having witnessed this.
I asked them if they had
spoken to the police or if
they had found out anything
more.
They said, oh, no, every
single one of them had stayed
inside their towusll this through an
upstairs bedroom window or a
living room curtain or evenheir front door open
T. Know
one another well at all.
Not a single one of them felt
bold enough to go outside to
observe or ask a question.
>> Suarez: Has it been
established yet how cho
seung-hui got the guns he used
in the attack.
>> One of them was purchased
at a roanoke gun store within
the last weeks.
Ot, the derivation
is not quite clear.
>> Suarez: And they're using
the evidence of what was in
his pack and so on as signs of
premeditation so far?
>> It does appear that this
was well planned.
There's some evidence that he
had practiced at a shooting
range.
The guns had been purchased
sometime before.
The statement was lengthy and
had been written before the
events.
So this does not appear to
have been a crime of immediate
passion.
>> Suarez: Do we know if his
troubles go back further?
You mentioned signs of
emotional upset during times
at virginia tech.
Did anybody have anything to
say in centerville.
>> They seemed to find him,
the neighbors, that is, seemed
to find him the mysterious
person in the family.
They describe the parents and
the sister as quite polite and
friendly willing to engage
with neighbors but they
describe the son as someone
who did not respond to the
most routine of greetings.
They did not recall any
friends having been at the
house.
>> Suarez: Mark fisher of the
"washington post," thanks for
joining us.
>> Good to be with you.
>> Lehrer: Now, the awful day
after at virginia tech.
Newshour correspondent kwame
holman narrates our report.
>> Reporter: Flags on virginia
tech's campus flew at half
staff this morning as students
set up memorials to the dead.
About a mile from campus,
there was an encouraging news
at the montgomery regional
hospital.
Many of the more than 25
injured were taken there. An
update on how the victims were
doing.
>> 12 of the patients from
yesterday's shooting remain at
montgomery and the medical
center.
All are in stable condition.
We have nine patients here at
montgomery regional hospital.
Three of those were critical
last night.
They've been upgraded to
stable as of this morning.
At the medical center in salem,
they have three patients
remaining.
All are in stable condition.
One is expected to be
discharged today.
>> Reporter: On campus
students who witnessed and
.
>> We heard it in the
classroom next to us.
It sounded kind of like an
enormous hammer.
Just over and over again.
Every one or two seconds.
We heard the screams and
realized what was happening.
>> What were you doing trying
to get behind desks, under
desks or anything?
>> At first everyone just got
up in order to get out of
there.
Some went for the door and the
shots were coming down the
hallway.
>> You were on the second
story so you went to kick out
the windows to to safety., He was trying
to bar the door.
Is that correct?
>> He was standing guard by
the door.
The whole ti i
>> And then when you started
jumping out of the window,
what was happening?
>> Well, i think i was
actually the last to jump.
The two people bmtz me
actually got shot got out
the room had ripped the
screens off and kicked the
windows open.
They're pretty old.
So i could see the people jump
in front of me.
A couple of people broke
ankles and legs.
I aimed for a bush.
I hit the bush first and the
ground so i ended up okay.
>> Reporter
erday's scene at a press
conference.
>> We've had dozens and dozens
of investigators, special
agents, from various agencies,
detectives from various
agencies that have been
working around the clock on a
horrific crime scene.
You all have reported
this is the most horrific
incident that's occurred on
college campus in our country.
The scene certainly bore that
out.
What went on during that
incident certainly caused
tremendous chaos and panic in
norris hall.
As a result, it's greatly
complicated our being able to
process the scene, if you can
imagine.
At the crime scene personal
effects were strewn about the
entire second floor at norris
hall.
So it made it much more
difficult for us to identify
students and faculty members
that were victims.
Victims were found in at least
 four classromm& as well as a
we know that there were a
number of heroic events that
took place.
Students and faculty alike.
Within minutes of this tragedy
unfolding.
The gunman was discovered
among several of the victims
in one of the classrooms.
He had taken his own life.
Now i want to further explore
just a bit this idea of
additional shooters or
accomplices or whatnot.
What has just been reported to
you is that the ballistics
test says that one of the
weapons used in norris hall
was also used in thesh... the evidence
has not led us to where we can
say with all certainty that
the same shooter was involved
at both instances.
So we are now exploringevidenceing to make
that trail.
It certainly is reasonable for
us to assume that cho was the
shooter in both places but we
don't have the evidence tome
>> Reporter: Despite the fact
that many names of victims
have been reported in the
press, an official list of
those who died won't come
until late
tudents and faculty
will be released once all
victims are positively
identifyed and next of kin are
notified.
>> Reporter: The said that could takes faced some criticism
for the handling of the
shootings, also spoke at this
morning's press conference.
>> We will close norris hall
foengrange alternative locations
for the classrooms and for
faculty offices.
Counseling and other resources
are avaifo
faculty and staff.
>> Reporter: The shooting at
norris hall killed 30 le fi west ambler were not notifiedholready was
underway.
>> Yesterday morning,
president steger and his staff c made the right
decisions based on the best
information that they had
available at the time.
Our priority needs to be and
our focus needs to remain on
the ongoing cnd most
importantly on dealing with
the needs of the victims and
their families and the
students here at virginia
tech.
>> Reporter:Ut students
remained unsure.
I've never felt dangeied for a lack
of security.
I think the school should have
notified us after the 7:00
shooting.
I know i wouldn't have come to
campus.
If I would have known.
>> Reporter: This morning two
students told the newshour's
tom beardon that some of the
anger manyre
this woman is a communications
major.
>> I defilynococ
class and some of my roommates
and stuff that were upset.
I think most people realize
that it's really a tough
situation and that, you know,
it's tough to place blam
celebrating the lives of these
people that were lost.
>> Reporter: Jenny is a senior
communications major from
virginia.
>> Increasing security for a
little bit for a few days tet
substantially to make it
anything similar to a big city
or an airport or anything,
it's just going to i think it
would be very detrimental torywhere for the rest
of the year or for next year,
it will make people afraid to
be here.
We don't need people afraid to
be here.
A lot of people feel safe
tier this.
They feel scared but I don't
think they feel like this is
going to be something that
reoccurs.
>> Reporter: This afternoon
thousands of students and
faculty stood in line for some
two hours trying to get into a
sports arena for a convocation,
the university's first
official gathering since the
shooting.
(The national anthem)
that venue filled quickly.
And the overflow crowd was
diverted to the university's
football stadium nearby where
people were able to view the
ceremony on the scoreboard
screen.
>> It's impossible to make
sense of such violence and
suffering.
Those whose lives were taken
did nothing to deserve their
fate.
They were simply in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
Now they're gone and they
leave behind grieving families
and grieving classmates, and a
grieving nation.
>> Reporter: Governor tim
kaine who was in tokyo when
the shooting occurred returned
to virginia tott president
bush and first lady laura
bush.
>> Lehrer: We'll have more
from the convocation later in
the program.
Late this afternoon, authorities
in blacksburg held another press
conference.
Tom, several questions.
First of all who was at the
news conference?
>> Speaking.
News conference were governor
tim kaine that you just saw in
the tape briefly a moment ago
and steven flaherty who was
the superintendent of the
virginia state police along
with about 35 television
cameras from all over the
planet and 75 satellite trucks
that I can see surrounding me
here.
>> Lehrer: Did the governor or
anybody say anything more
about the problems involving
the time lag, the two hours
between the first shots, the
first killings.
Two people and then the 30
later?
>> The governor was asked
about that.
His response was that he is
appointing a special
commission, an independent law
enforcement review, as he
termed it, to investigate the
reactions of everyone from law
enforcement to the university
administration to notification
of students.
He was asked several questions
about that and declined to
answer in any detail saying he
would wait for the result of
that.
>> Lehrer: Superintendent
flaherty didn't add anything
to that as well, right?
>> He did not.
What he had to say basically
was that they were following
the leads on the two weapons
that had been recovered from
the shooting scene and they
were also looking into some
documents.
They had executed a search
warrant on student cho's
dormitory room.
They found documents there and
were investigating those.
>> Lehrer: On the documents,
mark fisher of the "washington
post" told ray suarez earlier
this evening that his
reporting indicated that there
was a rambling note found that
cho had written.
Is that considered a suicide
note by everybody?
>> Flaherty said no.
But he wasn'T... he didn't
absolutely rule out the
possibility.
But it was a strong indication
from him at least from my
perspective that that was not
a suicide note.
There were other questions
about writings, specifically a
tid .
The superintendent said he had
no information on that and
said that was unlikely.
>> Lehrer: Say again, tom, as
to where this note was found.
In his dormitory room or at
his home in centerville?
>> I believe it was his campus
dormitory room.
That's at least the writings
that superintendent flaherty
was referring to.
Mains toe
kn
these events?
Why are they still saying
we're not sure?
>> It may be a matter of
simply making absolutely sure
that they positively identify
who did the shooting at the
first, at the dormitory where
the student and the resident
advisor were killed.
The superintendent has said
twice today, first at the
morning briefing and at the
briefing this afternoon, that
they have no evidence that
there is any accomplice
involved in this.
They know that at least one of
the guns was involved in both
shootings.
No evidence that cho had an
accomplice but they said they
could not positively say at
this point pending further
investigation whether he was
involved at the first
shooting.
>> Lehrer: Who is... who or
what organization is in charge
of the investigation now, tom?
>> No one at this point.
Go
might appoint.
He declined to do so.
He said he needed to talk to
the people he had in mind to
get their permission first.
>> Lehrer: Now the grasked aboutus virginia.
What did he say about that?
>> He was asked a couple of
questions abouth
onepahe
was probably the most
emotional thing he said at
this particular briefing.
He said that he had nothing
but loathing for tragedy jus a
political hobby horse.
That was in response to a
question about gun laws.
>> Lehrer: Tom, he also was
asked or both of them were
asked about this
in fact, reacted in a suicide
way to what their son had
done.
They put that down too.
Did they not?
Rather arealy.
>> Actually, neither the
governor or the superintendent tP.Red suicide.
>> Lehrer: Is there anything
else that you heard in the
news conference?
You've heard everything we've
reported up to until now.
That you heard in the news
conference that we need to
know about.
>> No, sir.
I don't think so.
The key i think at this point
is the fact that the goff
knorr is going to appoint this
independent review to raise
all the questions to address
the questions that have been
raised here on the campus and
elsewhere about whether or not
the response was adequate and
timely.,
Much.
>> You're welcome.
>> Lehrer: Now the challenge
of keeping college campuses
safe everywhere andly unfounded, okl
steven joel trachtenberg is the
president of george washington
university.
Allen bova is the director of
risk management and insurance at
cornell university.
And melissa vito is vice provost
for student affairs and head of
the campus emergency response
team at the university of
arizona.
In 2002, a nursing student t
taking his own life.
Melissa vito, i want to start
with you because you've kind
of lived through this on your
campus.
A university's worst
nightmare.
How do you prepare for it?
>> Well, thanks, gwen.
You prepare by trying to have
a strong emergency response
team in place with a group of
people who know what their
roles are, who know how to
deal with emergencies and who
can work really well together.
We had that in nng shootings,
but we also saw that they had
some gaps so we've taken our
team and expanded it, made
sure that we've got faculty
representation,st group that
meets monthly for several
hours to review all aspects of
our emergency response
planning.
>> Ifill: Allen bova let's
talk about that.
How is it different to try to
come up with a multiplan that
melissa vito just talked about
on a college campus than it
would be elan?Allenging.
A college campus has hundreds
of buildings.
It's spread over many square
miles.
There's numerous departments
and individuals that you need
to consult.
To try to formulate such a
plan.
>> Ifill: Yet we heardha
tom beardon in his tape report
that she doesn't want a real
lockdown on campus.
She doesn't want to be afraid
on campus.
How do you deal with that
attitude?
>> I would support that
enn't thinatollege
campuses need to be fortresses
or need to have airport
security to... because i think
it would really harm the
educational process.
Also, itou such
restrictive security.
>> Ifill: President
trachtenberg, your campus is
an urban campus, far dntrespecbut is this somethinh
like theyar
arizona state about security?
Is this something that you all
have to talk about a lot?
>> Yes, I think it's a blend
. Anity.
So you want transparency.
You want to use technology.
You want to use training but
you also want the students and
the
it's not something that can be
done top-down.
This is something that has to
ut cothe campus.
We need everybody on campus to
be concerned for each other
and to look after each other.
I urge the students in this
freshmen a. Into to offwo
and ey thtenberg, your campus is
also located not far from the
white house.
Did that change the kinds of
security precautions that you
took to secure your campus
after 9/11 or do events like
this change what you do?
>> Yes.
We have considerably
professionalized
but they were very good before.
Now we've taken them to the
point where we have an
accredited department of
security.
We have now a associate vice
president for security as well
as a chief of police.
E
student groups and others that
are alert.
This is not something that can
be done merely by paid
officers.
However alert, however good
they may be.
You need the student body and to
recognize that security is a
consequential 21st century
issue snep l an
emergency especially you never
see an emergency coming.
Is this something tt do
you reach out enforcement and
bring them in?
>> We... well, each emergency
is different.
So on our campus, we
immediately convene with our
policy group of our campus
emergency response team.
And we get together as soon as
we know of anything and
immediately assess what we
know and then figure out what
resources going to be needed
to address the emergency.
So there may be times when we
utilize external resources.
Therbe
but we always... i want to
echo the comment made about
involving the whole community
because our campus emepl te across
faculty, students and then
particular areas of expertise
across the whole
when we redeveloped policies
to address threatening
behavior and disruptivebehavior anded wd fort.
But crises tend to be dynamic.Plan, set goals and then be
ready to adjust as we gather
new information.
>> Ifill: Allen bova, let's
ta aconcerns atn'
ther shootiha
know about techn aant emailing, about some
sort of emergency warning
system, that campus security
officials are now talking
about and thinking about, not
only in the wake of these
kinds of incidents but even
anticipating these kinds of
incidents?.
>> Ifill: This isor
bova, just a moment.
Sir.
>> Most college campuses are
looking at notification
systems.
Virginia tech had a
notification system that they
sent out an
students.
I know that they have a good
risk m ien
their notification systems and
looking to see what they can
do to improve on their
existing systems to make them
even more robust.
Good risk management is
looking after the incident
happened not just on your
college campus but at other
campuses and the incidents
they've experienced and
evaluating the risk and seeing
whether or not those systems
really work and trying to
improve on those systems and
processes to make for a safer
campus to protect our students,
faculty and staff.
>> Ifill: When you say risk
management, aren't one of the
risks what the mood is of a
troubled student.
We now know that this student
had warning signs.
Is part of your risk...
managing risk tracking those
warning signs?
>> Well, those warning signs
are very, very difficult
really to determine in a lot
of cases.
I think what you're really
talking about is profiling.
I'm not sure profiling usually
works.
Certainly I think that
virginia tech in this
particular case did identify
the student.
They did take the appropriate
action by referring the
student toel
but this was an extremely i and not enough
really is placed towards the
actual person that committed
this heinous crimeesident ht a
system in place, if there is a
troubled student who is
sending out signs that thereou t
be perfect on this.
It's a delicate balance as has
been indicated between the
rights of individuals, both
their legal rights and
concerns under the A.D.A., The
americans with disabilities
act, and also the obligations
of the university to the
larger community.
If you have somebody who you
think is a danger to himself
or herself or to others you
obviously ha s it turns out you have
inadverten overacted that's
a lot easier to fix than
having been too cautious.
So my attitude is you'd want
to protect all of your
students and you want to do it mao
individual way.
>> Ifill: Melissa vito, we saw
today lockdowns on university
campuses in four states and a
lot of high school campuses
around the country today.
Do you think this sort of
thing creates a hair-trigger
response which is or is not
helpful on campuses after an
event like this?
>> I think it does create a
sense of unease among student
and faculty populations.
I think one of the challenges
in dealing with a crisis is
how you deal with the people
issues because you're dealing
with people who are normally
healthy, functional
individuals who suddenly are
thrust into the midst of a
crisis.
And the challenge for us is
how you move those people back
to a sense of recovery and
normalcy.
I think that the lockdowns,
depending up s, times cre
more unease and anxiety but
again each situation isindial
>> Ifill: In general, are
college campuses or assafe as they can be?
Melissa vito.
>> I believe that they ar.
Y across the numbers
of students on our campuses numbers of faculty and
staff, we have many small
cities and towns
nation. Believe
are quite safe.
And that these situations are
very unique.
>> Ifill: Melissa vito f
the unty,
ev joel trachtenberg of
george washingto uand allen bova of cornell,
thank you all very m dand to geoffrey brown.And to geoffrey brown.
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