December 30, 2025 • 35 mins
A series of missed warnings and fatal delays culminate in a massacre that forever changed campus safety in America.
On April 16, 2007, a lone student carried out a coordinated shooting across the Virginia Tech campus, killing 33 people and wounding 17 others. What began as a double homicide in a residence hall escalated into a mass shooting inside Norris Hall, while students and faculty remained unaware of the threat.
In this episode of Murder U, we examine the life and warning signs of the shooter, the investigative failures and administrative decisions that allowed the attack to continue, and the devastating impact on the victims, their families, and the university community. We also explore how the tragedy reshaped campus security, emergency alert systems, and federal gun policy — and why its lessons remain painfully relevant today.
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On April 16, 2007, a lone student carried out a coordinated shooting across the Virginia Tech campus, killing 33 people and wounding 17 others. What began as a double homicide in a residence hall escalated into a mass shooting inside Norris Hall, while students and faculty remained unaware of the threat.
In this episode of Murder U, we examine the life and warning signs of the shooter, the investigative failures and administrative decisions that allowed the attack to continue, and the devastating impact on the victims, their families, and the university community. We also explore how the tragedy reshaped campus security, emergency alert systems, and federal gun policy — and why its lessons remain painfully relevant today.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-u--6152042/support.
Follow Murder U on:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@murderupodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murderupodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560484916041
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MurderUPodcast
Twitter/X: https://x.com/MurderUPodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh my gosh. I can't thank you all enough for listening.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We've had thousands of downloads already and we're just getting started. Anyway,
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It really helps us out and ensures we can keep
bringing you great true crime stories thanks a bunch Abnormia.
(00:25):
From high school hallways to expansive college campuses and the
sanctity of their homes, these once secure spaces have transformed
into hunting grounds for sinister individuals seeking to inflict harm
on the unsuspecting. I'm your host, Mattie. Join me here
each week as we investigate the bone chilling stories of
senseless murders occurring in and around our centers of education.
(00:48):
Welcome to Murder You, an Abnormia original.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Welcome to this episode of Murder You.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I'm your host, Mattie, and today I'll be covering the
two thousand and seven Virginia Tech shooting massacre that claimed
thirty three lives and seventeen others wounded. At the time,
it was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and
it remained so until the twenty sixteen Orlando nightclub shooting.
The shooting was perpetrated by Song Hi Cho, who was
(01:43):
an undergraduate at the university. This event was notable for
so many reasons and was a watershed moment for the
gun violence that had plagued the United States over the
past several decades. It led to many changes in campus
security nationwide, which I'll return to. It also sparked a
fierce debate about mental health care failures, privacy laws, and
(02:07):
how this tragedy could have been prevented. Additionally, it led
to the first significant federal gun control measure in the
US since nineteen ninety four.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So let's get started, because there's.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
A lot to cover in this episode. Virginia Tech was
founded in eighteen seventy two as the Virginia Agricultural and
Mechanical College. Its sprawling two thousand, six hundred acre main
campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia. In nineteen seventy the school's
name was changed to its current official name, Virginia Polytechnic
(02:41):
Institute and State University. Many older alumnis still refer to
it as VPI, but today it's widely known as Virginia Tech.
The school has an annual enrollment of around thirty eight
thousand students, eighty percent of whom are undergraduates and twenty
percent of whom are graduates.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Students who attend.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
The university are known as Hokies. The nickname dates to
the eighteen nineties, when a student named O. M. Stoll
won a five dollars prize for coming up with a
new spirit chair, now known as Old Hoki. I'm not
going to sing it for you, but it starts with
the line hokey hokey, hokey high as an attention grabber.
(03:25):
After singing the song for decades, the Hokies became the
official nickname, and the school's mascot became the Hoky Bird,
a turkey like bird that, as far as I can tell,
doesn't really exist except as a mascot. The school's colors
are burnt orange and Chicago maroon, and were selected at
the time because no other college was using that particular
(03:47):
colour combination. The school is known for its research and
is ranked in the top six percent in the nation
for research expenditures. According to its mission statement, the university
strives to be an inclusive community of knowledge, discovery, and
creativity dedicated to improving the quality of life and the
human condition within the Commonwealth of Virginia and throughout the world.
(04:11):
Virginia Tech is known for its diverse student body. As
of the fall of twenty twenty three, thirty six point
eight percent of its undergraduate students were underrepresented, minorities, or underserved.
So it's just a great school that prides itself on
diversity and inclusion. It seems like a great place to
(04:31):
get an education and discover yourself. That's likely one reason
Sung he Cho enrolled at Virginia Tech after graduating high school.
Cho was born on January eighteenth, nineteen eighty four, in Asan,
South Korea. He and his family lived in a basement
apartment in Seoul for several years before the family immigrated
(04:52):
to the United States in nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
From an early age, he.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Showed signs of severe anxiety disorder, and he was shy
to the point of having selective mutism. People diagnosed with
selective mutism are unable to talk in certain social situations
because of fear or anxiety. Choe was eight years old
when he came to America, and that must have been
quite a culture shock for someone who was already socially awkward.
(05:21):
The family lived in Detroit, and Cho's father worked as
a self employed bookstore owner, but the business didn't turn
much of a prophet. The family moved to the Washington,
d c. Area because they discovered it had one of
the largest South Korean expatriate communities in the US. They
settled in Fairfax County, Virginia. There, the Cho family ran
(05:43):
a dry cleaning business and became permanent residents of the
United States. Cho's parents became members of a local Christian
church and raised their son in the Christian faith. The
family had concerns about Cho's behavior as a child. He
rarely spoke or showed affection, and his grandfather told ABC
News that he never made eye contact or called him grandfather.
(06:08):
That must have been difficult, especially for grandparents who typically
liked to shower their grandchildren with love and affection. Choe
disliked going to school in the United States. A family
friend described him as often crying and throwing tantrums when
he came home from school. He was often bullied because
of his shyness and his foreign accent. Despite the bullying
(06:30):
he suffered at school, Choe was a good student. By
eighth grade. He was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and
selective mutism.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
The bullying became.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Worse in high school, and he was often picked on
for being so shy.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
He was also targeted for his race. On more than
one occasion.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Classmates described Cho as having little interaction with students or teachers,
even when they tried to include him. Gosh, it seems
like a horrible situation to grow up in. Mind you,
that does not excuse his later actions, but I can
imagine he built up a lot of anger during this time.
When Show was in ninth grade, the Columbine High School
(07:10):
massacre became a major news story.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
He was reportedly.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Obsessed with the incident and idolized the two perpetrators. He
even mentioned in a school assignment that he wanted to
quote repeat Columbine.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I wonder what grade he received on that assignment.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
The school did inform Cho's family about his disturbing statements,
and his parents sought medical and therapeutic treatment for their son.
In high school, he was placed in special education under
the emotional disturbance classification, which excused him from oral presentations
and class conversations. Despite these red flags, Virginia Tech wasn't
(07:51):
aware that they had a ticking time bomb of a
student on their hands due to federal privacy laws. Choe
made good grades in high school. He was a very
bright student, if not the most articulate. He was accepted
a Virginia Tech and enrolled as a freshman in two
thousand and three. He majored in business information technology, but
(08:11):
by his senior year he was majoring in English, intending
to become a writer. Joe seemed to break out of
his shell in his first year at Virginia Tech. Close
acquaintances said that he tried to fit in. As those
efforts failed, he became increasingly isolated. At parties, he would
sit in a corner and not respond when people tried
(08:33):
to engage with him. His behavior also became more disturbing.
At one party, he reportedly sat in a corner stabbing
a carpet, which naturally made other partygoers uncomfortable. Though he
rarely spoke, he told several people about his imaginary girlfriend
(08:53):
named Jelly, who he described as a supermodel living in space.
One of his sweet maids recalled Cho standing in the
doorway of his room snapping photos of him late at night.
He would place harassing phone calls to girls on campus
using the Moniker question mark, and he once told his
(09:14):
roommate that he was spending Thanksgiving vacation with Vladimir Putin
in North Carolina. Wow, that's all some weird stuff. Professor
Nikki Giovanni told Time magazine that she had cho removed
from her classroom because his classmates feared him. There was
something mean about this boy, she said, describing him as
(09:36):
a bully who was always wearing sunglasses and a hat
in class, which she asked him to remove. Even more alarming,
he photographed the legs and knees of female students in
the class. Other professors were concerned about his behavior as well.
Lucinda Roy, who runs the school's creative writing program, removed
(09:57):
him from class and tutored.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Him one on one.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Professor Roy tried to warn the university, but either no
one was listening or there was nothing they could do
at the time. This is a tragedy that's about a
failure of imagination, Roy said in an interview with CBS News,
adding in many ways, people couldn't imagine something really terrible
happening on a campus as beautiful and pristine and picturesque
(10:24):
as ours. In two thousand and five, Choe's behavior escalated,
and twice he was accused of stalking female students. In
both cases, neither victim filed charges. It seems like Virginia
Tech could have acted at that time and suspended Choe,
(10:45):
but for whatever reason, nothing was done. Later that year,
Choe made suicidal statements and was taken to a psychiatric facility.
He was released in ordered to continue outpatient therapy. He
did attend court order counseling sessions, but they didn't seem
to have much impact on his mental state, which continued
(11:06):
to decline.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
According to one.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Of Cho's professors, he had gone to the mental health
facility several times but was never really examined. The university
later said they were unaware of Cho's history of mental
health problems.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, no wonder.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
If they were unaware of his active mental health crisis,
despite several professors warning the school, of course they would
be unaware of his past issues. Even if that information
had been available, I doubt it would have mattered because
so many people failed to connect the dots and take
the appropriate action to ensure Cho wasn't a danger to
(11:47):
other students. Five weeks before the shooting rampage, Choe entered
a gunshop in Roanoke, Virginia.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
He bought a Glock.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Nineteen and a box of ammunition with a credit card
for five hundred and seventy one dollar. John Markel, the
shop owner, spoke to NBC News about the purchase. He
was a nice, clean cut college kid.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
We won't sell a.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Gun if we have any idea at all that a
purchase is suspicious, Markel said, the problem was that none
of Cho's mental health issues precluded him from purchasing a gun.
Two of Choe's roommates noted that Cho's sleep schedule became
unusual in the weeks leading up to the shooting. From
evidence later found in his dorm room, Choe had been
(12:32):
planning the assault for some time. In February, Choe purchased
a Walther P twenty two pistol. That same month, he
began stalking Emily hillsher after finding her info online. Choe
bought Chain's ammunition and a hunting knife in March in
preparation for his diabolical plan. On April sixteenth, two thousand
(12:54):
and seven, at five am, one of Chose's sweet mates
saw Cho awake and at computer. At five point thirty,
another roommate noticed Cho, clad in boxer shorts and a shirt,
brushing his teeth and applying acting cream. Choe returned from
the bathroom dressed.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And left the door room at Harper Hall.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The roommate didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Around
six forty seven, Choe was seen by a student waiting
outside the West Ambler Johnson Residential Hall entrance.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Where his mailbox was located.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
At seven oh two, Emily Hillsher's boyfriend, Carl Thornhill, dropped
her off in front of the residential hall.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
She went to her room where Cho was waiting for her.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
For months, he had been sending her odd text messages.
At first, she believed it was a prank, but she
soon realized she had a stalker. No one knows precisely
what happened next, but Cho likely confronted Emily. He may
have seen her boyfriend drop her off, but this was
no spur of the moment. Jealous rage sung he Cho
(14:05):
came armed with a pistol to kill Emily Hillshire. Around
seven point fifteen, shots rang out in West Ambler Johnson
Residential Hall as Emily became Cho's first victim. Emily's next
door neighbor, residential adviser Ryan Christopher Clark, responded to a
(14:26):
noise and came to investigate. Choe turned his gun on
Ryan and shot him in the neck. At seven seventeen,
Choe calmly left the residential hall and returned to herper hall,
where he changed out of his body clothes, re armed himself,
and prepared for the final phase of his deadly plan.
(14:46):
At seven point twenty, the VT Police Department received a
call that a female student at wa J Hall had
possibly fallen from her loft bed. The VT rescue squad
is dispatched to w a Ja. At seven twenty four,
a VTPD officer arrived at Hillsher's dorm room and found
(15:07):
two people shot inside the room. He immediately requested backup
as there was no sign of the shooter. A minute later,
Cho logged onto his university email account. He erased his
files and the account. Cho then made some final edits
to a video that would be mailed to NBC News
(15:29):
as part of his manifesto. It would inspire later mass
shootings like the one perpetrated by in cel killer Elliott Roger.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
At seven point.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Thirty, additional VTPD officers began arriving at Emily Hillsher's room,
they secured the crime scene and started a preliminary investigation.
They interviewed residents, but none were able to provide a description.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Of the suspect.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
No one on Emily's floor in WAJ sought anyone leave
her room after the initial noise was heard. Both victims
were transported to separate hospitals. Clark died in transit to
Montgomery Regional Hospital. Emily Hillsher died soon after arriving at
Roanoke Memorial Hospital. As investigators searched for clues to what
(16:19):
happened in the dorm room, a friend of Emily's arrived
to walk with her to chemistry class. Detectives informed her
of the shooting and questioned her about Emily. They learned
that Emily had a boyfriend named Carl Thornhill. He often
dropped her off and returned to Radford University, where he
was a student. The friend told police that the boyfriend
(16:41):
dropped Emily off around six fifty am. She then told
the police that Carl Thornhill was an avid shooter and
gun enthusiast. Seeing that Ryan Clark was clad in his underwear,
the police believed they had a case involving a jealous lover.
Photos around the victim's room of Thornhill posing with firearms
supported this theory. With Thornhill now a person of interest,
(17:06):
they decided that the shooter was likely not a student
of the university and that there was no immediate threat.
Students headed to their classes unaware that there had been
a double murder on campus and the shooter was still
at large. At seven fifty seven am, VTPD Chief Wendell
(17:27):
Flincham notified the vt Office of the Executive Vice President
of the shootings, which triggered a meeting of the university's
policy group. Three minutes later, morning classes began at Virginia Tech.
The VT Policy Group was updated on the progress made
in the investigation.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
The VTPD chief.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Informed them of the possible suspect and explained they were
likely off campus. Remarkably, they didn't notify students and faculty
of a potential threat.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I mean, what were they waiting for?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Even if their suspect was the right man, they were
making a dangerous assumption that he was no longer a threat.
I mean, who knows what someone who just killed two
people will do next.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
The students had a right to know that there was
a potential.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Danger, and university leaders were meeting to discuss the best
course of action, not for the students, but for the school.
It's unbelievable they didn't issue an immediate alert. If they
had done their job and protected the students in their care,
many lives could have been saved that day. Over the
(18:39):
next hour, officers searched for Carl Thornhill. His vehicle wasn't
found in campus parking lots, and officers became.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
More confident that he had left the campus.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
BTPD and BPD officers were sent to his home, but
he wasn't there. A BULO report was issued to be
on the lookout for his vehicle. Around a twenty, cho
was seen near the Duck ponds on campus, but no
one was looking for him or aware he was about
to unleash hell upon the campus. At the same time,
(19:12):
the VT Policy Group was still debating on how to
tell students about the murders. If there was ever a
time to halt the committee and make an executive decision,
it was then. But nobody wanted to take responsibility for
shutting down classes or causing students to panic. There didn't
seem to be an imminent threat, but students should have
(19:33):
been given all of the info so they could decide
for themselves. Meanwhile, upon hearing about the incident, schools across
Blacksburg did what Virginia Tech administrators failed to do by
locking their outer doors to protect their students. If only
Virginia Tech had competent leadership who cared about student safety
(19:54):
more than the university's image, disaster could have been averted.
At nine am, the Policy Group got the latest update
on the double homicide investigation, while Choe was mailing a
package to NBC News in New York that contained pictures
of himself holding weapons, a one thousand, eight hundred word
(20:14):
rambling manifesto, and a video where he expressed his anger, resentment,
and desire to get even with those who wronged him.
He alluded to the coming massacre. At nine oh five,
the students in Norris Hall were settling into their seats
as second period classes began. About ten minutes later, cho
(20:36):
entered Norris Hall and chained the door shut on three
main entrances from the inside. No one reported seeing him
do this. Twenty minutes later, a Montgomery County deputy stopped
Carl Thornhill off campus in his pickup truck. Detectives were
sent to question him. A gunpowder residue test was performed
(20:58):
on Thornhill and it came back At the same time.
The VT Policy Group finally decided to send an email
message to campus staff, faculty, and students informing them of
the dorm shootings.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
It was too little, too late.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
At nine forty am, Joe walked through room two o
six at Norris Hall to reach room two o seven.
He entered a German class and shot instructor Christopher James Bishop,
who slumped to the ground. He then shot students near
the front of the classroom before starting down the aisle
and shooting others. Then he left the room. Over the
(21:38):
next nine minutes, he indiscriminately shot nearly fifty people using
the two handguns he had legally purchased at a local
firearms store. At nine forty one, a nine to one
to one dispatcher received a call about a shooting in
Norris Hall. A minute later, they called VTPD and informed
(21:59):
them of the shooting at Norris Hall. At nine forty five,
just four minutes after the first nine one one call,
the first police officer arrived at Norris Hall. The officer
heard shots and thought.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
He was being fired upon.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
They tried the door of Norris Hall, but it was
changed shut. The officer attempted to breach two more doors,
but to their horror, both were changed shut. After leaving
Room two o seven, Joe walked to other classrooms, shooting
dozens of people. In Room two eleven, Colin Goddard was
(22:35):
sitting in his French class that morning. Goddard spoke with
ABC News and recalled fellow classmate Rachel Hill, arriving late
to class sometime after nine thirty five. She told the
professor that she was late because of a shooting that
occurred in her dorm that morning. All of us were
kind of shocked, so we assumed that they let Rachel go,
(22:58):
that things were okay and we can continued with class,
Goddard said. Moments later, the class heard loud bangs. Professor
Jocelyn Couture Noak glanced outside the classroom and then slammed
the door shut. She told her students to take cover
under the desks and call nine one one, Goddard recalled.
Goddard called nine one one, as twenty year old Matthew
(23:21):
Laporte rushed to help hold the door shut. The gunman
tried to breach the door as Goddard remained on the
line with the dispatcher. It was the most scared I've
ever been in my life. I don't remember having the
thought of I'm going to die. All I can remember
thinking was I just can't believe that this is real,
Goddard told ABC News. Joe finally entered the classroom and
(23:44):
began shooting students. Goddard was struck in the shoulder and
managed to toss his cell phone to another student who
stayed online with dispatchers.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Joe left the.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Room and returned multiple times. Goddard was shot four times.
Emily Hass was a nineteen year old sophomore majoring in business.
She bravely stayed on the line with dispatchers, even though
two shots had grazed her head. Around nine point fifty,
police shot through a fourth door that wasn't secured with chains.
(24:16):
They entered the building through a machine shop and followed
the gunshots to the second floor. One final shot rang
out as officers came upon a scene of unimaginable carnage.
They began triadging and rescuing victims As best they could.
Police cleared the second floor and ERTs were allowed to
enter the building to assist more victims. Eleven people in
(24:39):
Room two eleven died that day, including Professor kocher Nook.
When the shooting stopped and the smoke cleared, sung he
Cho also lay dead.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
On the floor of Room two eleven.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
He died from a self inflicted shot to the head,
but took thirty two other lives with him in what
was at the time the deadliest shooting in American history.
Joe's body was found at ten oh eight. There was
no idea on the body. About ten minutes later, a
third email from v T admin canceled classes and advised.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
People to stay where they were. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Too little, too late, because thirty three people were dead
and seventeen more were wounded because administrators failed to act.
Among the dead were Austin Cloyd, an international relations and
French major, died in Room two eleven, two weeks shy
of her nineteenth birthday. Austin was an a student, a
(25:38):
children's lifeguard, and an officer in the International Relations Organization.
She was passionate about social justice issues. Matthew Laporte was
a twenty year old political science major who had military aspirations.
He had just passed the physical endurance test.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
For the Air Force.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Matthew was shot seven times while trying to keep the
shooter out of room to eleven. He fell and died
with his arms outstretched towards the door, according to officers.
On April ninth, twenty fifteen, Matthew was posthumously honored with
the Airman's Medal. His family accepted the award from the
Air Force for his heroism in saving lives in his
(26:18):
classroom that day. It's the highest honour one can receive
without being in actual combat. Rima Samaha was a cheerful
citizen of the world who was proud of her Lebanese heritage.
She was an active member of the Melchite Greek Catholic Church,
traveled to the Middle East and studied the languages and
cultures of that part of the world. At Virginia Tech,
(26:40):
she intended to minor in French and international studies. Lauren McCain,
a tribal member of the Choctaw nation, was a freshman
from Hampton, Virginia, majoring in international studies. She left the
Virginia Tech campus her professors and her fellow students. Aaron
Nicole Peterson entered Virginia tich in fall two thousand and six,
(27:02):
majoring in international studies. She was recently elected co president
of Empower, an organization dedicated to building self esteem and
confidence in young girls belonging to minority communities. I wish
I could go through the biographies of every victim who
died that day, but of course it's such a long list.
(27:24):
The deadly Virginia Tech mass shooting in two thousand seven
made international news and shocked.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
The entire world.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
There was an outpouring of support for the victims and
for the school, which had suffered an incredible loss.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Several weeks after.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
The shooting, Queen Elizabeth, who was visiting Virginia on the
four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, met with
victims of the shooting to offer condolences and encouragement. Aside
from the love and support, the Virginia Tech shooting would
forever alter campus safety in the United States and beyond.
(28:00):
Campus emergency preparedness measures are unrecognizable compared.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
To how they looked before this event.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
At the time of the Virginia Tech shooting, most emergency
preparedness that existed at schools was predominantly focused on threats
from severe weather and earthquakes. That shows you how much
the culture has changed. Much of that change was due
to a special State of Virginia panel that convened after
the shooting, ordered by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. The panel
(28:29):
placed the blame squarely on the university for failing to
issue a timely campus wide notification of the threat. This
gathing report argued that the death toll could have been
lower if the administration had acted more quickly. The report
also criticized the state's flawed mental health laws and inadequate services.
(28:51):
It exposed a loophole in Virginia law, temporarily corrected under
a Kine executive order that kept chose name out of
the criminal back ground database used to check would be
gun owners, even though under federal law, his mental health
history rendered him ineligible to purchase the weapons. The report
(29:12):
also exposed a critical failure to share information due to
a widespread misinterpretation of privacy laws and records lost between.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
High school and college.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Many of the panel's recommendations were adopted by lawmakers and
universities in early two thousand and eight, President George W.
Bush signed a law that strengthened the background check system
and provided funding for states to update it continuously.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The state of.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Virginia modified the criteria for involuntary commitment and increased funding
for community mental health services. The most significant changes of
Virginia Tech and other schools across the nation were threat
assessment teams comprised of law enforcement, hr, student affairs, and
mental health formed and given access to information about students, faculty,
(30:03):
and staff to help prevent shootings. Students, faculty, and staff
underwent annual training on emergency preparedness, response and notifications. Emergency
communication systems were improved to include multiple ways to share information.
Emergency notification policies were changed, and campuses regularly ran drills
(30:25):
to test their systems. The Live Safe app was created
so that schools could notify students of dangers on campus
and allow students to report crimes and threats more easily.
Schools started working closer with local police and first responders
to formulate emergency response plans. Universities expanded access to their
(30:49):
mental health services to include counseling services, health services, and
active shooter drills.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So, yeah, a lot has changed.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
For the positive since two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Fortunately, mass murders.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
And school shootings have only skyrocketed. On June twelfth, twenty sixteen,
twenty nine year old Omar Matteen shot and killed forty
nine people and wounded fifty three more in a mass
shooting at Polls, a gay nightclub.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
In Orlando, Florida.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
On October one, twenty seventeen, sixty four year old Stephen
Paddock opened fire on the Route ninety one Harvest Music
festival on the Las Vegas Strip, killing sixty and wounding
at least four hundred and thirteen more. Unfortunately, there's no
easy solution to these mass shootings or the violence that
(31:40):
often rears its head on school and university campuses. As
I was researching this very episode, I caught a new
story announcing that Rice University student Andrea Rodriguez a Villa
had been killed in a murder suicide on the first
day of school.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Even though it.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Wasn't a mass shooting, students weren't issued an immediate alert
to stay in their rooms until further notice. The lockdown
was lifted forty five minutes later, but all classes and
activities were canceled for the day That kind of precaution
is a direct result of changes made because of the
Virginia Tech shooting. I touched upon some he chose mental
(32:22):
health issues and the failures of the mental health care
system that failed to treat him and recognize the dangers
to others that he posed. It's clear that Joe had
severe mental health problems, but he was also very aware
of what he was doing. Days after the shooting, NBC
News received a parcel with a DVD heat that contained
(32:43):
video clips, photographs, and a manifesto explaining the reasons for
Cho's actions. NBC News contacted the authorities and made the
controversial decision to publicize chose communications by releasing a small
fraction of what it received. After photos and video clips
(33:03):
were broadcast in numerous news reports, students and faculty from
Virginia Tech, along with relatives of victims, expressed concerns that
glorifying Cho's rampage could lead to copycat killings, and indeed,
Virginia Tech may itself be a copycat murder. As the
shooter greatly admired the Columbine shooters, Cho's ranting manifesto offered
(33:27):
little insight into his mental health.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Aside from the fact.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That he was angry, resentful, and determined to kill as
many people as possible due to his perceived injuries from society.
In the video, Cho railed against deceitful charlatan's on campus,
rich kids, materialism, and hedonism, saying did you want to
(33:52):
inject as much misery in our lives as you can
just because you can? In another video, repeatedly suggested he
was picked on or otherwise hurt, saying you have vandalized
my heart, raped my soul, and tortured my conscience. It's
just a shame that he felt so hopeless and decided
(34:14):
to destroy so many lives. My heart goes out to
the victims, their families, and also the Choe family who
had to endure the fallout from their son's actions. On
April twentieth, two thousand and seven, Joe's family issued a
statement of grief and apology written by his sister, a
(34:35):
two thousand and four graduate of Princeton University. In it,
she stated, he has made the world weep.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
We are living a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions.
It is a terrible tragedy for all of us. We
pray for their families and loved ones who are experiencing
so much excruciating grief, and we pray for those who
were injured and for those whose lives are changed forever
because of what they witnessed and experienced. Each of these
(35:08):
people had so much love, talent, and gifts to offer,
and their lives were cut short by a horrible and
senseless act. That's it for this edition of Murder You,
and remember, if you or someone you know is in crisis,
please call or text ninety eight, go to the nearest
emergency room, reach out to a twenty four hour crisis
(35:30):
center or mobile crisis.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Outreach team in your area.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Be sure to liken subscribe to Murder You on Spotify,
Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Oh my gosh. I can't thank you all enough for listening.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
We've had thousands of downloads already and we're just getting started. Anyway,
can I ask you a huge favor. If you're loving
Murder You, could you give us a five star review?
It really helps us out and ensures we can keep
bringing you great true crime stories thanks a bunch Abnormia.
(00:25):
From high school hallways to expansive college campuses and the
sanctity of their homes, these once secure spaces have transformed
into hunting grounds for sinister individuals seeking to inflict harm
on the unsuspecting. I'm your host, Mattie. Join me here
each week as we investigate the bone chilling stories of
senseless murders occurring in and around our centers of education.
(00:48):
Welcome to Murder You, an Abnormia original.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Welcome to this episode of Murder You.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I'm your host, Mattie, and today I'll be covering the
two thousand and seven Virginia Tech shooting massacre that claimed
thirty three lives and seventeen others wounded. At the time,
it was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and
it remained so until the twenty sixteen Orlando nightclub shooting.
The shooting was perpetrated by Song Hi Cho, who was
(01:43):
an undergraduate at the university. This event was notable for
so many reasons and was a watershed moment for the
gun violence that had plagued the United States over the
past several decades. It led to many changes in campus
security nationwide, which I'll return to. It also sparked a
fierce debate about mental health care failures, privacy laws, and
(02:07):
how this tragedy could have been prevented. Additionally, it led
to the first significant federal gun control measure in the
US since nineteen ninety four.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So let's get started, because there's.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
A lot to cover in this episode. Virginia Tech was
founded in eighteen seventy two as the Virginia Agricultural and
Mechanical College. Its sprawling two thousand, six hundred acre main
campus is in Blacksburg, Virginia. In nineteen seventy the school's
name was changed to its current official name, Virginia Polytechnic
(02:41):
Institute and State University. Many older alumnis still refer to
it as VPI, but today it's widely known as Virginia Tech.
The school has an annual enrollment of around thirty eight
thousand students, eighty percent of whom are undergraduates and twenty
percent of whom are graduates.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Students who attend.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
The university are known as Hokies. The nickname dates to
the eighteen nineties, when a student named O. M. Stoll
won a five dollars prize for coming up with a
new spirit chair, now known as Old Hoki. I'm not
going to sing it for you, but it starts with
the line hokey hokey, hokey high as an attention grabber.
(03:25):
After singing the song for decades, the Hokies became the
official nickname, and the school's mascot became the Hoky Bird,
a turkey like bird that, as far as I can tell,
doesn't really exist except as a mascot. The school's colors
are burnt orange and Chicago maroon, and were selected at
the time because no other college was using that particular
(03:47):
colour combination. The school is known for its research and
is ranked in the top six percent in the nation
for research expenditures. According to its mission statement, the university
strives to be an inclusive community of knowledge, discovery, and
creativity dedicated to improving the quality of life and the
human condition within the Commonwealth of Virginia and throughout the world.
(04:11):
Virginia Tech is known for its diverse student body. As
of the fall of twenty twenty three, thirty six point
eight percent of its undergraduate students were underrepresented, minorities, or underserved.
So it's just a great school that prides itself on
diversity and inclusion. It seems like a great place to
(04:31):
get an education and discover yourself. That's likely one reason
Sung he Cho enrolled at Virginia Tech after graduating high school.
Cho was born on January eighteenth, nineteen eighty four, in Asan,
South Korea. He and his family lived in a basement
apartment in Seoul for several years before the family immigrated
(04:52):
to the United States in nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
From an early age, he.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Showed signs of severe anxiety disorder, and he was shy
to the point of having selective mutism. People diagnosed with
selective mutism are unable to talk in certain social situations
because of fear or anxiety. Choe was eight years old
when he came to America, and that must have been
quite a culture shock for someone who was already socially awkward.
(05:21):
The family lived in Detroit, and Cho's father worked as
a self employed bookstore owner, but the business didn't turn
much of a prophet. The family moved to the Washington,
d c. Area because they discovered it had one of
the largest South Korean expatriate communities in the US. They
settled in Fairfax County, Virginia. There, the Cho family ran
(05:43):
a dry cleaning business and became permanent residents of the
United States. Cho's parents became members of a local Christian
church and raised their son in the Christian faith. The
family had concerns about Cho's behavior as a child. He
rarely spoke or showed affection, and his grandfather told ABC
News that he never made eye contact or called him grandfather.
(06:08):
That must have been difficult, especially for grandparents who typically
liked to shower their grandchildren with love and affection. Choe
disliked going to school in the United States. A family
friend described him as often crying and throwing tantrums when
he came home from school. He was often bullied because
of his shyness and his foreign accent. Despite the bullying
(06:30):
he suffered at school, Choe was a good student. By
eighth grade. He was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and
selective mutism.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
The bullying became.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Worse in high school, and he was often picked on
for being so shy.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
He was also targeted for his race. On more than
one occasion.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Classmates described Cho as having little interaction with students or teachers,
even when they tried to include him. Gosh, it seems
like a horrible situation to grow up in. Mind you,
that does not excuse his later actions, but I can
imagine he built up a lot of anger during this time.
When Show was in ninth grade, the Columbine High School
(07:10):
massacre became a major news story.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
He was reportedly.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Obsessed with the incident and idolized the two perpetrators. He
even mentioned in a school assignment that he wanted to
quote repeat Columbine.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I wonder what grade he received on that assignment.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
The school did inform Cho's family about his disturbing statements,
and his parents sought medical and therapeutic treatment for their son.
In high school, he was placed in special education under
the emotional disturbance classification, which excused him from oral presentations
and class conversations. Despite these red flags, Virginia Tech wasn't
(07:51):
aware that they had a ticking time bomb of a
student on their hands due to federal privacy laws. Choe
made good grades in high school. He was a very
bright student, if not the most articulate. He was accepted
a Virginia Tech and enrolled as a freshman in two
thousand and three. He majored in business information technology, but
(08:11):
by his senior year he was majoring in English, intending
to become a writer. Joe seemed to break out of
his shell in his first year at Virginia Tech. Close
acquaintances said that he tried to fit in. As those
efforts failed, he became increasingly isolated. At parties, he would
sit in a corner and not respond when people tried
(08:33):
to engage with him. His behavior also became more disturbing.
At one party, he reportedly sat in a corner stabbing
a carpet, which naturally made other partygoers uncomfortable. Though he
rarely spoke, he told several people about his imaginary girlfriend
(08:53):
named Jelly, who he described as a supermodel living in space.
One of his sweet maids recalled Cho standing in the
doorway of his room snapping photos of him late at night.
He would place harassing phone calls to girls on campus
using the Moniker question mark, and he once told his
(09:14):
roommate that he was spending Thanksgiving vacation with Vladimir Putin
in North Carolina. Wow, that's all some weird stuff. Professor
Nikki Giovanni told Time magazine that she had cho removed
from her classroom because his classmates feared him. There was
something mean about this boy, she said, describing him as
(09:36):
a bully who was always wearing sunglasses and a hat
in class, which she asked him to remove. Even more alarming,
he photographed the legs and knees of female students in
the class. Other professors were concerned about his behavior as well.
Lucinda Roy, who runs the school's creative writing program, removed
(09:57):
him from class and tutored.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Him one on one.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Professor Roy tried to warn the university, but either no
one was listening or there was nothing they could do
at the time. This is a tragedy that's about a
failure of imagination, Roy said in an interview with CBS News,
adding in many ways, people couldn't imagine something really terrible
happening on a campus as beautiful and pristine and picturesque
(10:24):
as ours. In two thousand and five, Choe's behavior escalated,
and twice he was accused of stalking female students. In
both cases, neither victim filed charges. It seems like Virginia
Tech could have acted at that time and suspended Choe,
(10:45):
but for whatever reason, nothing was done. Later that year,
Choe made suicidal statements and was taken to a psychiatric facility.
He was released in ordered to continue outpatient therapy. He
did attend court order counseling sessions, but they didn't seem
to have much impact on his mental state, which continued
(11:06):
to decline.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
According to one.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Of Cho's professors, he had gone to the mental health
facility several times but was never really examined. The university
later said they were unaware of Cho's history of mental
health problems.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Well, no wonder.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
If they were unaware of his active mental health crisis,
despite several professors warning the school, of course they would
be unaware of his past issues. Even if that information
had been available, I doubt it would have mattered because
so many people failed to connect the dots and take
the appropriate action to ensure Cho wasn't a danger to
(11:47):
other students. Five weeks before the shooting rampage, Choe entered
a gunshop in Roanoke, Virginia.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
He bought a Glock.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Nineteen and a box of ammunition with a credit card
for five hundred and seventy one dollar. John Markel, the
shop owner, spoke to NBC News about the purchase. He
was a nice, clean cut college kid.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
We won't sell a.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Gun if we have any idea at all that a
purchase is suspicious, Markel said, the problem was that none
of Cho's mental health issues precluded him from purchasing a gun.
Two of Choe's roommates noted that Cho's sleep schedule became
unusual in the weeks leading up to the shooting. From
evidence later found in his dorm room, Choe had been
(12:32):
planning the assault for some time. In February, Choe purchased
a Walther P twenty two pistol. That same month, he
began stalking Emily hillsher after finding her info online. Choe
bought Chain's ammunition and a hunting knife in March in
preparation for his diabolical plan. On April sixteenth, two thousand
(12:54):
and seven, at five am, one of Chose's sweet mates
saw Cho awake and at computer. At five point thirty,
another roommate noticed Cho, clad in boxer shorts and a shirt,
brushing his teeth and applying acting cream. Choe returned from
the bathroom dressed.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
And left the door room at Harper Hall.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The roommate didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Around
six forty seven, Choe was seen by a student waiting
outside the West Ambler Johnson Residential Hall entrance.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Where his mailbox was located.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
At seven oh two, Emily Hillsher's boyfriend, Carl Thornhill, dropped
her off in front of the residential hall.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
She went to her room where Cho was waiting for her.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
For months, he had been sending her odd text messages.
At first, she believed it was a prank, but she
soon realized she had a stalker. No one knows precisely
what happened next, but Cho likely confronted Emily. He may
have seen her boyfriend drop her off, but this was
no spur of the moment. Jealous rage sung he Cho
(14:05):
came armed with a pistol to kill Emily Hillshire. Around
seven point fifteen, shots rang out in West Ambler Johnson
Residential Hall as Emily became Cho's first victim. Emily's next
door neighbor, residential adviser Ryan Christopher Clark, responded to a
(14:26):
noise and came to investigate. Choe turned his gun on
Ryan and shot him in the neck. At seven seventeen,
Choe calmly left the residential hall and returned to herper hall,
where he changed out of his body clothes, re armed himself,
and prepared for the final phase of his deadly plan.
(14:46):
At seven point twenty, the VT Police Department received a
call that a female student at wa J Hall had
possibly fallen from her loft bed. The VT rescue squad
is dispatched to w a Ja. At seven twenty four,
a VTPD officer arrived at Hillsher's dorm room and found
(15:07):
two people shot inside the room. He immediately requested backup
as there was no sign of the shooter. A minute later,
Cho logged onto his university email account. He erased his
files and the account. Cho then made some final edits
to a video that would be mailed to NBC News
(15:29):
as part of his manifesto. It would inspire later mass
shootings like the one perpetrated by in cel killer Elliott Roger.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
At seven point.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Thirty, additional VTPD officers began arriving at Emily Hillsher's room,
they secured the crime scene and started a preliminary investigation.
They interviewed residents, but none were able to provide a description.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Of the suspect.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
No one on Emily's floor in WAJ sought anyone leave
her room after the initial noise was heard. Both victims
were transported to separate hospitals. Clark died in transit to
Montgomery Regional Hospital. Emily Hillsher died soon after arriving at
Roanoke Memorial Hospital. As investigators searched for clues to what
(16:19):
happened in the dorm room, a friend of Emily's arrived
to walk with her to chemistry class. Detectives informed her
of the shooting and questioned her about Emily. They learned
that Emily had a boyfriend named Carl Thornhill. He often
dropped her off and returned to Radford University, where he
was a student. The friend told police that the boyfriend
(16:41):
dropped Emily off around six fifty am. She then told
the police that Carl Thornhill was an avid shooter and
gun enthusiast. Seeing that Ryan Clark was clad in his underwear,
the police believed they had a case involving a jealous lover.
Photos around the victim's room of Thornhill posing with firearms
supported this theory. With Thornhill now a person of interest,
(17:06):
they decided that the shooter was likely not a student
of the university and that there was no immediate threat.
Students headed to their classes unaware that there had been
a double murder on campus and the shooter was still
at large. At seven fifty seven am, VTPD Chief Wendell
(17:27):
Flincham notified the vt Office of the Executive Vice President
of the shootings, which triggered a meeting of the university's
policy group. Three minutes later, morning classes began at Virginia Tech.
The VT Policy Group was updated on the progress made
in the investigation.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
The VTPD chief.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Informed them of the possible suspect and explained they were
likely off campus. Remarkably, they didn't notify students and faculty
of a potential threat.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I mean, what were they waiting for?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Even if their suspect was the right man, they were
making a dangerous assumption that he was no longer a threat.
I mean, who knows what someone who just killed two
people will do next.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
The students had a right to know that there was
a potential.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Danger, and university leaders were meeting to discuss the best
course of action, not for the students, but for the school.
It's unbelievable they didn't issue an immediate alert. If they
had done their job and protected the students in their care,
many lives could have been saved that day. Over the
(18:39):
next hour, officers searched for Carl Thornhill. His vehicle wasn't
found in campus parking lots, and officers became.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
More confident that he had left the campus.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
BTPD and BPD officers were sent to his home, but
he wasn't there. A BULO report was issued to be
on the lookout for his vehicle. Around a twenty, cho
was seen near the Duck ponds on campus, but no
one was looking for him or aware he was about
to unleash hell upon the campus. At the same time,
(19:12):
the VT Policy Group was still debating on how to
tell students about the murders. If there was ever a
time to halt the committee and make an executive decision,
it was then. But nobody wanted to take responsibility for
shutting down classes or causing students to panic. There didn't
seem to be an imminent threat, but students should have
(19:33):
been given all of the info so they could decide
for themselves. Meanwhile, upon hearing about the incident, schools across
Blacksburg did what Virginia Tech administrators failed to do by
locking their outer doors to protect their students. If only
Virginia Tech had competent leadership who cared about student safety
(19:54):
more than the university's image, disaster could have been averted.
At nine am, the Policy Group got the latest update
on the double homicide investigation, while Choe was mailing a
package to NBC News in New York that contained pictures
of himself holding weapons, a one thousand, eight hundred word
(20:14):
rambling manifesto, and a video where he expressed his anger, resentment,
and desire to get even with those who wronged him.
He alluded to the coming massacre. At nine oh five,
the students in Norris Hall were settling into their seats
as second period classes began. About ten minutes later, cho
(20:36):
entered Norris Hall and chained the door shut on three
main entrances from the inside. No one reported seeing him
do this. Twenty minutes later, a Montgomery County deputy stopped
Carl Thornhill off campus in his pickup truck. Detectives were
sent to question him. A gunpowder residue test was performed
(20:58):
on Thornhill and it came back At the same time.
The VT Policy Group finally decided to send an email
message to campus staff, faculty, and students informing them of
the dorm shootings.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
It was too little, too late.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
At nine forty am, Joe walked through room two o
six at Norris Hall to reach room two o seven.
He entered a German class and shot instructor Christopher James Bishop,
who slumped to the ground. He then shot students near
the front of the classroom before starting down the aisle
and shooting others. Then he left the room. Over the
(21:38):
next nine minutes, he indiscriminately shot nearly fifty people using
the two handguns he had legally purchased at a local
firearms store. At nine forty one, a nine to one
to one dispatcher received a call about a shooting in
Norris Hall. A minute later, they called VTPD and informed
(21:59):
them of the shooting at Norris Hall. At nine forty five,
just four minutes after the first nine one one call,
the first police officer arrived at Norris Hall. The officer
heard shots and thought.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
He was being fired upon.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
They tried the door of Norris Hall, but it was
changed shut. The officer attempted to breach two more doors,
but to their horror, both were changed shut. After leaving
Room two o seven, Joe walked to other classrooms, shooting
dozens of people. In Room two eleven, Colin Goddard was
(22:35):
sitting in his French class that morning. Goddard spoke with
ABC News and recalled fellow classmate Rachel Hill, arriving late
to class sometime after nine thirty five. She told the
professor that she was late because of a shooting that
occurred in her dorm that morning. All of us were
kind of shocked, so we assumed that they let Rachel go,
(22:58):
that things were okay and we can continued with class,
Goddard said. Moments later, the class heard loud bangs. Professor
Jocelyn Couture Noak glanced outside the classroom and then slammed
the door shut. She told her students to take cover
under the desks and call nine one one, Goddard recalled.
Goddard called nine one one, as twenty year old Matthew
(23:21):
Laporte rushed to help hold the door shut. The gunman
tried to breach the door as Goddard remained on the
line with the dispatcher. It was the most scared I've
ever been in my life. I don't remember having the
thought of I'm going to die. All I can remember
thinking was I just can't believe that this is real,
Goddard told ABC News. Joe finally entered the classroom and
(23:44):
began shooting students. Goddard was struck in the shoulder and
managed to toss his cell phone to another student who
stayed online with dispatchers.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Joe left the.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Room and returned multiple times. Goddard was shot four times.
Emily Hass was a nineteen year old sophomore majoring in business.
She bravely stayed on the line with dispatchers, even though
two shots had grazed her head. Around nine point fifty,
police shot through a fourth door that wasn't secured with chains.
(24:16):
They entered the building through a machine shop and followed
the gunshots to the second floor. One final shot rang
out as officers came upon a scene of unimaginable carnage.
They began triadging and rescuing victims As best they could.
Police cleared the second floor and ERTs were allowed to
enter the building to assist more victims. Eleven people in
(24:39):
Room two eleven died that day, including Professor kocher Nook.
When the shooting stopped and the smoke cleared, sung he
Cho also lay dead.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
On the floor of Room two eleven.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
He died from a self inflicted shot to the head,
but took thirty two other lives with him in what
was at the time the deadliest shooting in American history.
Joe's body was found at ten oh eight. There was
no idea on the body. About ten minutes later, a
third email from v T admin canceled classes and advised.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
People to stay where they were. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Too little, too late, because thirty three people were dead
and seventeen more were wounded because administrators failed to act.
Among the dead were Austin Cloyd, an international relations and
French major, died in Room two eleven, two weeks shy
of her nineteenth birthday. Austin was an a student, a
(25:38):
children's lifeguard, and an officer in the International Relations Organization.
She was passionate about social justice issues. Matthew Laporte was
a twenty year old political science major who had military aspirations.
He had just passed the physical endurance test.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
For the Air Force.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Matthew was shot seven times while trying to keep the
shooter out of room to eleven. He fell and died
with his arms outstretched towards the door, according to officers.
On April ninth, twenty fifteen, Matthew was posthumously honored with
the Airman's Medal. His family accepted the award from the
Air Force for his heroism in saving lives in his
(26:18):
classroom that day. It's the highest honour one can receive
without being in actual combat. Rima Samaha was a cheerful
citizen of the world who was proud of her Lebanese heritage.
She was an active member of the Melchite Greek Catholic Church,
traveled to the Middle East and studied the languages and
cultures of that part of the world. At Virginia Tech,
(26:40):
she intended to minor in French and international studies. Lauren McCain,
a tribal member of the Choctaw nation, was a freshman
from Hampton, Virginia, majoring in international studies. She left the
Virginia Tech campus her professors and her fellow students. Aaron
Nicole Peterson entered Virginia tich in fall two thousand and six,
(27:02):
majoring in international studies. She was recently elected co president
of Empower, an organization dedicated to building self esteem and
confidence in young girls belonging to minority communities. I wish
I could go through the biographies of every victim who
died that day, but of course it's such a long list.
(27:24):
The deadly Virginia Tech mass shooting in two thousand seven
made international news and shocked.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
The entire world.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
There was an outpouring of support for the victims and
for the school, which had suffered an incredible loss.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Several weeks after.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
The shooting, Queen Elizabeth, who was visiting Virginia on the
four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, met with
victims of the shooting to offer condolences and encouragement. Aside
from the love and support, the Virginia Tech shooting would
forever alter campus safety in the United States and beyond.
(28:00):
Campus emergency preparedness measures are unrecognizable compared.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
To how they looked before this event.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
At the time of the Virginia Tech shooting, most emergency
preparedness that existed at schools was predominantly focused on threats
from severe weather and earthquakes. That shows you how much
the culture has changed. Much of that change was due
to a special State of Virginia panel that convened after
the shooting, ordered by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. The panel
(28:29):
placed the blame squarely on the university for failing to
issue a timely campus wide notification of the threat. This
gathing report argued that the death toll could have been
lower if the administration had acted more quickly. The report
also criticized the state's flawed mental health laws and inadequate services.
(28:51):
It exposed a loophole in Virginia law, temporarily corrected under
a Kine executive order that kept chose name out of
the criminal back ground database used to check would be
gun owners, even though under federal law, his mental health
history rendered him ineligible to purchase the weapons. The report
(29:12):
also exposed a critical failure to share information due to
a widespread misinterpretation of privacy laws and records lost between.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
High school and college.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Many of the panel's recommendations were adopted by lawmakers and
universities in early two thousand and eight, President George W.
Bush signed a law that strengthened the background check system
and provided funding for states to update it continuously.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
The state of.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Virginia modified the criteria for involuntary commitment and increased funding
for community mental health services. The most significant changes of
Virginia Tech and other schools across the nation were threat
assessment teams comprised of law enforcement, hr, student affairs, and
mental health formed and given access to information about students, faculty,
(30:03):
and staff to help prevent shootings. Students, faculty, and staff
underwent annual training on emergency preparedness, response and notifications. Emergency
communication systems were improved to include multiple ways to share information.
Emergency notification policies were changed, and campuses regularly ran drills
(30:25):
to test their systems. The Live Safe app was created
so that schools could notify students of dangers on campus
and allow students to report crimes and threats more easily.
Schools started working closer with local police and first responders
to formulate emergency response plans. Universities expanded access to their
(30:49):
mental health services to include counseling services, health services, and
active shooter drills.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So, yeah, a lot has changed.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
For the positive since two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Fortunately, mass murders.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
And school shootings have only skyrocketed. On June twelfth, twenty sixteen,
twenty nine year old Omar Matteen shot and killed forty
nine people and wounded fifty three more in a mass
shooting at Polls, a gay nightclub.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
In Orlando, Florida.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
On October one, twenty seventeen, sixty four year old Stephen
Paddock opened fire on the Route ninety one Harvest Music
festival on the Las Vegas Strip, killing sixty and wounding
at least four hundred and thirteen more. Unfortunately, there's no
easy solution to these mass shootings or the violence that
(31:40):
often rears its head on school and university campuses. As
I was researching this very episode, I caught a new
story announcing that Rice University student Andrea Rodriguez a Villa
had been killed in a murder suicide on the first
day of school.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Even though it.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Wasn't a mass shooting, students weren't issued an immediate alert
to stay in their rooms until further notice. The lockdown
was lifted forty five minutes later, but all classes and
activities were canceled for the day That kind of precaution
is a direct result of changes made because of the
Virginia Tech shooting. I touched upon some he chose mental
(32:22):
health issues and the failures of the mental health care
system that failed to treat him and recognize the dangers
to others that he posed. It's clear that Joe had
severe mental health problems, but he was also very aware
of what he was doing. Days after the shooting, NBC
News received a parcel with a DVD heat that contained
(32:43):
video clips, photographs, and a manifesto explaining the reasons for
Cho's actions. NBC News contacted the authorities and made the
controversial decision to publicize chose communications by releasing a small
fraction of what it received. After photos and video clips
(33:03):
were broadcast in numerous news reports, students and faculty from
Virginia Tech, along with relatives of victims, expressed concerns that
glorifying Cho's rampage could lead to copycat killings, and indeed,
Virginia Tech may itself be a copycat murder. As the
shooter greatly admired the Columbine shooters, Cho's ranting manifesto offered
(33:27):
little insight into his mental health.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Aside from the fact.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That he was angry, resentful, and determined to kill as
many people as possible due to his perceived injuries from society.
In the video, Cho railed against deceitful charlatan's on campus,
rich kids, materialism, and hedonism, saying did you want to
(33:52):
inject as much misery in our lives as you can
just because you can? In another video, repeatedly suggested he
was picked on or otherwise hurt, saying you have vandalized
my heart, raped my soul, and tortured my conscience. It's
just a shame that he felt so hopeless and decided
(34:14):
to destroy so many lives. My heart goes out to
the victims, their families, and also the Choe family who
had to endure the fallout from their son's actions. On
April twentieth, two thousand and seven, Joe's family issued a
statement of grief and apology written by his sister, a
(34:35):
two thousand and four graduate of Princeton University. In it,
she stated, he has made the world weep.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
We are living a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Our family is so very sorry for my brother's unspeakable actions.
It is a terrible tragedy for all of us. We
pray for their families and loved ones who are experiencing
so much excruciating grief, and we pray for those who
were injured and for those whose lives are changed forever
because of what they witnessed and experienced. Each of these
(35:08):
people had so much love, talent, and gifts to offer,
and their lives were cut short by a horrible and
senseless act. That's it for this edition of Murder You,
and remember, if you or someone you know is in crisis,
please call or text ninety eight, go to the nearest
emergency room, reach out to a twenty four hour crisis
(35:30):
center or mobile crisis.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Outreach team in your area.
Speaker 2 (35:35):
Be sure to liken subscribe to Murder You on Spotify,
Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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