The Horrible Events At Virginia Tech

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech ...
-- Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist
*http://www.vt.edu/

April 16, 2007, was the most horrific day to hit any school in the United States...if not the world.



When I had first came to realize the events taking place at Virginia Tech School in the state of Virginia, I was getting ready to spend a 7-hour day in a television studio.
Not going to lie, waking up & seeing such horrifying events taking place inside a school...didn't really make me want to even attend class.
When I arrived in studio, I had to decide whether or not I would be covering the events that took place.
I did...
By gathering people's reactions and opinions on the shooting, I realized that no matter how far we may be in Toronto, everyone was deeply saddened.

Now we all remember the events that took place at Columbine High School.
Apparently though, we forgot about how important it is to keep our children safe inside what should be the safest place for any young adult.

Did we not learn anything from Columbine?
Did we not think about the warning signs to look for in our fellow students that may be seeking help?

Listen to this...this was the note that was found in Cho Seung-Hui's dormitory room...

"You caused me to do this," he said.

This is

what he was said to have written before he went on a shooting rampage that killed 32 people.



Well, that's a fucking cry for help if you ask me...

Even the English department director, Linda Roy, described him as, "troubled".
English professor Carolyn Rude also said that Cho's writings were so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counselling service.

Here is the SWAT team entering VA Tech:


The man responsible for the deadliest shooting in U.S. history is just now being remembered as a disturbed English major who unnerved classmates with his often violent, twisted writing.
Why is it that it took 32 peoples lives before anyone knew about the dangers of this troubled kid?

What worries me the most is the possibility of 'copycat' killings just so someone can prove a point.

Well those troubled people don't realize that no matter how many people they wish to kill to prove a point, that is not how your voice is truly heard. Instead you are remembered as troubled and leave this world hated.

Here are students mourning at a vigil held at VA Tech:


What is it people like this are trying to prove?
I just don't get it...
If they are upset they should try talking to someone.
But we as citizens of our country must also do our part. We must look out for those who are depressed & help them. Not make their lives more miserable.

We have also learned that a Canadian woman, a VT teacher, also lost her life.
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, is seen here with her husband...


"He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him," said Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker when asked about Cho.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Cho had recently shown troubling signs that included setting a fire in a dorm room and stalking some women.
These are signs!!! Why haven't we learned from this before!?

It is also believed that Cho is responsible for two separate shootings on the school's campus on Monday.

In the first shooting, a man and woman were killed at a co-ed residence at about 7:15 a.m. local time.
In the second, 30 people were killed at Norris Hall, an engineering building on the opposite end of the 1,050-hectare campus.
Some witnesses even described this shooting as though they were lined up in a hallway and shot one-by-one.

A Virginia State Police officer told the Associated Press that, "A nine-millimetre handgun and a 22-calibre handgun were recovered from Norris Hall," which is where the final shooting took place before Cho took his gun to himself.

Here is the gun used in the shootings:


Unfortunately, it was too late to stop this troubled young male from doing this horrific act. We must now seriously take into considerations the actions but also to fully be aware of everyone around us.
We live in a very different world now...
9/11 has taught us to be cautious with people...even if they live in our own country.
We must all look out for each other and be kind to everyone.

The vigilat the VA Tech Stadium:


I never thought I would hear myself say this but, President Bush put it correctly...
Watch his Address to the Nation...



Footage from CNN's, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer:



The Actual Footage of the Sound of Gunshots on the Virginia Tech Campus taken by a students cell phone:



Sources: CTV.ca, CNN.com,
Photo Sources: Associated Press with Images from VT Tech website & CTV.ca
Video Sources: YouTube