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CNN: 2005 Order Declared VA Tech Shooter Mentally Ill and "Imminent Threat"

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 04:01:50 PM EST
Tags: Virginia Tech Shootings (all tags)
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Update [2007-4-18 18:51:54 by Big Tent Democrat]: Some images from NBC of the VA Tech shooter.

Update [2007-4-18 17:28:28 by Big Tent Democrat]: On Hardball, NBC reporter Jon Dienst said that the NBC Nightly News will air some of the video which the VA Tech shooter mailed to them between the first snd second shooting.

CNN reporting on TV. Will provide more when I can get it.

Also, the NYTimes is reporting that the VA Tech shooter, Cho, sent materials to NBC between the first and second shootings.

From the NYTimes:

A Virginia court document said that in 2005 a special justice in Virginia declared Mr. Cho mentally ill and an “imminent danger to others,” a CNN report said. The new information, disclosed by police in a news conference today, raises questions about whether warning signs about Mr. Cho’s behavior and problems were handled effectively by police and the university.

More to come.

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    CNN: 2005 Order Declared VA Tech Shooter Mentally Ill and "Imminent Threat" | 10 comments (10 topical)

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    Cho & NBC (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 04:23:15 PM EST
    NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC says it has received a package that was mailed by the gunman in the Virginia Tech shootings.

    The news organization says Cho-Shun-We had sent a manifesto to them which they say was apparently mailed after his first shootings but before his second shootings, two hours later, NBC News reports.

    The gunman sent photographs, videos and writings.

    The FBI has taken custody of the original materials, which were sent to NBC News President Steve Capus, and is bringing them back to Virginia for examination.

    Investigators in Virginia say NBC has been fully cooperating with them.

    Colonel Steve Flaherty, superintendent of Virginia State Police, said "This may be a very new, critical component of this investigation. We're in the process right now of attempting to analyze and evalute its worth."
    You think they'd check those things when he (none / 0) (#2)
    by kindness on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 05:38:46 PM EST
    purchased a gun.  Or is all they do in Virginia is check to see if you're a felon?

    In Iowa mental illness is a valid reason to (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by JSN on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 07:35:23 PM EST
    turn down a permit to purchase a handgun but unless the applicant
    volunteers that information there is no way the Sheriff can determine if mental illness is an issue. To make matters worse even if the sheriff served commitment papers on the applicant and took them in for MH evaluation they cannot use that knowledge to reject an application.

    In a nutshell the permit to purchase does not provide any significant improvement to public safety. The permit to carry is another story the requirements are more rigorous and the sheriff has much more discretion. However most person who apply for permits to carry are not much of a threat to public safety. Most of the controversy is over if they really need to have such a permit.

    Another issue is it ethical for a MH provider warn the sheriff about a patient? I don't know the answer to that question unless there is a direct and immediate threat of violence where the answer is yes.

    Parent

    Caught this on MSNBC - Tucker's show (none / 0) (#3)
    by Kitt on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 06:01:24 PM EST
    Just happened to turn on the TV and it's on MSNBC. That wanking Tucker is on but he showed quite a bit of the tape of Cho talking.

    Will Va Tech have any liability? (none / 0) (#5)
    by TexDem on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 07:48:08 PM EST
    With some previous intervention and declarations that he was a danger to at least himself and maybe others does Va Tech open themselves up for not being aggressive enough in getting him help or getting him out of the school.

    The University of Iowa reacts very strongly to (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by JSN on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 09:07:01 PM EST
    such threats as a result of the 1991 mass murder.

    My recollection is that the University President at the time was adamant that there be adequate compensation to the victims and their families. There was some question about the undergraduate woman who was made a quadriplegic because she was a part time employee. I don't recall how that issue was resolved.

    I think Va Tech will need financial help from the State of Virginia because there were so many killed and wounded. I hope they can avoid legal battles because they will cause even more pain. Most likely the State of Virginia is self insured.

    Cut these people (everyone in the community) some slack because they are all suffering from traumatic shock and it takes time (how long depends on the individual)  for that to wear off.

    Parent

    They sure will be liable (none / 0) (#8)
    by MacLane on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 12:32:00 AM EST
    Virginia Tech will not survive the lawsuits.

    The excuse that the administration never bothered to send emails to students, faculty and staff after the first shooting because they were on their way to classes will not stand up under scrutiny. Today, kids routinely send text messages and emails with mobile devices. Does anyone really believe, given the prevalence of mobile communications devices, that no one would have received any notifications, had they been sent? Students had to text each other to find out what was going on.

    The claim that notifications about the first incident would not have been received is fatuous.

    Not sending out any communications regarding the incident is only the beginning. Given that university administrators knew that they had a troubled student, not closing down the campus cannot be defended.

    But university administrators love to play it close to the vest. It's their way of doing business. Making excuses for not sharing what they know is an institutionally internalized value.

    Eventually, when pressured, a university administration might reveal what students, faculty and staff need to know. In most cases,
    a few people are inconvenienced, and the administration has plausible deniability where its own culpability is concerned.

    But not in this case. Not by a longshot.

     

    Parent

    Cho WAS crazy... (none / 0) (#7)
    by Che's Lounge on Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 09:10:25 PM EST
    ...if he sent those things to the MSM. They will edit the heck out of them.

    Of course we all know he was not sane. But I would like to see the video in it's entirety in order to best analyze his state of mind. This would BEST enable us to learn and prevent. Yet Fux will have a field day with this material. The spooge must be 6 inches deep in the editing rooms right now. And who here believes that NBC just handed it all over before copying it? We will get the salacious version. O'Reilly is just getting warmed up.

    given what's been reported on mr. cho (none / 0) (#9)
    by cpinva on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 12:35:39 AM EST
    thus far, va tech is in a heap o' hot water. he should have been removed both from classes and the campus, long before this. he was demonstrably a danger to himself and others.

    in va, being adjudicated mentally unfit is grounds to deny a gun permit. of course, you either have to self-identify on the application, or it has to be caught during the review process. obviously, it wasn't, and he didn't.

    Or is all they do in Virginia is check to see if you're a felon?

    mostly what they do is check to see if you have cash or a valid credit card.

    How is it? (none / 0) (#10)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Apr 19, 2007 at 07:56:56 AM EST
    How is it that his criminal record is and was easily checked when he bought the gun, but his apparent lie on question 12 on the form regarding mental health was not checked out?  What is the purpose of the BATF asking a question that they cannot or will not verify the answer to?

    CNN: 2005 Order Declared VA Tech Shooter Mentally Ill and "Imminent Threat" | 10 comments (10 topical)

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