Blogosphere debates airing of Cho video

Almost as soon as NBC aired the video sent to it by Virginia Tech killer Sueng-hui Cho the blogosphere was responding. And not everything it was saying was particularly kind to NBC.

At the Webloggin blog the site's editor said that by airing the video Cho had "won."

Don't get me wrong here; I think the video and manifesto are newsworthy. I just think there are perhaps better ways to handle their release. I am opposed to the piecemeal release that NBC is already subjecting us to. It seems to me that NBC will be making this the story as opposed to the tragic and needless death of the innocent victims of Cho.

I truly want to understand what may have triggered the planned methodical killing but I don't want to do anything that would validate his actions. He was clearly mentally ill and the signs were there for many to see.

Not everyone, however, was so quick to condemn NBC's actions. Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing (and a contibutor to NPR's Day to Day) has created a comprehensive package about the video as well as commentary from other blogs about Cho's actions.

Here is a breakdown of what NBC received from Cho, courtesy of The Watcher blog at the Chicago Tribune. The Associated Press also offers an extended version of the video that was shown by MSNBC.

Tom Regan

7:17 PM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (20) | e-mail post

Being prepared for an emergency

Andy Carvin, who writes the Learning.Now blog for PBS (and who also works for NPR helping us create new ways for our visitors and audience to interact with us and with each other) writes about how events like Virginia Tech, once again, act as a wake-up call for better emergency preparedness.

I have no doubt that universities that don't have mandatory cell phone requirements or SMS alert systems are going to take the idea a lot more seriously now. But will K-12 schools? I'm skeptical. There is enormous opposition to allowing students to possess phones on campus, even though many parents argue they're necessary for emergency communications.

Some administrations will respond by saying the chances of a real emergency are slim, and students can't be trusted to use them responsibly. Yes, an emergency on the scale of Virginia Tech are few and far between, but smaller-scale emergencies do happen from time to time. When more school shootings happen - and they will happen - it's likely that more parents will be outraged by the fact their schools made it difficult or impossible to communicate with their children. And there will come a time when we will have no choice but to allow our students to carry communications devices. It may not be this month or even this year, but it will happen.

Tom Regan

2:12 PM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The role of citizen journalism at VTech

Increasingly, ordinary people who find themselves in the middle of extraordinary events become citizen reporters, thanks to modern technology like cell phones that take digital pictures and video, or social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, or their own blogs.

OhMyNews.com, the South Korean citizen journalism site, makes this comment about the role played by student Jamal Albarghouti, who recorded a much-seen video on his cell phone.

Again, Albarghouti and his cellphone video have shown the power of the ordinary citizen to capture a news event. Granted that the efforts of ordinary people as citizen journalists are a matter for debate, the traditional media still make a reflexively negative comparison between citizen journalism and that provided by professionals. Interestingly, when presented with a citizen who sent an exclusive report to the mainstream media, as Albarghouti did to CNN's I-Report, they insist on wondering, in grudging amazement, "What made you record the event? How did you record it?"

Tom Regan

1:29 PM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The web search for Ismail Ax

Once the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday that shooter Sueng-Hui Cho died with the words "Ismail Ax" written in red ink on his arm, it sparked a blogging and web search frenzy to find out what it meant.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the blogosphere was filled with postings about what the words might mean. Technorati.com, a web site that tracks the blogosphere, said that by late afternoon Tuesday, there were nearly 300 blog posts regarding Ismail Ax.

Sadly, after events like this one, some people do things that appear grotesque. The Morning Herald also reports that a TV repair shop owner in Corpus Christi, Texas, registered the domain name http://www.ismailax.com the morning after the shootings.

Tom Regan

9:33 AM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

World reaction to shootings condemns "gun culture"

The global response to the shootings at Virginia Tech was overwhelming sympathetic toward the victims and their families and just as overwhelming negative towards Americans' fascination with guns.

Some of the most severe criticism came from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who is one of President Bush's most loyal allies in Iraq. The Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper reports that Howard, who is currently in a tough re-election fight, told Australians that he would "ensure an American-style gun culture did not flourish in Australia."

Mr Howard said the Federal Government had acted quickly after gunman Martin Bryant went on a rampage and killed 35 people in Port Arthur in southeastern Tasmania, Australia, in 1996.

"We had a terrible incident at Port Arthur, but it is the case that 11 years ago we took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country."

Tom Regan

9:14 AM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Portrait of shooter emerging

Two days after one of the worst mass shootings in the history of the United States, a portrait of killer Seung-Hui Cho is being to emerge.

The Washington Post reports that when Cho was so disturbing to his professors at Virginia Tech, that when Prof. Lucinda Roy offered to teach him poetry one-on-one, colleagues asked if she wanted protection. Roy also told CNN that she was so worried about Cho's behavior that she went to the police and university officials with her concerns.

USAToday reports that fellow students "laughed nervously" when he read scenes of violence and mayhem in his playwriting class. "I guess you could say the signs were there, and now they're just clear in retrospect," said classmate Stephanie Derry.

McClatchy says authorities are having troubles finding out details about him because he was so isolated. Even very few in the close-knit South Korean community on campus [there are about 750 students from South Korea or of South Korean descent attending Virginia Tech] know much about him.

His roommates, interviewed by ABCNews, said that he was a loner who barely spoke to them. Roommate from previous years (Cho was a senior) said Cho "stalked" three different women and that one of them was so "freaked out by his behavior" that she called the police on him.

Tom Regan

8:55 AM ET | 04-18-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Why it's important to be careful

Blogs have been a valuable source of information for NPR and other media outlets since the shooting started yesterday. There are, however, advantages to the old habits of mainstream media (MSM as the bloggers call us). One of them is making sure our the facts check out before you put them publish, broadcast or post them.

Wired reports that many bloggers originally misidentified the shooter in yesterday's rampage at Virginia Tech, linking to "to the LiveJournal blog of a particular 23-year-old gun nut in Virginia." It turned out that this person was not connected to the shootings.

We'll be offline for a few hours. Back later tonight.

Tom Regan

5:25 PM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Reports: Gunman left list of grievances

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho left a "rambling and invective-filled" list of grievances in his room.

A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus. Cho was an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service, the Associated Press reported.

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said that while she didn't teach Cho herself, she had spoken to Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative writing, who described Cho as "troubled."

Prof. Rude said she wasn't sure when Cho had been referred for counseling or what the outcome had been.

Tom Regan

1:26 PM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Preparing for the convocation this afternoon

The Roanoke Times is blogging about what's happening in the Blacksburg area today, including preparations for this afternoon's convocation in memory of the victims.

Correspondent Ralph Berrier Jr. writes that people are already lining up to get into Cassell Coliseum.

Farther down the street, in downtown Blacksburg, it looks a little like a Virginia Tech Game Day. Plenty of students are crossing streets and walking along sidewalks. Almost every one of them is wearing an orange or maroon shirt or sweatshirt. Near Cassell Coliseum, there are marching band members on the sidewalk and more crowds of orange-and-maroon-clad students.

Not unlike Game Day, there's already a tremendously long line at the front doors of the coliseum. But these people waiting along Washington Street and down Spring Street are in line for the 2 p.m. convocation to mourn Monday's mass shooting that killed 33 people, including a shooter identified as 23-year-old [Seung-Hui Cho], a senior majoring in English at Tech.

Someone is holding a sign that reads "Support Steger," a reference to Tech President Charles Steger, who with other officials has drawn criticism for the decision to continue classes after two students were found shot Monday morning. Two hours later, 31 more died by gunfire and 15 were injured, some as they leapt from classroom windows to escape.

Also, the paper has created a guest book for people to leave their thoughts about the shootings and those who died.

Tom Regan

12:28 PM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Virginia Tech librarian describes communication problems

A Virginia Tech college librarian (who was working at his library's reference desk when the shootings started) in an e-mail sent to friends after the shooting, talks about how difficult it must have been for school officials to let students, faculty and staff know about the events.

I watched from upstairs, marveling at how many people were still outside, and some in the building who hadn't heard anything. Communication of the event was very much a case of who had a cell phone or wireless device before the bandwidth got constipated. (The campus web server soon crashed, taking down a big chunk of web-based email capacity with it.) I don't know how instructors in class were informed of the events, since the emergency phone message system goes to office phones, not personal ones. With MP3 players taking the place of car radios, I'm not surprised that people in transit across campus would not have heard the newscasts.

Tom Regan

11:58 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Virginia Tech sports cancelled

Until Monday, most people knew Virgina Tech as the home of the Hokies' sports teams, particularly in football and men's basketball. The Hokies' website carries the announcement that all practices and sporting events have been cancelled. There is an inter-squad spring football game scheduled for this Saturday in Blacksburg (the culmination of the team's spring training sessions) but there is no word yet on whether or not it will be played.

Tom Regan

11:23 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

South Korean media react to news of shooter's nationality

South Korean media have stated to respond to news that the shooter in yesterday's carnage at Virginia Tech was a South Korean national.

The Korean Times provides coverage of the announcement (their site shows it's already the day's mostly widely read story). The newspaper JoongAnn Ilbo provides more information about the shooter, including that the Korean Foreign Ministry said his family lived in Centreville, Fairfax County, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

The official said late last night that he hoped the incident would not "evolve into a racial incident." He said Korean Americans were being urged to take "necessary precautions," but he didn't specify anything further.

The Korean Herald reports that President Roh Moo-hyun sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the shooting.

Virginia Tech has 763 Korean undergraduate and graduate students.

Tom Regan

10:45 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Norris Hall shooter identified

University police have confirmed the identity of the gunman in yesterday's killing spree in Blacksburg. His name is Cho Seung-Hui. NPR is using Seung-Hui Cho. (South Korean convention sometimes call sof the last name to be used first.) He is a registered alien of South Korean nationality. He was born January 18, 1984.

The police chief also said that victims were found in four different classrooms and in stairwells in Norris Hall. Ballistic experts also said that the gun used in the shootings at West Johnson Amber Hall early Monday morning is the same gun used later in the shootings in Norris Hall. Police said they could not yet confirm it was the same shooter in both incidents.

Tom Regan

9:25 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (21) | e-mail post

Roundup of blogging comments

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit provides a comprehensive roundup of comments, mostly from conservative but also from liberal blogs and sites, about the shootings and the aftermath.

Tom Regan

9:12 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

A normal day in Iraq

Larry Johnson, who writes the No Quarter blog, makes the following observation - the carnage that happened yesterday in Blacksburg would only be a normal day's death toll in Iraq. He points out that just this past Saturday, 19 bodies were found in Baghdad, while 37 people were killed when a car bomb exploded near the Shrine of the Martyrs in Karbala.

He adds that Americans should think about how they are feeling at this moment the next time a government or military official talks about "a good day" in Iraq.

Look at our collective shock. Our horrified reaction. The public sorrow. Yet, in truth, this is an exceptional, unusual day in America. It is not our common experience. But we cannot say the same about Iraq.

The people of Iraq are living in a Marquis de Sade version of Groundhog Day. It is like the Bill Murray movie--the same horrible day repeated with some new, bizarre twists--only not funny. Multiple body counts and explosions and shootings are the daily experience of the people of Iraq. They have been living this hell for four years. Just keep that fact in mind as you mourn the deaths of [32] American students slain in Blacksburg, Viginia.

Middle East expert Juan Cole makes the same observation on his Informed Comment blog, noting that Iraq has two Virginia Tech-like incidents a day.

Tom Regan

8:43 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

All injured students in stable condition

Scott Hill, a spokesman for the Montgomery Regional Hospital - one of the two Blacksburg, Virginia hospitals where 12 students who were injured in yesterday's shootings - is telling the media at this moment that all the students at both hospitals are in stable condition, and one will probably be discharged later today.

Tom Regan

8:19 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Facebook reactions to shootings

CollegiateTimes.com, the news website at Virginia Tech, has a selection of some of the postings on the social networking site 'Facebook' that have appeared since yesterday's shootings.

One group created by Tech Student Tim Hall is called "April 16, 2007 - A Moment of Silence" and has 8,712 members thus far.

"It was like having a good dream and waking up in the middle of a nightmare," Hall said. "Virginia Tech needed unity. By expressing what I felt on Facebook, I knew the entire campus would rally and support the group. We are going through one of those rare times when every student on campus is feeling the same emotion: emptiness. It was my way of bringing the university together and showing my classmates that the entire country supports us. It is truly an amazing way of watching our beautiful country come together to start the healing process."

CollegiateTimes.com lists several other groups on Facebook connected to the shootings. Anyone can read the postings, although it is necessary to register at the site.

The college news site also offers a first-hand account by one of the students who was in one of the classrooms were the gunman opened fired. Erin Sheehan was one of only four people to walk out of her German class after the shooting.

Tom Regan

7:43 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Families identify two professors killed Monday

Two engineering professors, one from India and one from Israel, were among those killed in Monday's shootings.

Liviu Librescu, 76, an engineering science and mathematics lecturer, blocked the gunman from entering his classroom and was shot. The Jerusalem Post reports that Prof. Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, died but "but all the students [in his classroom] lived - because of him," Virginia Tech student Asael Arad - also an Israeli - told Israeli Army Radio.

Several of Librescu's other students sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he blocked the gunman's way and saved their lives, said the son, Joe.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

Also killed was Professor G.V. Loganathan, 51, a lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,

"We all feel like we have had an electric shock, we do not know what to do," his brother G.V. Palanivel told the NDTV news channel from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. "He has been a driving force for all of us, the guiding force."

Loganathan, who was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai, had been at Virginia Tech since 1982.

Tom Regan

7:15 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Norris Hall gunman identified as Asian male student

Although the exact identity of the gunman is not known, Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech told CNN this morning that the shooter in Norris Hall was an Asian male student who was a resident in one of the universities dormitories. Steger is still not sure if this gunman is the same one who shot two people in West Amber Johnson Hall early Monday morning, but he did say he did not think a second gunman was still loose.

Tom Regan

7:11 AM ET | 04-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

The way things work

Much of the news coverage today was based on a video shot on a cell phone by a Virginia Tech grad student, who then sent the video to CNN's I-Report section. The show recorded police responding to a series of shots, 27 in total, outside Norris Hall.

The grad student was Jamal Albarghouti, a Palestinian from the West Bank. As he told CNN, he has seen similar incidents at home, or in Saudi Arabia where he also lived, but didn't expect to ever see anything like this in Blacksburg.

It's odd the way life works. A Palestinian provides the world with reporting on one of the most violent incidents in the history of the US, rather than the other way around.

Tom Regan

6:00 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Conservative bloggers say shooting shows that gun laws don't work.

Conservative bloggers are saying that Virginia Tech's ban on hand guns was one reason that the gunman was able to shoot people at will. Just last week, the Roanoke Times reported on the legal attempts to overturn the university's ban on handguns.

The Disloyal Opposition blog brings up a similar incident at "the Appalachian Law School, which ended when two armed students drew their weapons and disarmed the shooter."

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit writes there had been an attempt in the Virginia legislature last January to allow students and employees to carry handguns on campuses in the state, but the bill did not make it out of the subsommittee stage. Perhaps if the bill had passed, he writes, "things might have turned out differently, but we'll never know."

Michelle Malkin has more on the gun ban, along with some eye witness reports from students who were on the campus.

But the Politics Junky website says baloney.

Events like today's are NOT an example of how looser gun laws protect law abiding people but how guns in the hands of lunatics kill innocents. And you never know who is going to snap when.

Tom Regan

5:30 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Virginia Tech president: 33 confirmed dead

Virginia Tech president Charles Steger, who is speaking at a news conference at this moment, says that 33 people were killed in today's shooting - 31 at Norris Hall, the engineering department facility, and two in the West Ambler Johnston student resident. Steger added that it's not yet known if the two incidents are connected.

Mr. Steger also said that the identity of the shooter had not been confirmed. And he asked students to contact their parents, since communications systems on the campus were overloaded.

University police Chief Wendell Flinchum told the press conference that the gunman in Norris Hall did take his own life. He also said that the first two people were shot in a student's room in the residence. He could not confirm how many of those dead were students and how many were faculty. He did say that some of the bodies are still in Norris Hall.

Tom Regan

4:45 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Video taken from cell phone

Pajamas Media offers this link to CNN video shot on a student's cell phone as the shootings at Norris Hall were taking place.

Tom Regan

4:05 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

E-mail timeline of notices about shooting

Kristin Maynard, a student at Virginia Tech, said she received this e-mail from the administration this morning at 9:26 a.m.

A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating.

The university community is urged to be cautious and are asked to contact Virginia Tech Police if you observe anything suspicious or with information on the case. Contact Virginia Tech Police at 231-6411

Stay attuned to the www.vt.edu. We will post as soon as we have more information.

Then came this message at 9:50 a.m.

A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows

Finally, at 10:16 a.m.

Virginia Tech has canceled all classes. Those on campus are asked to remain where there are, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Persons off campus are asked not to come to campus.

Tom Regan

3:34 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

"My friends could be dead."

Bryce Carter, a student at Virginia Tech posted this note on his journal. Carter was just getting out of class when the shooting started today.

Tears run as the death count climbs. Currently 32 are dead.

I cannot begin to describe the pain that runs through me now. The anger, loss, and the unknown.

The only thing I do know is that a list awaits. A list in which may include a friend or several. A list of passion, dreams, aspirations, of life and hope-- suddenly gone.

Time has suspended.

I look at Foxnew's website to see pictures of the dead being carried out of Norris hall. I feel removed, like this isn't happening here right now. It is on the news someplace far away, and I can just turn off the TV to make it go away.

My friends could be dead. Tears continue.

Tom Regan

3:30 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

"He was hanging out the window when the gunman came in"

The Roanoke Times has regular updates on the shootings, including this description of a student who escaped the carnage by hanging out the window of his classroom.

One man was hanging out the window of a Norris Hall classroom when the gunman entered, according to freshman Douglas Cobb.

Cobb said that Jake Grohs, the resident assistant for the fourth floor of Peddrew-Yates residence hall, told him he climbed out the window of an engineering class as the gunman apparently made his way from room to room in Norris.

"He was in the room next door to the shooting" and decided to try climbing out the second-story window, Cobb said. "He was hanging out the window when the person came in" and heard people being shot, Cobb said. He said that four of six people who were in the room at that time where shot.

Grohs jumped out the window onto a hill and is OK, Cobb said.

Cobb and other friends showed up at the Inn at Virginia Tech this afternoon to try to get information about a missing friend.

Tom Regan

3:03 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

FBI: Death toll now at least 30

Two FBI sources have now told NPR that more than 30 people are dead after today's shooting at Virginia Tech.

Tom Regan

2:43 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Coverage from Virginia Tech

CollegiateTimes.com, Virginia Tech's student news website, is providing coverage of the shootings on the campus, including the latest statements by local and campus police. (CollegiateTimes.com is actually down because of the situation in the Blacksburg area, but is being carried by CollegeMedia.com.) Their coverage includes a timeline of events on the campus, and a graphic that shows the shootings locations.

The Virginia Tech website has asked that families wishing to reunite with students may meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech. There will also be a convocation for tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum for the university community to come together to begin to deal with the tragedy.

The student radio station, WUVT, is working to get its broadcast of today's shootings on the Web. You can find out more here about what it's doing to make an MP3 cast available.

Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg and Hokies football coach Frank Beamer responded to the news of the tragedy at ESPN. Greenburg was on the campus, and was interviewing a job applicant when the shooting started. after the shooting he started a frantic search to find his daughter, Paige, a freshman on the campus, and the players on his team. He contacted them by using text messaging since the phones were jammed.

Tom Regan

2:18 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Information on shootings

If you were at Virginia Tech today and have any information on the shootings, we would like to hear from you. Use the comment feature, and send us your name and phone number so that we can contact you. Please put at the top of your comment FOR NEWS PURPOSES ONLY, and we'll make sure that we send your information to our news desk at NPR and not post it to the blog. We will not post it live to the blog.

Tom Regan

2:00 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

"Tragedy of Monumental Proportions"

Calling it a "tragedy of monumental proportions" Virginia Tech president Charles Steger said that the entire campus is "shocked and indeed horrified" at the shootings on campus today that took the lives of at least 22 people, including the gunman. Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, in southwest Virginia.

The Associated Press reports that shootings occured on opposite ends of the campus; first at residential housing facility West Ambler Johnston, and then two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building. Police said that some, but not all, of the dead were students.

The name of the gunman was not released and it was not known if he was a student.

Tom Regan

1:38 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

The Worst Kind of Breaking News: Multiple Fatalities in Virginia Tech Shooting

We had all been quietly sighing about the Virginia Tech shooting this morning; going about our business, shaking our heads, hoping for the best. Then, a horrified gasp, when the Blacksburg police spokesman spoke a dreaded number: "at least 20 fatalities." It's the deadliest shooting on a campus since 1966 at the University of Texas. We'll be covering this for sure... it's just dreadful, and of course several NPR reporters are on their way to Virginia. I'm handing off our coverage now to our new news blogger, Tom Regan...

Barrie Hardymon

1:04 PM ET | 04-16-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post