Campus killer’s video ‘crazy’

BLACKSBURG – Students expressed disgust and disbelief at photos and a rage-filled video diatribe sent to a television network by the gunman who massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech university.

Half-a-dozen Virginia Tech students gathered silently around a bank of televisions in the student centre late on Wednesday watching images of Cho Seung-Hui posing with his guns and video of him ranting against rich kids and debauchery. The package received by NBC News on Wednesday carried a postmark showing Cho mailed his rambling manifesto after he killed his first two victims on Monday morning but before he went on to cut down 30 more people in classrooms.”That’s crazy.He kills two people and then goes to the post office and then he’s ready for round two? It’s creepy,” said graduate student Nick Jeremiah, 34.The images and long monologue suffused with paranoia and feelings of persecution painted a different picture of Cho, a 23-year-old student who has been described by teachers and other students as silent and withdrawn.”He just goes on and on – that’s got to be more than he’s spoken, ever,” Jeremiah said.”I thought, ‘well, he does talk.’” Devin Cornwall, 19, who watched the video in a dormitory room with two friends, said the gunman’s hatred for rich children made no sense.”To me, that doesn’t personify any Tech student I know.I always think of us as a blue-collar place,” Cornwall said.In the video and an 1 800-word document, Cho railed against wealth and debauchery, portrayed himself as a defender of the weak and voiced admiration for the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.”You have vandalised my heart, raped my soul and tortured my conscience,” said Cho, speaking directly to the camera and occasionally looking down to read his message.On the sprawling rural campus in southwestern Virginia, students were beginning to look ahead to Monday, when classes will resume.Nampa-ReutersThe package received by NBC News on Wednesday carried a postmark showing Cho mailed his rambling manifesto after he killed his first two victims on Monday morning but before he went on to cut down 30 more people in classrooms.”That’s crazy.He kills two people and then goes to the post office and then he’s ready for round two? It’s creepy,” said graduate student Nick Jeremiah, 34.The images and long monologue suffused with paranoia and feelings of persecution painted a different picture of Cho, a 23-year-old student who has been described by teachers and other students as silent and withdrawn.”He just goes on and on – that’s got to be more than he’s spoken, ever,” Jeremiah said.”I thought, ‘well, he does talk.’” Devin Cornwall, 19, who watched the video in a dormitory room with two friends, said the gunman’s hatred for rich children made no sense.”To me, that doesn’t personify any Tech student I know.I always think of us as a blue-collar place,” Cornwall said.In the video and an 1 800-word document, Cho railed against wealth and debauchery, portrayed himself as a defender of the weak and voiced admiration for the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.”You have vandalised my heart, raped my soul and tortured my conscience,” said Cho, speaking directly to the camera and occasionally looking down to read his message.On the sprawling rural campus in southwestern Virginia, students were beginning to look ahead to Monday, when classes will resume.Nampa-Reuters