VA Tech Shooting

Case Study
The Virginia Tech Massacre
In two separate incidents approximately 2 hours apart, one of the deadliest single-perpetrator shooting
rampage in the history of the United States occurred at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16, 2007. The shooter, Cho Seung Hui, killed 32 students and
faculty and wounded 30 others before committing suicide. Beginning shortly after 7:00 a.m. at West Ambler
Johnson Hall, a dormitory on the Virginia Tech campus. Cho used two handguns to kill and wound his victims.
The early morning events are summarized as follows:
7:15 a.m. Police receive a 911 phone call, reporting shots fired at Johnson Hall. Police find a female student
and make resident advisor fatally wounded. Based on witness interviews, police believe the shooting is an
isolated domestic incident. Police do not initiate campus-wide security measures. Police focus on the female
victim’s boyfriend, a student at nearby Radford University. Police later stop and interrogate the boyfriend on a
highway in Blacksburg.
9:01 a.m. At a nearby post office, Cho mailed a package containing writings and video recordings to NBC
News. Cho linked himself to Jesus Christ and expressed hatred for wealthy people.
9:26 a.m. Virginia Tech authorities issue first mass email, reporting the 7:15 a.m. shooting and warning
students and staff.
9:45 a.m. Police receive a phone call about a shooting at Norris Hall, a science and engineering classroom
building, about 15 minutes walking distance from Johnson Hall. After Cho chained the Norris Hall exterior
doors shut, he killed 30 students and faculty in their classrooms before killing himself.
9:50 a.m. A second mass email by Virgina Tech officials reports a gunman is loose on the campus.
9:55 a.m. A third mass email reports the shooting at Norris Hall and the gunman is in custody.
Subsequent to the mass killing, it was learned that Cho was treated previously for mental illness.
Were any or all of the killings at Virginia Tech preventable? Why? Explain.
The VA Tech incident involved two crime scenes. Based on the Locard Exchange Principle, how might the
forensic technician connect the shooter to both crime scenes?