http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1610857-1,00.htmlOh Lord. What can you do in a time like this but pray? The House held a moment of silence a few hours earlier. Information's still trickling in about the details of what happened. To sum up, a 20-ish Asian guy walked into a Virginia Tech dormitory and shot his supposed girlfriend and an intervening RA early this morning, and two hours later, another shooting occurred at the Engineering hall, in which 30 more people were killed, before the shooter committed suicide. It has not been confirmed that the shootings were committed by the same person. If that is the case, VA Tech has a lot to explain.
What a bad reputation for a college to have. And what an awful, awful situation for students and families.
My first thought upon hearing about this was to wonder what had driven the murderer to this, and I admit, my immediate thought was to write a story. -_- I am reminded of Caleb Carr's "The Alienist," an exploration of the pysche of a serial killer and all the events and aspects of his life that had led him to the present point. My cousin immediately jumped to the conclusion that the guy must have been under the influence of a dozen drugs, and while that might have been the case, there would also be so many other reasons tying in. And I have to admit, I am deathly curious.
Oh, one last thing. The VA Tech president, Charles Steger, was very unimpressive on television. When he mentioned during a brief Fox interview, "President Bush is coming down here tomorrow," he nearly split his face in a grin, and I got the distinct impression that he was just glad that circumstances, however awful, were allowing him to air on national television. And even while he spoke the solemn words, "Our hearts go out to the victims," he couldn't quite hide that tell-tale smirk on his face. It was very disgusting to watch.
::EDIT::
I like this op-ed article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
"The Massacre: Atrocity at Virginia Tech Renews the Search for Elusive Answers" According to fingerprint evidence, the perpetrator is a 23-year-old South Korean VA Tech senior described as a "loner." It is unsure whether or not there is an accomplice on the loose.
Murderer's Violent Play-Writing - I am speechless.