Virginia Tech Massacre

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Background The Virginia Tech massacre was an event that shocked the country. On April 16th, 2007 33 members of the Virginia Tech alumni were shot and killed within two hours by a man known as Cho Seung-hui. Many believe Cho was bullied at a young age which continued as he progressed each year in school leading up to his college days at Virginia Tech. Others believed Cho was mentally ill. Growing up he always kept to himself and made himself distant from his family. An author from the VT review panel discovered early warning signs of Cho’s strange behavior. They wrote: Cho’s early development was characterized by physical illness and inordinate shyness. Even as a young boy, Cho preferred not to speak, a situation that worried and frustrated his parents. He was ostracized by some peers, though he did not discuss this with his family.(33) During his middle school years he was in and out of therapy. His parents sought all the help they could get to find out why their so was so quiet and what was wrong with him. When he was eighth grade, shortly after the columbine murders, Cho wrote a disturbing paper that was overlooked by an author from the VT review panel. They wrote: A depressive phase in the second half of eighth grade led to full blown depression and thoughts of suicide and homicide precipitated by the Columbine shooting. Cho received timely psychiatric assessment and intervention (prescription of Paroxetine and continued therapy). This episode abated within a year, and medications were discontinued.(39) Throughout high school as well as in his childhood, Cho had issues with speaking. Although he had high grades and passed in all assignments and was on time to every class his lack of speech was a problem that troubled his teachers who later referred him to the school’s guidance counselor. As the VT preview panel writes, Cho was removed

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