Murder In America - EP. 111 VIRGINIA - The Virginia Tech School Shooting, PT. 1: Seung-Hui Cho

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Starting point is 00:03:49 Quence.com slash America. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. As we all know by now, school shootings are very prevalent here in America. It is currently May of 2023. And in the last five months alone, there have been 19 school shootings.

Starting point is 00:04:32 And that's only in schools. We aren't even talking about the 217 mass shootings as a whole. It's alarming how every year gun violence is getting exponentially worse with no signs of improvement. But back in 2007, mass shootings were not a huge part of American culture just yet. It was a time where you didn't really have to think about where the exits were every time you walked into a room. Now, years earlier, the nation was rocked by the Collinbine School shooting, but even then, that was considered a pretty rare, horrible tragedy, something that occurs every once in a blue moon. So on April 16, 2007, as over 34,000 students and employees made their way over to Virginia Tech, I doubt mass shootings were at the forefront of anyone's mind.

Starting point is 00:05:29 But unbeknownst to everyone, a 23-year-old student named Sungwi Cho was gearing up for the day that he had been planning for months. Inspired by the Columbine Massacre, this lone gunman was ready to take revenge on society. After he left his dorm room that day, he would go to campus, chain up the doors to Norris Hall, and commit the worst school shooting in American history. This is the story of the Virginia Tech Massacre. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browne. And you're listening to Murder in America.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Sung Wee Cho was born on January 18, 1984, in Seoul, South Korea. And from the beginning, he wasn't dealt the best hand. Sungwi had a slew of health issues following his birth that required multiple surgeries throughout the first few years of his life. In fact, when he was three, he had to have a procedure done on his whole. heart, and according to his family, afterwards, he did not like to be touched. It's also around this age, where children start to form personalities. But Sungwi never spoke, ever. He didn't speak to his parents or other children his age, and this quality seemed to follow him throughout

Starting point is 00:08:09 his life. But in Korea, being quiet or reserved isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's preferred over being loud and over the top. However, the fact that Sungwi really only spoke to his older sister was incredibly frustrating to his parents. His father's name is Xiangtei Cho, who was described as a shy, introverted man. He worked in the oil fields in Saudi Arabia before his arranged marriage to Kim Huangim, Sungwi's mother. She and her family fled North Korea during the Korean war and ended up in Seoul working as farmers. After their marriage, the two would go on to have two children. Their daughter, Sun Kyeong, and then their son, Sungwi. Both parents were well aware that Sungwi was different. The fact that he never spoke was alarming, but they just figured that

Starting point is 00:08:53 he would eventually grow out of it. Plus, they both had a lot on their plate around this time. In the late 80s, the Cho family was working at a used bookstore in South Korea, and they were barely scraping by to make ends meet. So they started talking about moving to the United States. They already had some relatives who lived here, and they really wanted their children to have a better life than they did. It would take them about eight years to acquire a visa, but in 1992, they finally left South Korea to pursue the American dream. Now, Sungwi was eight years old when he came to the United States and he still barely ever spoke. He wouldn't get diagnosed until years later, but he had what's called selective

Starting point is 00:09:34 mutism. Sung was so anxious in social situations, he wouldn't speak to anyone. Every once in a while he would nod his head, but that was about it. So when they left South Korea, he would not, Korea, his family was hoping that moving would help him come out of his shell. His uncle would later tell the New York Times, quote, we thought that it would help the boy gain confidence if he moved to the United States' open society, end quote. But that wouldn't be the case. First, the Cho family lived in Maryland, then Detroit, before finally settling down in a suburb of Washington, D.C. called Centerville, which has a pretty big Korean community. They ended up buying a modest house, and both Sung Tai and Kim got jobs in the dry cleaning business. And by this point,

Starting point is 00:10:28 Sung's physical health had gotten a lot better. He was no longer struggling with debilitating health issues, but he did still have crippling social anxiety. At Poplar Tree Elementary School, he rarely ever interacted with other students or teachers. But everyone just assumed it was because he was adjusting to life here in America. They eventually put him into an individualized education program, but it was clear that Sungwi was not enjoying his time at school. A family friend would later say, quote, when he first came to America, he was about in the second grade.

Starting point is 00:11:08 Every time he came home from school, he would cry, and throw tantrums, saying he never wanted to go back to school. End quote. But obviously he had to keep going. And throughout the year, Sungwi never made any friends. His classmates would try to speak with him, but he wouldn't answer. He just kept his head down and nodded when he needed to. His teachers would also try to speak with him, but he refused.

Starting point is 00:11:37 And by this point, the administration at a school became so, worried about his lack of social skills, they encouraged his parents to take him to therapy. So in the summer of 1997, his parents brought him to the Center for Multicultural Human Services, which is a charity that helps multicultural minorities. The psychiatrist there that worked with Sungwi for nearly four years was Dr. James Griffith, and he would later tell the Virginia Tech documentary this. I think the thing that is the most notable that I always remember was the pain of his shyness. No eye contact, only nodding.

Starting point is 00:12:18 He would break out in his sweat. He would seem to freeze. He was really unable to respond. A palpable pain with his anxiety. But even with years of therapy, Sungwi still barely ever spoke. So Dr. Griffith introduced him to art therapy, a form of therapy where you could communicate without having to talk. And according to Dr. Griffith, it seemed to be helping him.

Starting point is 00:12:44 But unbeknownst to everyone, Sungwi had some really dark thoughts running through his mind. In April of 1999, the nation would be rocked by the horrific Columbine school shooting, carried out by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. These two boys were angry with the world. So wanting revenge, they took guns to school, and killed 13 people before turning the guns on themselves. And while most of the country was horrified by the acts of these two, there were a large group of people who became inspired,

Starting point is 00:13:23 Sungwi being one of them. That year, he would write a paper about the Collin Bine School shooting and how he admired the shooters. Ben Baldwin, a former classmate, told ABC the following. I remember sitting in Spanish class with him, right next to him, and there being something written on his binder to the effect of, you know, F you all, I hope you all burn in hell, which I would assume meant us, the students. And the teacher saw that, and she came over and she got him, talked to him for a little bit, and then took him out of the classroom. The sudden fascination with Columbine was very concerning to the school officials. So they reached out to his parents and suggested a psychiatric evaluation.

Starting point is 00:14:08 And it was then when Sungwi was diagnosed with major depression and selective mutism. And just as a little background, people with selective mutism can speak, but because of their social anxiety, it prevents them from speaking in certain situations. In Sungwi's case, he really only spoke to his parents and sister. People with this diagnosis are often very sad and lonely. and some even have a lot of internal anger because of their inability to communicate with others. But it's important to know that there's no link between selective mutism and violence. Now, Sangui had selective mutism for his entire life,

Starting point is 00:14:46 but he was just now getting this diagnosis in high school, which is very late. Most people in his position get therapy and treatment as small children. But because it went untreated for so long, a lot of damage had already been done. Now at Westfield High, where he went to high school, his peers knew him as the boy who would never speak. The former classmate named Patrick's song would later say, He just had this demeanor about him where he would just walk around and he would always face down. He would never look anyone in the face, really. His eyes were always down, his shoulders down.

Starting point is 00:15:26 He kind of had a puzzled, confused. look on his face, but it was serious. It was really depressing to look at him. There are some sources that say he faced some bullying in high school. Some kids would mock his poor English, while others called him trombone kid, because he would often walk around alone, carrying his trombone case. During his classes, the teachers would call on him, but he would refuse to answer. Some would even threaten to fail him for lack of participation. but he still refused to talk. And being this outcast only made him become more withdrawn.

Starting point is 00:16:11 At home, he would mostly just play video games or shoot hoops outside by himself. And his parents, they worked most days of the week, so he didn't really have anyone to turn to. However, he did continue therapy up until his junior year, and apparently he always showed up to his appointments, and there was no indication that he was no indication that he was. he was a danger to himself or others. He also took antidepressants for a while, and his parents were pleased because they seemed to be working. Sangui even stopped going to therapy during his junior year because he felt he no longer needed it. Throughout his high school experience, he

Starting point is 00:16:53 always made pretty good grades. According to his parents, by the end of his senior year, he seemed to be doing a lot better mentally as well. He had just gotten accepted into Virginia Tech, and he was really excited for the next chapter of life. Now, his parents and counselors didn't think that Virginia Tech was the best choice because of how large of a school it is. They thought he would do better somewhere smaller and closer to home, but he was apparently dead set on going there. And he seemed to have a newfound sense of confidence, so his parents trusted that he was. was making the right decision and that he would do well, but they couldn't have been more wrong. In August of 2003, Sung Wichell would enroll into Virginia Tech, along with 28,000 other students

Starting point is 00:17:46 ready to embark on their college journey. Some of these students, however, would never live to see their graduation. Virginia Tech is located in southwestern Virginia near the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. The campus is huge, around 2,600 acres. It has 131 major building, that are easily accessible to anyone. That summer, Sungwi moved out of his house in Centerville and made the 160-mile journey to Blacksburg, Virginia. His parents helped him move into his dorm that he shared with a guy named Andy Cook. And something strange that Andy noticed

Starting point is 00:18:18 was that Sungwi was very distant and cold towards his parents. When most people are dropped off at college by their family, it's an emotional experience where you're hugging, saying your goodbyes. But when his parents dropped him off, they literally put his stuff in the room and just left. which might be a cultural thing, but Andy said that it was definitely strange. Sungwi's first year of college went pretty well. He was majoring in business information systems,

Starting point is 00:18:46 and he always attended class, made decent grades, and like always, he kept to himself and didn't make any friends. But his parents would come to visit him about once a week, so he did have some human interaction. and by the end of his freshman year he would make it through without any issues. Arguably, the hardest part of that year was that he was struggling with acne. But he got on some medication for it and other than that, everything seemed to be fine. That summer, he went back to Centerville to stay with his parents and he had a lot of time on his hands.

Starting point is 00:19:27 So he started dabbling and some hobbies, one being writing. Sungui would sit down every day and write his romantic fiction novel, and he was very passionate about this novel. So much so, he even considered doing it for his career. His parents were seeing all of this and they were really happy for him. It wasn't often that he became super passionate about things. By the end of that summer, he actually changed his major to English, and he sent his novel over to the head of the Department of English. Her name was Lucinda Roy. She received Sungwee's novel through email,

Starting point is 00:20:10 and at the end of the email, he wrote, quote, I don't know if there's a market or an audience for my writing because it's really silly and pathetic, depending on how you look at it, but that's what I'm trying to find out. End quote. Lucinda said that it struck her as odd

Starting point is 00:20:28 that someone would view their work in such a negative way. But after reading it, she said she was underwhelmed, to say the least. Usinda said that the entire story was about romance and redemption, but Sung We just wasn't a great writer. So she responds to his email telling him to be careful jumping into a career path so quickly and to take some extra classes to make sure this is what he really wants. Now, that year wouldn't be the easiest for Sungwi. He had always been a lot better at math than English, so his grades dropped a bit.

Starting point is 00:21:05 But he was still dead set on making it as a writer. And I think that something he really liked about a writing career was that he could make money from the comfort of his own home. He wouldn't have to go into an office or interact with people, and that seemed really appealing. So even though he wasn't making the best grades, he continued to write. Later that year, he would send his novel to a publishing house in New York, but they rejected him, which was devastating to Sung Wei. He was going through what every writer goes through at some point in their career. It's a dog-e-dog world.

Starting point is 00:21:38 And while it is disappointing to have your work rejected, Sungway took it really hard. I think he expected them to really like his novel, but they didn't. His parents said that after he was rejected, he slipped into a depressive state. If you remember earlier, Sungwi was really close to his older sister, and she was really smart. She actually graduated from Princeton, so she even offered to help him edit the novel, but he didn't want her to read it. Now, at this point in the story, it's 2005, and Sungwi is starting his junior year at Virginia Tech,

Starting point is 00:22:18 and it's around this time where we start to see him change for the worse. His roommate, Andy Cook, could never get through to Sungwi. He always tried to talk with him and be friendly, but as we know, Sungwi wasn't a very friendly type of guy. But one night, Andy decides to invite him to a frat party, trying to be nice. And surprisingly, Sungwi agrees to go. They are all drinking throughout the night and after the frat party, they end up at this girl's house named Margaret Bowman.

Starting point is 00:22:55 All of the guys are hanging out in her bedroom, when all of a sudden, Sungwi pulls out a knife, and he starts slowly stabbing her carpet over and over again in front of everyone. I'd imagine everyone was pretty alarmed when he did this, but no one would have ever known that Sungwi was truly violent. He barely ever spoke, so I'm sure they just blew it off. But Andy Cook, his roommate, had some other really strange stories about Sungwi.

Starting point is 00:23:25 For one, he always talked about his imaginary girlfriend, and he even admitted that she was imaginary, but he had all these elaborate stories about her. For instance, her name was Jelly. She called him Spanky, and she was this supermodel from outer space. Andy thought that it was strange, but Sungwi was a strange guy, so he just kind of went along with it. But then one day, Andy came home from class, and Sungwi wouldn't let him inside of their dorm. because he said jelly was visiting him.

Starting point is 00:23:56 He also made an instant messenger using the name Spanky Jelly, and he would use it to harass girls around campus. One was a girl named Jennifer Nelson. In November of 2005, Sungwe kept messaging her and somehow found out where she lived. Then, unannounced, he showed up at her dorm, wearing these weird sunglasses, and he cornered her and repeatedly screamed,

Starting point is 00:24:26 Do you know who I am? Jennifer ended up calling the campus police and later that night two officers would show up at Sungwee's dorm and tell him to stop contacting her. And he listened, but it was clear that he's showing some concerning behaviors. It was also around this time when he started going by the name, question mark. In one of his poetry classes, there were,

Starting point is 00:24:52 was a sign-in sheet at the front, and instead of signing his actual name, he would just put a question mark. People in this class said that Sungwi would always sign in and then immediately go to the back of the class where he would put his hoodie on. And they said he was kind of rude. People would try to introduce themselves and be friendly, but he would always go out of his way to avoid them. The professor of this class was a woman named Nikki Giovanni. and one of their assignments was to write a piece of poetry and read it to the class. Now, normally, Sangui was so shy he would have refused to read his work in front of people. But for whatever reason, he did.

Starting point is 00:25:37 When it was his turn, he walked to the front of the class and began reading this very disturbing paper in front of everyone. Not too long ago, I had an epiphany about this class. What barbarians you people are. Now, tell me if I'm wrong, but I thought this was a poetry class, yet everybody, everybody but me, that is, spent the whole hour and a half talking about eating. It started with someone talking about eating baked beans every day overseas in some country. Then, before I knew it, the conversation turned into a type of conversation of animal massacre butcher shop.

Starting point is 00:26:11 Someone began talking about chopping off turtles' heads, dipping them into eel sauce and eating them, cooking lines balls, deep fried and thin sliced and eating them with ketchup, and chewing on a nice fat bird's head with a nice bottle of wine. Then that somebody said she doesn't do that anymore because the animals she ate are now her friends, yet she who the one who deliciously, joyfully, gobbled them up like one jolly clown. That's like a robber stealing $20 million from a bank and years later haughtily apologizing for stealing the money without returning any of it. Yeah, as long as he's sorry, as if. I don't know who said that, but that somebody is in this room, that somebody sits in this vicinity right there to be exact, if I'm not mistaken.

Starting point is 00:26:51 I don't know which uncouth low-life planet you come from, but you disgust me. In fact, you all discussed me, because as far as I can remember, somebody jumped in and said, Have you eaten a snake? They taste so good. I love snakes. Who said that? What's wrong with you? You want to get leprosy or something?

Starting point is 00:27:09 As if that wasn't bad enough, she went on. Ostriches are good, too. My uncle owns an ostrich farm, and every summer we murder a few of them. and we barbecue them on the grill rare. Possums are pretty good too. You should kill them and eat them because they go through your trash and make a mess. You should just kill them and eat them. Then another person jumped in and said,

Starting point is 00:27:27 If you own a horse, you should keep him locked up in a cage so his muscles don't develop. It's much easier to chew him that way. Before I could shake my head and catch a breath to all of this genocytic talk of innocent animals, certain individuals ran out of the class to not throw up on the bathroom floor, but to get something to eat. Hey, you guys, you're making me hungry. Who said that?

Starting point is 00:27:45 You know exactly who you? you are. Yes, I'm talking to you, you, you, you, all of you. You low-life barbarians make me sick to the stomach that I want to barf all over my new shoes. If you despicable human beings who are all disgraces to human race keep this up. Before you know it, you'll turn into cannibals, eating little babies, your friends, siblings, your parents, grandparents, and your classmates. That's it. I'm getting the hell out before I blink and get eaten alive by you barbarous, uncivilized monsters. I hope you all burn in hell for mass murdering and eating all those little harmless animals.

Starting point is 00:28:19 Imagine you're sitting in class and someone reads that out loud. I would be incredibly uncomfortable to say the least. And that was the case for everyone, including his professor. Following this, she would send Sungwi an email that read, quote, Mr. Cho, your paper of October 10 is disturbing to me. From the beginning of this semester, I had the impression that you did not wish to be a part of this class. You usually have a ball cap pulled over your eyes as if you were asleep, and when I have asked, as I did several times, for you to at least push it back a little bit, you did not comply.

Starting point is 00:28:54 I'm not sure why you enrolled in this class, but I feel like I'm not being a help to you either through your writing or sparking your imagination. If you would prefer some other creative writing professor, I will be more than pleased to do all my power to help you make the change even at this late date. If you feel you have enrolled in error, I will be pleased to allow you to withdraw with no prejudice. I think you need to consider whether or not you wish to continue with me in this class, and if so, make times that you and I can discuss what steps you will need to complete to be brought up to date. Sincerely, Nikki Giovanni. Now, clearly this professor was uncomfortable with Sungwi.

Starting point is 00:29:29 In the email, she's basically begging him to drop the class, but he wouldn't. In fact, he responded to her email saying, quote, you can't make me, end quote. Then the following week. In that same class, a female student approaches Giovanni and says that Sangui was putting his phone underneath her desk and taking pictures of her legs. And it was here where Giovanni had had enough. So she reaches out to Lucinda Roy, who is the head of the English department to see if he could be removed from her class. She was so uncomfortable she would later say, quote, I was willing to to resign before I would continue with him." End quote.

Starting point is 00:30:16 Dr. Lucinda Roy notified several of the school officials about Sungwi's behavior and the Dean of Student Affairs agreed that he could be removed from the class as long as they found another class for him. And they also had to have a meeting with Sungwi to discuss his behavior. So Lucinda Roy sent him an email to set it up. A few hours later, Sungwi responds. It's obvious that I'm in a lot of trouble. Yes, I'll come Wednesday and get yelled at

Starting point is 00:30:46 or whatever you want to do to me. The meeting was scheduled for October 19th, 2005, and in attendance was Dr. Lucinda Roy and Cheryl Ruggiero. The notes from this meeting read this. I am struck immediately by Sung Cho's physical aspect. He has a choice of seating. The chair opposite to mine close to Lucinda's desk or the sofa, and he chooses the sofa as far as possible from either of us.

Starting point is 00:31:19 Understandable. When I'm introduced and shake his hand, his hand is very sweaty and remains straight, does not clasp my hand. When he sits, his arms are splayed unnaturally down by his sides. On the armrest and a pillow, open, stiff, hands not resting on the surfaces. He hardly moves at all. His face or his body, either when listening or speaking. He wears a baseball cap pulled very low and reflective sunglasses. His voice is so low that it's difficult to hear. Throughout, Cho's responses come more slowly

Starting point is 00:32:02 than in a normal conversation, and most are monosyllables. End quote. During the meeting, Sungwi said that he recognized his paper was inappropriate, but it was supposed to be satire. He said that he was just making fun of his classmates, and it was supposed to be a joke. At this point in the meeting, Dr. Roy asked him to remove his sunglasses. Cheryl noted, quote, at this point, Lysinda asked if he would remove his sunglasses. She makes a bit of a joke of it, about not wanting to go on seeing her own reflection. Cho takes a long time to respond, but he does remove them. It's a very distressing sight, since his face seems very naked and blank without them.

Starting point is 00:32:50 It's a great relief to be able to read his face, though there isn't much there. Usinda asks if taking off the sunglasses has been terrible for him. He shakes his head. End quote. At this point in the meeting, they bring up the picture. he took of the female student's legs. Sungwi claimed that he loved photography and that he took pictures of a lot of different things.

Starting point is 00:33:17 But he did understand the severity of the situation and he agreed he would not take any more unwanted photos of female students. At the end of the meeting, Dr. Roy gave him two options. Returned to Nikki's poetry class and explained to everyone that his paper was a joke, or he could drop the class and work independently with Lucinda Roy herself. Sungwi remained silent for a few minutes before he responded. I don't know. Dr. Roy said that she would give him two days to decide.

Starting point is 00:33:53 She also recommended that he see the campus counselor. It was clear that he was very shy and depressed, and she truly wanted him to get help. But again, there was a long moment of, silence before he uttered. I don't know. Dr. Roy gave him the name of the counselor on campus, and she asked him, would you be willing to speak with him?

Starting point is 00:34:18 Sure. Both Dr. Roy and Cheryl couldn't help but notice that throughout the meeting, Sungwi appeared to be detached and emotionless. But as he was walking out of the meeting, he began to cry. Dr. Roy, feeling horrible, ran out and gave him a conversation. of her book, hoping to make him feel better. She said when she gave it to him, his hands were trembling. Now, following this meeting, she and Sungwi would meet once a week for their one-on-one class together. And during this time, he would write a poem titled A Boy Named Loser. It read,

Starting point is 00:34:57 A boy named Loser walks off the sidewalk, shudders into his house, and lays his weary head to sleep and dream. In his dream, he lives two lives. Because in the this world, he has no life, no class, no friends, just a moron in this world. During its long hours in the real world, it's no surprise he is loser. Everyone knows, too bad, they say, only if he had a life. Under the bright, cruel sun, he hauls his feet into his house, thinks about the other two lives, keeps on dreaming, daydream, what to do, what to say but dream. That's what losers do in this world. Where normal guys live their happy lives, worry free, and be themselves, unlike loser, A normal guy throws parties at his house, but not loser.

Starting point is 00:35:38 He has no life. Be happy, be normal. Get a life, he says to himself. He can only in his dream. In loser's little mind, he brings over a girl to this house. Only if he could do that in the real world. Luser. What can I say?

Starting point is 00:35:51 That's what losers do. Luser. Only if loser could live his lives. Something loser can't even do. Lives those lives and be normal and actually have a life. You know why he can't? He's loser. With everything he longs for.

Starting point is 00:36:04 all he can do is dream trapped in this world in this wronged world. Nothing to do but drag his heavy feet back into the house. All alone in his little house, he likes to think he's living his lives in his own safe little world. No one tells him, loser, get a life. No one gives him the hand gesture in his dream. No one calls him loser. Darned straight. This boy really is loser, loser with no life, and he knows it. But he, what can he do, likes to live in his pathetic dream drowning in his quirky little house anyway. My God, What a loser. He also wrote a lot of love stories about his imaginary girlfriend, Jelly, and they were very

Starting point is 00:36:42 descriptive. It's clear that he desperately wanted to be loved and touched by a woman, something he hadn't experienced. One of the poems he wrote was titled Hair Poem. I wish I could touch Jelly's hair so perfect and pretty. I just want to grab them and play. Her hair and me right here. I want to get to know her.

Starting point is 00:37:04 her irresistible hair. Her hair is so divine and beautiful, like the Greek goddess of hair. Sungwi would go on to write many more poems and stories, but to be honest, they are really bad, so we won't bore you by reading them. But it's around this time when Songwi starts to harass more women on campus. On December 6, 2005, a female student named Christina Lili Zhu complained to her resident advisor that Sungwi had sent her derogatory messages under the alias question mark. And as it turns out, many people had been sending in complaints about him. The resident advisor Lisa Varga actually sent an email to her supervisor with a long list of complaints against him, including one that said he may have a weapon in his room.

Starting point is 00:38:08 A few days after this, another female student sent in a complaint about him. This time it was Margaret Bowman, the girl who witnessed him stabbing her carpet with a knife. Apparently, he had been messaging her and when she didn't respond, he walked to her dorm and wrote on a marker board that was hanging on her door. He didn't write anything too disturbing, but it was a quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Margaret contacted the Virginia Tech Police Department and filed a formal complaint, requesting that he have no further contact with her. The campus police once again showed up at his dorm but he wasn't home,

Starting point is 00:38:53 so they left a message with his roommates for him to call the department. Later that afternoon, he called them back, but Sungwi claimed that he didn't do it, Shakespeare did. So clearly he's spiraling. Later that night, he sends his roommate a message saying, I might as well kill myself right now. And concerned, the roommate reaches out to the Virginia Tech Police Department, and he tells them that Sungwi wants to kill himself. So they immediately come by his dorm and take him to a hospital

Starting point is 00:39:28 where he is detained there overnight. During his stay, he was evaluated, and in his notes they reported that he was quote mentally ill and in need of hospitalization but then they release him they did issue a court order that he had to attend their outpatient program but he never went and even though it was court ordered no one ever followed up to make sure he was going

Starting point is 00:39:57 his parents were also never notified of his evaluation in hospital stay and because of his order to receive outpatient treatment, rather than be committed to a psychiatric facility, his name was never reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. If he had been committed, his name would have been taken down, and this would have flagged him when he went to purchase guns later on. But throughout this whole experience, Sungwi felt betrayed.

Starting point is 00:40:30 Andy, his roommate, was really the only first. friend he had, and by calling the police on him, he felt betrayed. By this point, Andy was kind of afraid of Sungwi. Not only had he been acting strange towards women, but one night, Andy woke up to Sungwi taking pictures of him while he slept. So by this point, there's an obvious strain in their relationship. Following this, Sungwi would never tell anyone about his thoughts and feelings ever again. From here he just buried it all within, and with isolation came resentment. Like a volcano, the pressure within him was mounting, and one of his poetry classes, Sung-we would write,

Starting point is 00:41:17 This thing, my life, all in agony of hell, of torture, in years of bludgeoning torment, tiny nuisances, the disgust eyes, dirty frowns, and red fingers pointing at me, feeling all the patheticness and humiliation. Good Christ, rip me. apart to shrivels. Eat me to help me see a better day and salvage this decaying thing for myself. Sungwi was angry with the world. In April of 2006, he was enrolled in a technical writing course with Professor Carl Bean. Carl confronted Sungwi outside of class and suggested he dropped the course because of the inappropriate writing assignments he had turned in. And apparently,

Starting point is 00:41:58 Sungwi followed him all the way back to his office, yelling, at him in the hallway. In another one of his classes that semester, Sungwi was enrolled in a creative writing course with Professor Bob Hickok, and he had a few issues with Sungwi as well. Like every other class, he refused to participate in class discussions, and the work he turned in was extremely violent. On February 10, 2006, Bob emailed Dr. Roy about his behavior, the Email read. Lucinda, Xiang Cho is a student in my 3704.

Starting point is 00:42:36 He's an English major and a junior. He can't or won't talk. Not when called on in class. This is pretty clearly tough for him, and not even one-on-one. When I spoke to him about this, he literally made no sound. The most I could get him to do was nod,

Starting point is 00:42:52 and this was barely perceptible. I then asked him to tell me what's up in an email. He didn't do this. I emailed him, and his response was, I don't know, I have trouble talking. I don't know. I emailed again and again told him that, minus any conversation, it would be almost

Starting point is 00:43:07 impossible for him to pass the course. His response was that he'd try to talk. Is his name familiar? What should I do in a case like this? Bob. And he wouldn't be the last professor that would alert the school to Sungwi's behavior. I've lost count at this point, but there are a handful of professors that were deeply concerned about his well-being. And it's really horrible that after that... after all of these emails, still nothing was done. In one of his writing classes in 2006, he would write a disturbing story foreshadowing

Starting point is 00:43:42 the Virginia Tech Massacre. In the story, the main character's name was Bud, and it starts with Bud waking up early, getting dressed in dark clothing, sunglasses, and a strappy vest with lots of pockets. When he arrives at school that day, He noticed that all of the students are smiling, laughing, and embracing each other. Everyone looks in Bud's direction, but no one cares to interact with him.

Starting point is 00:44:12 An excerpt of the story read, So I hate this. I hate all these frauds. I hate my life. This is it. This is when you goddamn people die with me. But unlike Sungwi's actions later that year, Bud never acted on his thoughts. and the story ends with him driving away in a stolen car with a gothic woman. One classmate named Stephen Davis told the New York Times that when he finished reading his play, he looked at his roommate and said, quote, this is the kind of guy who's going to walk into a classroom and start shooting people.

Starting point is 00:44:49 End quote. And in 2007, that's exactly what Sungwi would do. It was also the year he was set to graduate. But while many of his peers discussed their future goals and job opportunities, his mind remained in a very dark place. His parents tried to help him find jobs, but he didn't want their help. It seems like he knew finding a job wouldn't matter because he had other plans. He was going to shoot and kill as many people as he could at Virginia Tech.

Starting point is 00:45:24 In early 2007, Sung Wee started going by another. personality named Axe Ishmael. Sung-Wey was just a shy, mediocre student with no friends or respect from his peers. But Axe Ishmael was the strong, mean person who didn't care about what others thought of him. It was like he could step into the role of Axe Ishmael and be the person he always wanted to be. On February 2nd, 2007, Sung-Wi would go online and order his first handgun, a 22-cali-cali- P-22 semi-automatic pistol from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The company was TGS COM Incorporated, and they shipped the gun to J&D pawnbrokers in Blacksburg, Virginia,

Starting point is 00:46:06 a store located right across the street from Virginia Tech's campus. And it was here where he completed the transaction and picked up the gun. Then on March 12, 2007, he went to the Roanoke Regional Airport in Roanoke, Virginia, and he rented a van from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He would keep the van for about a month, and when he got inside of it, his axe-ishmell persona would come out. Sung-Wi would dress in dark clothing.

Starting point is 00:46:33 He would put on these dark gloves and a bulletproof vest. Then he would get into the back of the van and set up a camera. Pictures of him from this time show him holding a gun. Another shows him wielding a hammer above his head with this mean look

Starting point is 00:46:51 on his face. He desperately wanted to be this mean and scary person that people were afraid of, when in reality he was a shy man who could barely speak above a whisper. But here is the audio of some things he recorded of himself while in this van. I didn't have to do this. I could have left. I could have fled. I didn't know that will no longer run. If not for me. For my children, for my brothers and sisters that you f***k. They did it for them. You had 100 billion chances in the ways to have avoided today,

Starting point is 00:47:31 but you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off. You're sadistic stops, I may be nothing but a piece of that . You have evangelized my heart, rape my soul, and torts my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic, Lord, life you were extinguishing.

Starting point is 00:47:54 Thanks to you, I die, like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people. Do you know what it feels like to be spit on your face and have trash shoved down your throat? Do you know what it feels like to dig your own grave? Do you know what it feels like to have your throat slashed from year to year? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive? Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated and be impelled upon on a cross enough to bleed to death for your amusement. You have never felt a single ounce of pain your whole life.

Starting point is 00:48:26 Did you want to inject as much misery in our life as you can, just because you can? You had everything you wanted. Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats, your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust fund wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac weren't enough. All your devoutreys weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your heathenistic needs. You've had everything.

Starting point is 00:48:49 You just loved crucifying me. You loved inducing cancer in my head, terrorizing my heart, and ripping my soul all this time. When the time came, I did it. I had to. As you can tell, Sungwi was angry with the world, and he was ready to take his revenge. On March 13, 2007, the day after he bought his first gun, he bought a second gun. This one was a 9mm Glock 19 from Roanoke firearms. He also purchased 50 full metal jacket practice rounds.

Starting point is 00:49:28 When he entered the store, he presented his U.S. permanent residency card and his Virginia driver's license with no problems. A background check was performed and there were no records of mental health issues, so he was required to wait the 30 days between gun purchases. as required by law. However, under federal law, Sungwi should have never been able to purchase a gun after that overnight stay in the psychiatric hospital in 2005. But because it wasn't on his record, the firearm store employees had no idea that he was a potential threat. To them, he seemed like a normal college student with no red flags. The price of the 9mm Glock was 500,000,000.000,000,000 $171 that he put on his credit card. And it was also around this time when Sungwi rented a motel room

Starting point is 00:50:26 and hired a dancer for a one-hour performance. On March 22nd, Sungwi took his 22-cali-seminautomatic pistol to an indoor shooting range, where he spent about an hour practicing with his new gun. After this practice, he went back to his dorm and got on eBay to purchase two 10-round magazines for his pistol from Elk Ridge shooting supplies in Idaho. The following day, he got back on eBay and ordered three additional 10-round magazines from another online seller. Then on March 31st, he went to Dick's sporting goods and Walmart to buy cargo pants,

Starting point is 00:51:00 sunglasses, ammunition, magazines, a hunting knife, and chains. Slowly but surely, Sungwe's plans to shoot up Virginia Tech were coming together. He had the weapons, the ammunition. the outfit he planned to wear that day, and the chains he would use to tie the doors together so no one could escape the building. He also made many more videotapes that he planned to send to NBC the morning of the shooting. On April 7, 2007, Sungwi was pulled over by the Virginia Tech Police for going 44 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone. A court date was set for May 23, 2007, but he never planned on making that court date. And in the weeks leading up to the massacre, his roommate started to notice a change in him.

Starting point is 00:51:57 He cut his hair really short, a military-style buzz cut. He started going to the gym really late at night, and waking up earlier in the mornings. And although they never really got to know him, he was. was quieter than usual. Sungwi Cho's plan was coming together and he was more than ready to carry out the attack on Virginia Tech's campus. On April 14th, two days before the shooting, a faculty member noticed an Asian male with a hoodie pulled over his head in Norris Hall, the very building where he would carry out the attack. That same night, another student would later report that she saw one of the main doors in Norris Hall chained together. It speculated that Sungwi was responsible,

Starting point is 00:52:47 like he was practicing for the main event. Then on April 15th, he placed a call to his parents. They didn't know it at the time, but it was a goodbye of sorts. They would later claim that there were no signs their son was distressed. It was just like any other phone call. And that's the scary thing about these people. To the outside, they seem normal, just months away from graduation. But in reality, Sung Wichow was about to carry out the worst school shooting in American history. The students and employees of Virginia Tech went to bed that night, completely unaware that their lives were about to change forever. And 32 of those people would never live to see another day after April 16th, 2007. Good hair days do more than we give them credit for. When your

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Starting point is 00:55:26 Growing up, my mom was always the best at handling sticky, stressful situations. I mean, we have so many crazy family memories, so many things that stick out to me, so many trips that we took and just funny moments. I mean, I remember specifically one just crazy time when we had jet skis and we took them out. We had rented them for the day and we took them out on this lake. And somehow something got on the engine of the jet ski. Mine stalled. My dad stalled. And my mom and sister had to come rescue us because we floated to shore on the other side of the lake. We've got some hilarious pictures from that day.

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Starting point is 00:57:24 Hey, everybody, it's Colin here. Thank you for tuning in to another week of murder in America. Once again, like we always say, Courtney and I are so happy and so proud that our show has grown to the level that it's at right now. And we are just so shocked that we have so many of you out there listening and tuning in every single week. We're truly blessed to have this amazing family of listeners and friends online. So, yeah, thank you all so much. But I want to shout out our new patrons this week. Alyssa Bezio, Chesney Kovie, Kim Sands Chabat, Tyler Ishcomber, Phoenix Josephine, Ava Guggenberger, Jesse Molina, Timothy Barry, Taylor Salafi,

Starting point is 00:58:02 Salazar and John Cale. Thank you all for signing up to become patrons. It's always shocking to see how many new patrons we have every week. And yeah, thank you once again. And I'm sorry if I ever slaughter anybody's name when I'm reading out your little shout out. But if you want your name read at the end of an episode or you don't like the ads in the show, just head to patreon.com and search up Murder in America. Because on our Patreon, we post the ad-free version of every episode as soon as it goes live on all streaming platforms. So once again, if you don't like the ads, just head to Patreon. Something else that you can do for Courtney and I that would be really amazing is if you have an iPhone, head to the podcast app and go leave us a five-star review. Tell us what you love about murder in America because there's nothing that makes our day more than reading what you guys have to say about the show.

Starting point is 00:58:49 You can also follow us on Instagram at Murder in America where we post photos from every case that we cover here on the show. And next week we're going to be back with the finale to this story. It's a really sad, sad story. But until then, I hope you all have a great weekend. Thank you for listening, and I will see you on the next one. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here.

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Murder In America - EP. 111 VIRGINIA - The Virginia Tech School Shooting, PT. 1: Seung-Hui Cho

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