Signs of Trouble
During his time at Virginia Tech, Seung Hui Cho exhibited behavior that alarmed many in the campus community:
Fall 2005. Instructors in the English department become concerned about Cho's disturbing class writings and withdrawn personality. In a course taught by poet Nikki Giovanni, Cho intimidates students and teacher alike with his sullen, angry demeanor. Giovanni, who later describes Cho as "evil," tells Lucinda Roy, then chair of the department, that either he must leave her class or she'll quit. Roy tutors Cho and tells campus police about him.
November 2005. A female student complains to campus police about unwanted phone calls and personal contacts by Cho. She doesn't press charges.
December 2005. Another female student complains about Cho, this time because of unwelcome text messages. Later that day, an acquaintance of Cho calls campus police to say he may be suicidal. Cho meets with a counselor at the police department, who gets a temporary detention order. Cho is taken to Carilion St. Albans Behavioral Health center near Radford, Va., for evaluation. A judge then determines that Cho is an imminent danger to himself but recommends that he receive outpatient treatment rather than being involuntarily hospitalized.
Fall 2006. Cho submits two plays with strong sexual and violent content for a writing class. "I hate him. Must kill Dick. Must kill Dick. Dick must die," says the 13-year-old character, John, about his stepfather, whom he accuses of molesting him in Richard McBeef.
April 16, 2007. In two separate incidents, Cho kills 32 Virginia Tech students and staff, then himself.
This story appears in the April 30, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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