|
We're so sorry say Virginia
gunman's horrified family
MICHAEL FELBERBAUM
AP
Saturday April 21, 2007
The family of university campus killer Cho Seung-Hui apologised
for the tragedy, saying they "never could have envisioned that
he was capable of so much violence".
Speaking publicly for the first time, the parents and sister of
the 23-year-old South Korean student said were "so very sorry"
for Cho's "unspeakable actions".
The family offered condolences and prayers in a statement issued
by Cho's sister, Sun Kyung Cho, who works as a contractor for a
US State Department office that oversees billions of dollars in
American aid for Iraq.
The said: "We pray for their families and loved ones who are
experiencing so much excruciating grief. And we pray for those who
were injured and for those whose lives are changed forever because
of what they witnessed and experienced.
"Each of these people had so much love, talent and gifts to
offer, and their lives were cut short by a horrible and senseless
act."
A day of mourning was held in Virginia yesterday for the 32 students
killed at Virginia Tech University in the worst massacre in US history.
It came as a contract worker took a gun into Nasa's Johnson Space
Centre in Houston, Texas and shot dead a hostage before turning
the gun on himself.
A second hostage, a woman who had been tied to a chair with duct
tape, escaped with minor injuries. In the statement, released yesterday,
Sun Cho told how the family were "living in a nightmare"
following the killings.
She said: "We are humbled by this darkness. We feel hopeless,
helpless and lost. This is someone that I grew up with and loved.
Now I feel like I didn't know this person.
"We have always been a close, peaceful and loving family.
My brother was quiet and reserved, yet struggled to fit in. We never
could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence.
"He has made the world weep. We are living a nightmare."
She said her family would cooperate fully with investigators and
"do whatever we can to help authorities understand why these
senseless acts happened. We have many unanswered questions as well."
The family released the statement though their lawyer in North
Carolina, Wade Smith. The family's location remained unknown tonight,
but US authorities said they were under police protection.
Classes at Virginia Tech will resume next week as police continue
to pore over "mounds" of evidence collected.
Police say forensic examination of the crime scenes is almost over.
It was also revealed that officers had not yet spoken to Cho's parents.
A series of hate-filled videos recorded by Cho on the day of the
massacre and sent to US channel NBC continue to be shown around
the world.
A postmark revealed the package was sent at a Blacksburg post office
at about 9am on Monday, around an hour and 45 minutes after the
first shots were fired.
The images showed Cho brandishing weapons including guns, a knife
and a hammer.
In the video package, Cho spoke in a rambling and sometimes incoherent
monologue, his sentences filled with expletives and violent imagery.
The killer compared himself to Jesus Christ and said he died to
inspire generations of "weak and defenceless people".
Cho, who studied English, appeared to be reading from a "manifesto"
as he labelled fellow students "brats" and "snobs".
He said: "Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire
generations of the weak and the defenceless people."
On Wednesday it emerged Cho was held in a mental health unit after
two women students complained about his behaviour in 2005.
Teachers and fellow students described a loner who barely spoke
to others and who wrote "disturbing" violent fiction in
creative writing classes.
Meanwhile the governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, said he had appointed
a panel to investigate the shootings and their aftermath.
Mr Kaine said the independent panel would evaluate whether Virginia
Tech reacted appropriately during the shootings and look into other
issues including campus police tactics, academic free speech and
the roles of professors and administrators in identifying students
who posed a risk.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
