UK news: "A lovers' tiff in the dormitory" started rampage

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=448955&in_page_id=1811&ct=5

He was said to have quarrelled in a dormitory with his girlfriend, whom he believed had been seeing another man. A student adviser was called to sort out the row. But the killer produced a gun and shot dead both his girlfriend and the adviser.

Two hours later he rampaged through an engineering building on the other side of the campus in the town of Blacksburg, killing indiscriminately.

Some students continued their work unaware there was a killer in their midst, while university authorities merely sent round an email saying that a shooting was being investigated.


The gunman was said to be of Asian appearance and dressed in maroon hat, leather jacket and black-military style shooting vest. He had ammunition strapped across his chest as he calmly walked from room to room refilling his two 9mm handguns as he shot students.

[VelmaD]

1. "tiff"...

a "tiff"!?!?!?! I really hope that's just a British flair for understatement because when someone gets shot I usually consider it more than a "tiff".

[pitohui]

24. the british do love their understatements, don't they EOM

.

[aquart]

2. You don't bring a gun to a tiff.

And if he didn't have the ammo on his chest in the first shooting, that may give us a clue to what he did for two hours.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

3. indeed.

that's one helluva tiff . . .

[Justice]

4. that sadly, may well be the clue

[rainbow4321]

5. Seems, as usual, overseas news has more clues to this

than our own media is coughing up..if this account turns out to be accurate, SOMEone in law enforcement is talking about what happened today, just not talking to OUR media (or the US newspeople aren't reporting it).

[Kajsa]

6. I think you're right.

I've seen this happen before.

We are among the last to know, sometimes.

[idgiehkt]

23. for real

how are they getting "whom he believed was seeing another man" when the american news was still reporting that he'd killed the R.A. and the girlfriends roomate, not the girlfriend herself.

I don't believe this story about a second gunman, either. Campus security stated outright in the news conference that they were not looking for anyone...when questioned later on he changed his story and said that they were "actively investigating it". They had reason to believe the man had left campus after the first shootings...what made them believe that...you know, usually how they will say on the news something to the effect of "police have set up barricades at such and such locations and there is a statewide alert/all points bulletin/manhunt/whatever, for the suspect in the shootings..." yada yada yada. I have not heard a single announcement like that of any roadblocks being put up, any 'bears in the air' going out or anything to that effect, because it is not happening. Their attorneys are feeding them this crap as an ass-covering delay tactic.

[Straight Shooter]

7. So he brought a gun with him, before the argument even started.

F*ck him. Premeditated. He intended to kill her, and then decided to indulge in vengeance on everyone who crossed his path.

Rotten soul. Didn't give a sh*t about anyone but himself.

[mike_c]

8. it's awfully easy to dismiss someone as "a rotten soul..." but the truth...

...is usually far more complex than that. Maybe he really was a sociopathic killer waiting for the right set of signals to send him off. On the other hand, maybe he was insane. Maybe he was in pain, or grief, and didn't know how to deal with it. Anyway, he's dead now, as are the folks he shot. Speaking ill of him without any real information about what his state of mind was this morning won't bring back the dead, or help anyone understand why they died.

[Straight Shooter]

9. Yes, it's easy.

But I'm not of a mind to "understand" him, not at all, just as I don't care to "understand" george bush. People who deliberately inflict pain and death and emotional anguish have rotten souls.

I didn't use the word "evil."

A man who feels jilted goes on a berserk rampage. No sympathy from me for the guy.

And by the way, I'm from Virginia.

[Withywindle]

11. Here's where you lost me.

Maybe he was in pain, or grief, and didn't know how to deal with it.

Millions of people are in pain or grief all around the world every day. This POS decided the way to deal with it was to dole out MORE pain and grief to hundreds, maybe thousands of other people he doesn't even know (consider the ripple effects of pain and grief among all the family and friends of all his victims). That's the point where he forfeited his own right to compassion, sorry.

[Critters2]

20. Indeed. If everyone in pain or grief went around shooting people

we in my line of work would have to wear flak jackets all the time.

[MilesColtrane]

19. For some reason it doesn't offend my sensibilities to hear someone...

speak ill of a mass murderer.

There are many, many people in the world every day who are mentally ill, grieving, or in personal emotional turmoil.
I feel for them.

For those who seek to redress their personal misfortune by killing as many innocent people as possible before leaving this world, I say fuck you and I hope you rot in hell.

[Rydz777]

10. One report (Chicago Sun Times)

said that he is a Chinese on student visa and just arrived in this country last August. If true, how does a guy who has only been here a few months on a student visa get his hands on an arsenal of weapons?

[Clark2008]

12. That's what my former Army Ranger hubby wanted to know.

Hubby knows quite a bit about guns and gun laws as a result of his stint in the service. The first question he asked upon finding out the dude was a Chinese national is: how the hell does a Chinese national get a gun?

[rainbow4321]

13. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about guns

But just IMHO, if he had the right amount of cash, it may be safe to say that he hooked up with someone willing to sell him the guns, no questions asked.
According to reports today (granted it's from our somewhat unreliable US media), the serial numbers on the guns were scratched out per the ATF official who the news people talk to today. Whoever has had their hands on those guns didn't want them traced and they knew how to prevent that from happening.

[Skidmore]

30. Illegally....weren't the serial numbers reported to have been filed off

of these weapons?

[aquart]

15. Virginia.

Legendary for gun sales.

[LuckyLib]

18. Yup. No background check. No paperwork. If you pay cash, no name.

[Critters2]

21. That's nice.

I suppose we don't want to infringe on the Constitutional rights of mentally ill foreign nationals. :eyes:

[SoCalDem]

28. My son was in high school when he told me that he could (if he wanted)

have a gun in about 20 minutes..:scared:

[depakid]

14. "Two hours later he rampaged through an engineering building"

Two hours later?

Virginia Tech had better be prepared for some lawsuits, because that just reeks of negligence.

[northzax]

16. ABC is reporting that it might be two people

involved in the shootings: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3045574 that they are not neccesarily connected.

of course who knows?

[Warren DeMontague]

17. How does that gel with the "bomb threats" they'd been having for several weeks?

You know, the ones which were supposed to be "testing the security response"?

Hard for me to believe this 'just happened'. I think there had to be a level of planning involved.

[Junkdrawer]

31. That's my question...and don't forget the chains and locks he used...

to prevent the police from entering and prevent the victims from escaping...

[Nikki Stone1]

22. Has anyone written the Daily Mail and called them on their characterization of the rampage?

Those stupid editors need to understand that the guy came ARMED. This wasn't a tiff or even an argument. It was a planned killing, It was murder.

[pitohui]

25. written to the daily mail about their use of the word "tiff?"

erm for some reason doubt you'd get very far w. that project

it's a tabloid

a british tabloid

the british have their own unique way w. words and calling this a "tiff" is probably the least of it

i'm planning to skip their v-tech coverage and go directly to the story on how kate moss lost her looks

[T_i_B]

27. If you want to know what the Daily Mail is like

Just ask in the UK forum and wait for the vitriol to come pouring out. It's a very RW tabloid.

[Nikki Stone1]

29. Thanks, that helps me to understand their blase attitude

...

[mr blur]

26. This is the Daily Mail. They are morons. (nt)

[smirkymonkey]

32. So, like, I guess the Iraq war is a "spat"

according to the daily mail.

:shrug: