I'm sure you are all aware by now, but the police released the identity of the killer this morning, he was a Korean here on a green card.
Police identified the classroom shooter as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior from South Korea who was in the English department at Virginia Tech and lived in a different dorm on campus. Cho committed suicide after the attacks, and there was no indication Tuesday of any possible motive.
Just a quick request, I don't think that around here we are going to be able to stop all attacks on Glocks or the ability to purchase them, however from the bottom of my heart I'd ask we not have ridiculously broad slamming sessions on South Korean immigrants. My wife and I spent some of the best years of our lives as part of a mostly Korean church in Philadelphia, and I've worked with first and second gen South Koreans for the last ten years. The actions of this VT senior were in
no way a reflection of his ethnicity any more than they are a reflection of English Majors. His actions were in fact simply a product of the murderous evil of his own heart.
As such it could have been a student of virtually any nationality that did the shooting including, as Columbine showed us, average white American kids, and is not therefore any kind of argument for limiting South Korean immigration or even for limiting the ability of Permanent Residents to purchase firearms - that is unless you think that countless Korean shopkeepers in fringe neighborhoods and of course yours truly should be compelled to disarm.
- SEAGOON