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Va. gunman had 2 past stalking cases

By ADAM GELLER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:29 PM EDT, April 18, 2007

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BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman blamed for the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history had previously been accused of stalking two female students at Virginia Tech and had been taken to a mental health facility in 2005 after an acquaintance worried he might be suicidal, police said Wednesday.

Cho Seung-Hui had concerned one woman enough with his calls and e-mail in 2005 that police were called in, said Police Chief Wendell Flinchum.

He said the woman declined to press charges, and neither woman was among the victims of Monday's massacre on the Virginia Tech campus.

During the stalking second incident, also in late 2005, the department received a call from an acquaintance of Cho's who was concerned that he might be suicidal, and Cho was taken to a mental health facility, Flinchum said. About the same time, in fall 2005, Cho's professor informally shared some concerns about the young man's writing but no official report was filed, he said.

Flinchum said he knew of no other police incidents involving Cho until the deadly shootings Monday, first at a girl's dorm room and then a classroom building across campus.

Thirty-two people were shot to death before the gunman killed himself. State Police have said the same gun was used in both shootings, but they said Wednesday said they still weren't confident that it was the same gunman.

Campus police on Wednesday applied for search warrants for all of Cho's medical records from the Schiffert Health Center on campus and New River Community Services in Blacksburg.

"It is reasonable to believe that the medical records may provide evidence of motive, intent and designs," investigators wrote in the documents.

Police searched Cho's dorm room on Tuesday and recovered, among other items, two computers, books, notebooks, a digital camera, and a chain and combination lock, according to documents filed Wednesday; the front doors of Norris Hall had been chained shut from the inside during the shooting rampage.

Cho's roommates and professors on Wednesday described him as a troubled, very quiet young man who rarely spoke to his roommates or made eye contact with them.

His bizarre behavior became even less predictable in recent weeks, roommate Karan Grewal said.

Grewal had pulled an all-nighter on homework the day of the shootings and saw Cho at around 5 a.m., a few hours earlier than normal.

As usual, Cho didn't look him the eye or say anything, Grewal said. He said Cho usually worked alone on his computer and watched TV, including Friday night wrestling. He was always alone -- in the dining hall, watching TV, working out with weights in the gym. He rarely spoke to anyone.

"I had no idea he was capable of this," Grewal said. "We were never told his teachers had concern about him committing suicide and all these dark feelings.

"We were never told that our suitemate was depressed or suicidal."

Several students and professors described Cho as a sullen loner. Authorities said he left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids. News reports said that Cho, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English, may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly erratic.

Professors and classmates were alarmed by his class writings -- pages filled with twisted, violence-drenched writing.

"It was not bad poetry. It was intimidating," poet Nikki Giovanni, one of his professors, told CNN Wednesday.

"I know we're talking about a youngster, but troubled youngsters get drunk and jump off buildings," she said. "There was something mean about this boy. It was the meanness -- I've taught troubled youngsters and crazy people -- it was the meanness that bothered me. It was a really mean streak."

Giovanni said her students were so unnerved by Cho's behavior, including taking pictures of them with his cell phone, that some stopped coming to class and she had security check on her room. She eventually had him taken out of her class, saying she would quit if he wasn't removed.