Virginia Tech Shooting Essay

Major events have crafted the United States and other nations into what they are today. Going from world wars in the 1940’s, to civil rights movements in the 1960’s, to extravagant national debt today, have all played a part in shaping our nation. Being from rural Mississippi, world news being made here is uncommon. We see all of our major news from televisions or newspapers, and this “news” is all happening elsewhere, far from here. Whether it is a good thing that we do not make the big news or not, the fear of uncertain events still lingers. From shootings in schools to bombings in cities, we are fortunate for being seemingly far from these dangers. Even though no physical effects pertain to me, mental pain and fear stays and leaves doubt

On Tuesday, April 20 1999, Columbine High School located in Columbine Colorado an unfortunate massacre happened and many teens lost their lives. The two students responsible for this incident were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. These two senior students were responsible for killing twelve students and one teacher; they were also responsible for injuring an additional twenty one students on their rampage. A few other students were injured while trying to escape the school. Columbine is considered the fourth deadliest school massacre in history. It was said to be that there was not one target but everyone was a target on Eric and Dylan’s rampage through the high school

Next, On April 16, 2007, Cho Seung Hui, a student at Virginia Tech College, apparently had nowhere else to turn in his life other than to go on a massive killing spree. According to CNN News, a timeline of exactly what happened during the massacre was explained. It all began at 7:15am in the West Ambler Johnston Hall, which houses close to 900 students, a 911 call was made claiming that two students had been shot. Between the hours of 7:30am and 9am police and school board members discussed who on earth would possibly do something like this. Shortly after the school began to send students notices via email to notify them of the shootings. Around 9:45am another 911 call was made claiming that more shootings had taken place in the Norris Hall and this time 31 students were killed including Cho, who shot himself after going on the viscous rampage. Several messages were sent to the students of Virginia Tech notifying them of the second shootings via email. Shortly after noon the president of the college released information that classes

April 20, 1999, is a day of remembrance for many people. The Columbine massacre had an effect not only on the Littleton, Colorado community but also on the entire country. In the book Columbine by Dave Cullen, the author tells the story of the tragedy that started with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The book begins with an introduction into both Eric and Dylan's thoughts, actions, and reasoning behind their plan to attack their high school. Throughout the book the author points out how the media gave a different view for the motives of the attack which caused false accusations towards the killers. This book tells the truth told from survivors and evidence, but the honest truth behind the attack went to the grave with Eric and

Mr. Cho Seung-Hui, a 23 year old South Korean student at Virginia tech shot 32 people and himself on April 16, 2007. This incidence of shooting has been claimed to be the deadliest shooting rampage in the history of America. During his childhood years, Cho began to show signs of mental health issues and had been identified of having "selective mutism." He had problem socializing with people and thus was known as a student who merely kept to himself. Ever since Middle School, Cho began to show violence in his writings and got the attention of the teachers. He was prescribed some medication and eventually symptoms of violent and aggressive behavior began to abate. Even though, teachers had reported Cho of having mental issues during his time at Virginia Tech; no such attention was paid to his odd behavior. Cho had quit taking his medicines that were prescribed earlier and thus he was not put through any medical intervention. In 2005, Cho had been identified as a dangerous person rendering him ineligible to purchase a gun under federal law. Despite all of that, he still managed to purchase two guns that were used in the Virginia shootings.

Research in school shootings have been administered in many categories, including sociology, psychology, and etc. past studies, and direct later studies in school shootings, offers a sociology stand point for understanding the differences of school shooting incidents, including rampage shootings, mass murders shootings, and examining the mass media dynamic of school shootings; as well as presenting a combination of causes said in the research, including those on the individual, community, and social levels. Suggestions for studies in the future in school shootings are still yet to be explored.

Some of the most infamous acts of terror on American soil took place on numerous campuses across the nation. School shootings, like Sandy Hook and Columbine, have started to become an ordinary event seen on the news, which causes a numb reaction in the hearts of countless Americans. According to an article written by AJ Willingham and Saeed Ahmed, from CNN, “...30 deadliest shootings in the United States dating back to 1949, 18 have occurred in the last 10 years.” In all of these cases, the news will give the attacker the attention they so dearly crave and always giving the same justification “they were mentally ill”. This one phrase reflects on all of those who also are affected by mental illness, does this make them corrupt like these terrorists?

Katrina was a crisis primarily because of its scale and the mixture of challenges that it posed, not least the failure of the levees in New Orleans. Because of the novelty of a crisis, predetermined emergency plans and response behavior that may function quite well in dealing with routine emergencies are frequently grossly inadequate or even counterproductive. That proved true in New Orleans, for example, in terms of evacuation planning, law enforcement, rescue activities, sheltering, and provisions for the elderly and infirm.

Explain the importance of having an emergency plan in place to deal with unforeseen incidents

The incident occurred on Monday, April 16th 2007. Seung-Hui Cho was a 23 years old senior at Virginia Tech. He was born in South Korea and moved to America during his early childhood years. The shooting took in the form of two separate attacks on the campus. Cho was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun, a 22-caliber handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The first one took place at 7:15 in the morning, which he shot two people in a dorm. During the gap between the first attack and the second attack, Cho mailed a clip of video that contains rantings about wealthy “brat” and other topics and pictures of him wielding guns to NBC news. He then started his second attack. Cho chained and locked several main doors of an

The shootings that occurred at Kent State University, Ohio, on May 4, 1970 have been a dark spot in American history for almost 36 years. It is a day remembered by many names, THE KENT STATE SHOOTINGS, MAY 4 or the KENT STATE MASSACRE. Four students were killed and nine were wounded, all of America suffered.

Disaster relief operations are complex systems having more to them than just a response mechanism. They require a significant amount of pre-planning.

Cullen, Dave. “The Depressive and the Psychopath: The FBI’s Analysis of the Killers Motives” The Columbine Alamac (20 April 2004)

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.

On November 5, 2009 at approximately 1:30 p.m., a gunman opens fire inside the base's Soldier Readiness Center at U.S. Army Base, Fort Hood, Texas. Soldier Readiness Center, is where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening (http://search.proquest.com). During the shooting the gunman killed 13 and wounded 31 others. The gunman was shot and wounded by base police during the incident. This was the first time that an attack like this has happened in a military base on U.S. soil. All the soldiers and civilians inside of the Soldier Readiness Center were unarmed at the time of