Its very sad what happened.

Hope they don't make a huge TV drama about it like its a movie like the news stations have done in the past. This is real life. This is not a script and people hurting. The Media doesn't have any sincere sympathy for the tradegy but only have sincere hopes for the best ratings they can get. When they show the same thing over and over and over again... with no up date, you are now getting tones of copy cats.

Case and point today my office building had a bomb threat and it was a bit scary. schools in my state have been vitimize by "pranks" of copy cats of Cho. And of course all across the nation. It good to be informed and up dated. But this is not fiction. Respect the people involve and let them grieve and heal in piece without a camera shoved in their face.

The pictures and the video of Cho does not need to be repeated over and over again to remind us that he was nuts and a cold blooded killer. he had already proven that to us by killing the victims. The Media needs to know its bounderies of human respect.

To the families of the lost ones, the best thing you can do is grow stronger for the love your parted one had for you and for life. Do not go and claim revange or hate certain people for what happened. You will not gain anything.

My prayers and the prayer of the whole nation is you the victims, and their family and friends.

Studying the weapon is not gonna help us understand the crime... we need to study Cho and who he was and what he went thru in life and what brought him to this type of act...

Dear NBC,

There are some things that are bothering me. I've got
some issues I'd like to address with the American
people. Is there anything I can do to get
wall-to-wall coverage on your news outlets?

That knife is NOT a military knife seen in this disturbed individual's self-portraits - it is a common hunting knife, available at most sporting good retailers and discount stores such as the world's largest retailer.
Let's please keep things in perspective - what's important are not the tools this mentally-troubled person used to wreak his mayhem but rather the how the survivors and families of the deceased live on after this, what can be learned to help others avoid similar fates, and that sensationalism and knee-jerk soundbites are NOT helpful in the processes of grieving, mourning, coping, etc. and how this can be avoided in the future...
Through active listening by educators and peers, by making people aware of their safety concerns, by having proper disaster plans in place for facilities and institutions...
Not by irrational bans on legal items or mis-identifying common items as "military".
And please, no made-for-TV movies! Let the dead rest in peace with dignity.

What's really sad right now and everyday since the war started, are ALL the men and women who are dying right now. These poor Americans are being shot at, blown up and beheaded, yet we still want to ponder why and how come. Can we ever really know why ? We should be thinking about how can we prevent this from happening moving forward. The fact is, this V. tech STUDENT Snapped. I hope everyone realizes what bullying does to ones spirit and mind. I hope we all learned a great lesson here. (Just tolerate everyone's differences-rich or poor, green card or not). We don't live in a world filled with rainbows and unicorns. But we do live in a great country. So please stop for a moment, look around and be grateful. Also, be grateful that you live free and that every person has a chance to be somebody and do great things. All in all, I feel this guy has proved his point and in a way HAS taught us a lesson. Words do hurt and when pent frustration, hatred and bullying happen, there's going to be a reaction and we all know it's not nice. Case in point. His actions were and are Hoorific, but his actions will echo into eternity because we created "this" we enabled "this".

For once a gun was legally acquired. Guns laws usually only stop honest people from getting them. If others had weapons - would he have been able to kill as many people?
This act was just the end of a long lonely road filled with hate and according to relatives on the net, it most likely started before he even came to the US.

Despite the propaganda and the knee jerk media/congress this proves that gun control is ineffective. It is a sad day when the truth is in your face and those who are our leaders choose to ignore it.

The desire to kill is the weapon itself. If one weapon is not available, a determined disturbed person will find another way. The killer's identity should not be broadcast, or anything that would glorify his or her actions. Visual images are second only to that of scent. We are indoctrinating more killers. How horrible for the families of the victims. It has nothing to do with guns, it has to do with an extreme feeling of victimization exacerbated by an even more extreme desire for vengeance. Our society has become more sensative and in tune with feelings, and less capable of dealing with those feelings. It is tragic for all involved.

This horrific crime was comitted by a sick,twisted individual. I'm sure that many people have been bullied in life and havnt resorted to solving the problem with a gun. Before people say that guns should be banned in the United States consider this. New York City and Washinton D.C. have total restriction on gun ownership yet the two cities are among the highest ranked in the comission of violent crimes at gunpoint. The fact of the matter is that if guns are banned in the U.S. sick individuals will just commit crimes with baseball bats and knives..or box cutters..such as with the Airlines hi-jacked on 9/11.

I think officials and investigators need to stop concentrating on how and where he purchased the weapons from, and look into his disturbing, documented behavior that he displayed in earlier situations at Virginia Tech. This might help to explain the psyche of this individual, and maybe they might discover what events actually transpired prior to his psychotic killing spree. Guns and ammunition are just tools, just like a hammer and nails, tools aren't intelligent. I sure hope this fiasco does not turn out to be about gun control, because that really has nothing to do with it. He didn't have a police record, so he did legally obtain those weapons even though he had evil intentions for the use of them. The laws did their part, the government can't control every lunatic out there.

Doesn't it bother any of the pro-NRA that a person who has been hospitalized for mental illness can go through a simple background check in Virginia and walk out with an automatic weapon? Are people so commited to guns that they can't see this is a dangerous practice? Mary (Omaha, Nebraska)

We have all grown to hate what ever there is, that we dislike or fear. Although we need to learn from the lessons we have been exposed to. The media always expresses more to the issue than it really has need for. That is how the media gets its ratings.
We as Americans need to remember not to blame the culture that Cho was from but to blame the way the actions transpired. Many issues need to be resolved, as to what should we do next. I believe we all need to support the families and be there as a support in every way we can. That is what makes us American families. And do not chastise the authorities for how they handled the situation but to learn from the mistakes and create this a better America, for us to live in.
As with everyone else in this United States I also have my opinion, and that is what makes America the Beautiful. The right to express my thoughts and feeling, whether it be in words or writings.
Let all just take a few moments and Give thanks to all the good we have, be grateful for what we have been given, and be grateful that we are not one of those families that have to endure the loss of a family member. For all those families that lost a loved one. I have you ion my prayers. GOD Bless everyone, and GOD Bless America!

I firmly believe that there should be stricter controls for buying / selling weapons. Yes criminals can surely choose another form of weapon but cannot go on a rampage with a knife!! I don't understand even after so many gun related violences in our schools what are we still waiting for. Why can't we just put a ban on them?

How very,very sad,for all. It's time for the media to stop feeding off this campus and let the V Tech community have their privacy, to mourn, to greive, to cry and then begin to heel and eventually move on when they are ready. I know, it hits home I have two sons in college one living on campus and one living off, my heart aches for these families as does everyone elses, thinking what if it were one of my sons, or friends, sister, brother, father, mother etc. Our hearts and prayers are with you in your community and on your campus. Time for the media, to step back and give these people time and privacy. My deepest condolences to you and all the families. No one should ever have to go through what you are all going through. "God Bless"

The NRA supports using medical data as a means of denying a sale to the mentally unstable. The NRA thinks that those records should be available to the NICS National Instant Check System. That system checks a firearms buyers criminal background before a sale is allowed.

To study the person who brought so much grief to the friends, family and all over the world needs to be studied very carefully and it might be a great idea to acctually do a mental assessment on every person wanting to attend universities, colleges etc... so the chance of this grows slimmer. People who have their lives in order does not bestoy thios kind of pain on others. The victims are not in pain... the ones they leave behind... this pain will be with them forever... My heart goes out to all of you that was connected to any of the victims and my prayers are also with you. Don't let this destroy you, get out there and try to prevent this from ever happening again

What happened in Virginia can happen anywhere, but should not have happened. I feel what took place is PAYBACK because America took God out of the schools and told the Children to go do "What makes YOU feel good". The pressure that people are under today, students or the working man and woman, is causing people to break. Marriages are falling apart. Families are having problems. Hate has become a way of life. WHAT happened to LOVE THY NEIGHBOR! Or helping those We see hurting. Today We have so many problems that We blame everyone else for Our trouble. The ONLY answer is to get GOD back into our lives. Our FOREFATHERS set this COUNTRY and its CONSTITUTION up on WHAT IS written in the BIBLE. GOD BLESS THOSE FAMILIES that lost their loved ones in VA, AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Help US, the people of America to call out to our FATHER in heaven.

Cho had a proven history of psychotic behavior. The Virginia police said that they knew this. If this is true, how is it that the gun dealer who sold Cho those weapons was not informed through a general alert that should have gone out to all purveyors of
weapons - in retail and on the net - so that he would
know not to sell the guns and would alert the police that Cho wanted to buy them in the first place?
It also amazes me that Virginia Tech did not have
this information available to them so that they could
have taken appropriate action which might have saved
every life that was lost.
Either the laws regulating this sort of thing are too loose, or somebody who could have gotten out the word on Cho goofed...BIG TIME!
And I am not even addressing the nagging question
concerning why guns can so easily be bought in Virginia, and certain other states, with minimal
background checks and precautions.
Something's rotten in the state of Denmark (er, the good old US of A!!!).

what can we do? Not a lot, certainly. But we could lay off the fulminating and pontificating. We could just shut up, stay close to each other, recognize our ignorance about problems such as this, maybe try to learn a bit ourselves and maybe try to help those who are seriously trying. And surely try in whatever way we can to support and help the victims -- realizing that there are victims besides those who were shot -- beyond even their families. Shucks, this tragic young shooter and his family are victims, too. ---ed

Dear Mary, If just a couple of students had guns the death toll would be much less as the shooter would have been taken out. To take guns away from well adjusted normal people, you will only arm the illegal people determined to kill. He was bent on destruction, and he found the tools. In many states a simple pool cue is considered a deadly weapon, so are many household yard tools, so would you really be able to take away all things to which someone bent on destruction would use to kill? I dont think that it is possible, so in closing gun control will never work, look into Texas where it is expected that all will be carring a firearm, they have had drops in violent crimes due to this. Just maybe if we werent so afraid of guns, maybe you will get educated on the history of why we have a constitutional right to bear arms, and also why your learning why not get educated on gun safty and use of a firearm, then you wont be so scared of them

I heard on the news that he was "court ordered to go to counseling. Why didn't he have to go?

I do not advocate Gun Control, but I do hope that one thing does get corrected and that is that more govenment agencies share their information. I have been a victum previously where one institution was unaware of other agencies files on a perrson. There should be a cntral place where this info is located or referenced and where to get the 'whole' picture.
Also, I don't know if I have ever seen so many over weight police officers as I did Monday morning watching this unfold on TV.Don't they have a requirement to stay in shape and not be overweight?

The people around him that needs to be blamed for what happened ie: Counselors, Psychiatry Dept, some proffessors and people that knows him but ignored the signs and failed to follow up for help. There is one person talking about HEPPA. Yes this is a kind of privacy that without the the written permission from the patient nobody can share his info to anybody but there is always a way to go around it. Like what i said, nobody persisted on helping this individual to the point of breaking out from his shell and commiting that senseless act of violence. There is at one point that he must been looking for help but people around him missed that oppurtunity and that is why he is angered about the "YOU" in his statement. I felt his frustration to the fact that he didn't get the help that he really wanted and angered about his act because he had killed so many innocent lives.

Banning guns is NOT going to stop people form killing people with guns......It will just create a black market and they will get them somehow.....What banning guns WILL do is, make sure that INNOCENT people that have guns to defend themselves in case of an emergency, do not have one......they are the ONLY people that will be hurt by putting a ban on guns.......just like everythign else, if somebody wants somethng bad enough, they will find a way to get it.

Think about this..............If everyone carried a gun do you think the "bad" people would be more scared about who they car jacked or robbed or whatever......If they knew you had a gun I doubt that they would try and take advantage of you.......I personally don't own a gun, but I'm thinking I'd rather be armed, than not armed, if I was ever put in that situation.