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Virginia Tech Campus Massacre; The Second Gun; Hospital News Conference on Condition of Virginia Tech Survivors
Aired April 18, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TAYLOR REES SHAPIRO, VIRGINIA TECH STUDENT: I talked to another teacher who apparently taught him last fall, and she was very, very shocked and very distressed over this entire event. And she mentioned that he had a very good grasp of the English language, and that he was just not participating. That he could write these papers that he was handing in -- he was an English major.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
SHAPIRO: But that it was just -- he was -- he was -- he had no care for it, it seemed. That he was just an English major, and that he was doing this writing just as a creative outlet. But there's no -- I couldn't -- I asked her, but she wouldn't exactly tell me how he was doing, but I do know that he was smart.
He was very intelligent. He obviously planned this entire thing, where it seems as if he has -- I'm not sure, I cannot confirm this, but...
COLLINS: Well, of course.
SHAPIRO: ... all road leads to the fact that he definitely has been thinking about something of this manner for a while, because it was very well executed.
COLLINS: Yes. And I know...
SHAPIRO: Unfortunately. Very unfortunate.
COLLINS: ... you told me that it was very important to you as a journalist and a fellow student here to put these writings that he had done in "The Collegiate Times" so people could read them and see what they're dealing with, and see what type of person he was.
SHAPIRO: "The Collegiate Times" is the student newspaper. And every day I see different -- you know, friends in my class will pick up this article and say, "Oh, man, did you read about how the lacrosse team did pretty well yesterday?" Or just talk about different opinions.
But this is the only time where they're actually looking at it for a source of knowledge.
COLLINS: Right.
SHAPIRO: And to learn any sort of insight that they can gain throughout this entire ordeal.
COLLINS: Well, Taylor Shapiro, we certainly appreciate your thoughts and wish you the best of luck in the healing process, as well.
SHAPIRO: Thanks very much. Of course.
COLLINS: All right. Thanks again, Taylor.
And we are now at the top of the hour here live from the Virginia Tech campus. We are going to be covering much more and all the developments that are happening here, bring it all to you live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone, and welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris in Atlanta.
COLLINS: And good morning. I'm Heidi Collins, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Want to let you know what's on the rundown for today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He opened up and said he had an imaginary girlfriend. He called her "Jelly" and she called him "Spanky".
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It is remarkable insight. Cho Seung-Hui's roommates describe his odd behavior. And a short time ago word that behavior landed Cho at a mental health facility.
HARRIS: Well, his writings prompted warnings from his professors. We take a look at the dark plays and hear from the professors.
COLLINS: Thirty-two students and professors honored with a memorial. A campus and a nation mourns today, Wednesday, April 18th.
You're in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Let us begin by setting the stage with what we know.
Sources tell CNN that Cho Seung-Hui bought his second firearm just last week. It was Friday, three days before the massacre. Virginia Tech police had encountered him before, less than 18 months ago. They had taken him to a mental health facility.
Authorities were told he might be suicidal after a female student rejected him. A month earlier, a different student complained to police about him contacting her both in person and on the telephone.
COLLINS: And Tony, we are finding out more about the Virginia Tech gunman now, including a police incident and a trip to a mental health facility.
Let's go directly now to CNN's Brianna Keilar for more.
Brianna, as we listened to that press conference, it was striking to hear that, yes, indeed, the police had checked their records, and back in 2005 they had made contact several times with Cho.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. New details that paint the picture of a mentally-troubled 23-year-old.
First off, police say that they scoured their records to see if they had contact with him. They did, indeed.
They had contact with him in the fall of 2006. This was November 27, 2005, and Cho, through -- through, I believe -- through phone calls, also in person, he was contacting a female student. And this female student got police involved.
She refused to press charges. She just characterized the communications as annoying.
And police at that point referred Cho to what's called the University Office of Judicial Review. This would be an internal process of discipline.
Then, a little more than two weeks later, December 13, 2005, he was apparently texting a female student. She complained to Virginia Tech police. She asked that Cho stop contacting her.
Police got in touch with Cho, told him about this, but then later the police received a call from an acquaintance of Cho who said they believe Cho was suicidal. At this point, police touched base with Cho again on this exact same day and they asked him to talk with a counselor. They say he did, and that a temporary detention order was obtained and that he was taken to a mental health facility. They believe that he was voluntarily committed.
All of this last incident going down in December, at the same time that he came to the attention of police for another reason.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF WENDELL FLINCHUM, VIRGINIA TECH POLICE: Also in the fall of 2005, the chair of the English Department, Dr. Lucinda Roy, informally shared her concerns regarding Cho and his course writing assignments. No official report was filed.
These course assignments were for a creative writing course, and the students were encouraged to be imaginative and artistic. The writings did not express any threatening intentions or allude to any criminal activity. No criminal violation had taken place. Dr. Roy chose to reach out to the student out of concern for him and his mental well-being.
Since those contacts in November and December of 2004, more than a year ago, I am not aware of any additional incidents or reports made to our department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Again, Virginia Tech police say they believe that Cho was voluntarily committed. This is important, because as I understand it, if he had been involuntarily committed, during a background check for him to purchase a weapon, that would have come up as a red flag and probably prevented him from buying that weapon.
Now, since then, police are not aware of any additional incidents. They say they haven't had contact with him since the fall- winter of 2005. And the question at this point, was there any connection between those two young women who he was contacting? Were the victims?
Police say they were not. They were asked, Heidi, if perhaps these young women were in the vicinity of Norris Hall or this dorm, and police could not answer that question -- Heidi.
COLLINS: They seem fair questions, certainly as we try to figure out exactly what, if any, motive Cho might have had.
Brianna, one other quick question for you.
When we say words like committed, and we know this was a mental health facility, is this is a place where he would have stayed overnight? Would have spent time? I just wonder how much sort of therapy, if you will, he had at that point?
KEILAR: All good questions. And we don't have the answers to that.
Presumably, he could have stayed overnight at this facility, but we don't know. Police say they aren't away. What police have told us is that he was evaluated.
So, obviously questions that we're hoping to get answers to.
COLLINS: OK, great, Brianna. Understand that. And also, what you say about involuntarily versus voluntarily being committed in learning more about the gun purchases, we are going to talk further about that in a few minutes here on CNN NEWSROOM.
Brianna Keilar, thank you.
HARRIS: Cho Seung-Hui -- here's the question. Should someone have seen his murderous rage coming?
Joining me now from Houston once again, former FBI special agent in charge, Don Clark.
Don, I know you were listening to the news conference. What did you hear?
DON CLARK, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Well, what I hear is that there were a lot of things out there that people saw. They heard things. Some people even paid attention to it.
But this is a college campus, a university campus throughout the country. It's about learning. It's about people. And no one wants to really be an adversary and cause somebody some type of harm or damage.
So, people tend to think that, oh, well, we'll just kind of play it off, it's not that significant. But now we're hearing, Tony, that they really did think it was that significant.
HARRIS: Yes.
CLARK: And so the question then becomes, is that, who do you report to? And where does it go for someone to try and take some action that's going to be a positive action and not something that's just going to be something you do to say we've touched a base and we can move on?
HARRIS: Two incidents with female students. No specific threat. So it's left to the young women to decide if they want to move forward and press charges.
You know, you can look back on it in hindsight and say, wow, if only, but I don't know, Don. What do you make of it?
CLARK: You know, it's a tough one, Tony. And I hear what you are saying and feeling. I probably, even after all those years in law enforcement, would probably think that, well, OK, it wasn't that serious.
HARRIS: He's a nuisance. He's just -- you know, he's irritating, he's aggravating.
CLARK: That's right, yes. He's upset today.
HARRIS: I want him to go away. Just tell him not to bug me anymore.
CLARK: You know, you just hit it right on the head, is that I think most people would say, college campuses not withstanding, would say, you know what? As long as he just doesn't bother me anymore, I'm OK. Just make it go away. Because no one would think that it would escalate to a point that it did a couple of days ago.
So they just wanted to be left alone themselves. But, Tony, it goes back to what we talked about, is that there has to be some type of system in place for records to be made.
Listen, these professors are extremely trained professors and very smart people. And they saw some serious issues there. So, where do they turn to, to try to get some action? That's what we've got to put in place.
HARRIS: I can imagine there is a ton of frustration here in the aftermath of all of this for law enforcement, for the professors on campus. And I'm just wondering what to do, what to say, how urgently do you ring the bell? How loudly, how bright a red flag do you paint?
What do you do? What can we learn from this?
CLARK: Well, let's just hope and pray that we never have another circumstance to this magnitude. If this doesn't raise a flag right now, what we've just seen in the last couple of days, then how do we try and address these things, and yet balance it with protecting rights and information and that type of thing?
HARRIS: Yes.
CLARK: And Tony, let's just go back even to the gun purchases. You know? And I don't want to get on that political hot potato about the guns...
HARRIS: It is, you are right. It is.
CLARK: ... but I want to say that there has to be a little bit more strenuous background investigations into people picking them up. Perhaps if there had been some opportunity to talk about the mental attitude of this -- to search about the mental attitude of this person, maybe this person would not have been sold a weapon.
HARRIS: Yes. Boy, you've just stepped on the hornet's nest, and there they go.
CLARK: Yes.
HARRIS: All right. Don, great to talk to you again. I know I'm fishing a bit just to try to understand more of this, but I think we all are.
CLARK: We all are, Tony. I appreciate it, man.
HARRIS: Great. Thanks, Don.
CLARK: You bet.
HARRIS: Let's get you back to Heidi in Blacksburg.
COLLINS: Tony, thanks.
We are getting more information. We heard a little bit more from the press conference just moments ago, and some interesting details coming out about the purchasing of these two guns by Cho.
Drew Griffin has been following this story for us since the get- go.
You learned first about the first gun. And now we have some more information coming out about the second gun.
Do me a favor, and take us back to when the first gun was purchased.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Right. So -- well, now the first gun, now we know, is the .22 Walther, which is a gun that was also used in the crime. And just this morning I talked to the owner of a pawnbroker, basically across the street, Heidi, from this campus where the gun transaction took place.
But it seems that Cho bought this gun from an out-of-state dealer, and by law, the transaction has to be in person and he has to do that transaction with his background check at a licensed dealer here in Virginia. So the gun was basically purchased apparently over the Internet, sent to this store, and this store, J&D Pawnbroker (ph), facilitated the transaction where Mr. Cho came in, filled out the paper work on February 9th.
COLLINS: February 9th now.
GRIFFIN: February 9th.
COLLINS: We've been hearing this Friday the 13th date.
GRIFFIN: Right.
COLLINS: February 9th for the second gun purchase.
GRIFFIN: That's right, February 9th. So this is months ago now.
COLLINS: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Months ago he walks out with this .22.
The owner said there was nothing -- he does remember this kid, but there was nothing about him that stuck out. He obviously passed that instant background check.
COLLINS: Again. The same thing we heard about the other gun.
GRIFFIN: So February 9th he buys a gun out of state. The gun is sent here, it's picked up here after he passes his paperwork.
Then again, five weeks ago, he buys the Glock .19 over in Roanoke. We talked to that owner. Also an unremarkable sale. He passes the instant background check.
Neither one of these sellers, these gun dealers, really remembers the kid other than he was an Asian kid. And they didn't see anything wrong.
COLLINS: So nothing illegal going on here with the way the second one -- we keep referring to the first as the second, but I'm talking about the .22 now. Correct, we've referred to the second gun as the .22? I don't want to confuse people.
GRIFFIN: Right. Now it's going to be the first gun.
COLLINS: OK. Got it. Got it. Forgive me.
GRIFFIN: But there has been rumors that he bought a gun last week, that he was arming himself to the teeth last week, that there was something that snapped in him. That's not the case. This guy's had these guns, one gun for five weeks, the other one for a couple of months now. So, if he is planning and plotting this, he is planning and plotting it a very, very long time.
COLLINS: Months in advance.
GRIFFIN: And we can also talk about this instant background check and the mental health issue we are talking about here.
COLLINS: Yes. And that we just learned a moment ago was the distinction to be made. And we don't have all of the answers yet, but the distinction to be made, whether or not he was involuntarily committed.
And I use that word because that's what we've been hearing. But at least we know that he had this visit to a mental health facility here near Virginia Tech. And whether he would have been committed involuntarily or voluntarily, we believe the laws are different.
GRIFFIN: Right. All indications right now -- and we're still doing some legal research on this -- if that commitment had been involuntary...
COLLINS: Right?
GRIFFIN: ... in other words, if some mental health official, or the police, or somebody said this guy's going to a state mental health facility to be checked out because we think something's wrong with him, that would have clicked on his background check. That would have denied him the sale of the gun.
COLLINS: And that would have been -- I imagine that would have been a countrywide click that they would have seen. I mean, it wouldn't have just been...
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: Yes. The background check is -- it's a federal check.
COLLINS: Right.
GRIFFIN: I mean, you are checking in every state in the union whether or not this guy's got a track record. Whether he's got a history. Whether there is anything in his background that says we shouldn't buy him a gun. But now we know in February, and again presumably in March, he passed.
COLLINS: And all because he went to that facility and he took the advice of whether it was the police or the people that had been dealing with him on campus here, to go ahead and get some type of help. And he took that advice voluntarily and followed up. That allowed him to get the gun.
GRIFFIN: Yes.
COLLINS: All right. GRIFFIN: So now we know the case of the two guns. We don't know where the ammunition is.
It was easy to buy these guns. It's even easier, Heidi, to buy ammunition. You can literally buy ammunition online without background checks.
COLLINS: Right. And real quickly, before...
GRIFFIN: And I've done it. It's easy. Just gets shipped to your house.
COLLINS: No question about it. Real quickly, before we let you go, the way that this transaction took place, buying the gun on the Internet, having it sent to a pawn dealer, as you said, very close to the campus here, nothing illegal there. It happens all the time.
GRIFFIN: No. It happens all the time.
It's called an FFL dealer, an FFL license, somebody who's licensed to make the transaction in the state you reside. So, in other words, you go on the Internet or you go to a catalog, there's a lot of big companies out there.
COLLINS: Sure.
GRIFFIN: And they will sell you a gun, but they will not ship to it your house. They will ship it a representative federally licensed in your state, and you go to that store and fill out the paperwork, and go through all the instant checks and everything that's needed, and then you walk out with the gun.
COLLINS: And that is the store...
GRIFFIN: That took place...
COLLINS: ... that would then have responsibility if anybody had to take it? On the Internet, you know, they absolve themselves by having a dealer?
GRIFFIN: Right. And again, this dealer Joe Dowdy (ph), told me this morning he did get a small transaction fee, as they all do for carrying this license.
COLLINS: Right.
GRIFFIN: But he did not sell the gun. He only facilitated the background check and the sale of the gun, and the actual handing over. And that took place February 9th, literally across the street. You could walk there.
COLLINS: Wow. Looking at those pictures again of the two weapons that were used in all this.
CNN's Drew Griffin. So appreciate all the great reporting that you've done. I know you're working on some more stuff for us, so we'll check back with you a little later on.
Thanks again, Drew.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: OK, Heidi.
Just a reminder for everyone watching that we are standing by and waiting to hear an update on the conditions of those being treated. And I believe the update is about to begin. Let's listen in.
SCOTT HILL, SPOKESMAN, MONTGOMERY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: We currently still have eight students in the hospital here. And they are all doing very well.
I've had a chance to round on them once this morning, and then also again with Governor Kaine. And it's just tremendous what these -- these kids are going through right now and how they are doing. And they just -- some of the family members wanted me to make sure that I sent well wishes out to the Virginia Tech family and to those -- to the victims' families.
Their hearts go out to the professors who lost their colleagues. Their hearts go out. And they're really concerned not only for the children who are here in the hospital, but also for the many, many people who are suffering out there.
So everyone is doing very well this morning, and I will let Governor Kaine talk about his experience.
GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: Well, thank you, Scott.
And first, let me just start off, Anne and I feel very warmly toward this hospital and the medical care that has been provided here in the last 48 hours. We heard again and again from the students we visited with the eight students and their family members the praise for the care that they have received.
It is -- the students are generally doing pretty well. Most of them were sitting up in bed smiling. A couple of them had walked for the first time today.
Their parents and family have come. These are students from Virginia, but also from -- you know, a number from Pennsylvania and Maryland who were here. Families have come a long way, but they're just very, very thankful that their children are alive and are recovering.
You know, some interesting stories. A young lady who is really anxious to get out because she is maid of honor in her sister's wedding on Saturday. A young man who was prominently featured in some of the early coverage and photos, a young guy who was shot in the femoral artery, knew enough from being an Eagle Scout to put his finger in the artery and then tie it off with electrical tape. Doctors say that probably saved his life.
So, there's quite a few stories.
But probably the most touching was the number of the families and students who said, hey, as you talk to family members of people who were killed, just tell them we're thinking about them and how much we care about them.
So didn't want to talk about themselves very much. They more wanted to inquire about how others were doing, how other family members were getting along.
Just as we visited yesterday with the family members of those students and faculty who were lost in this horrible, horrible crime, it was good today to come see some of these survivors who are fighting hard, and improving, and many expecting to be released fairly soon.
So, Scott, to you and your team -- we also went into the emergency room and we just thanked the ER folks, because what they had to deal with Monday was not -- there is no playbook with dealing with that great an influx of people all at once. But they did a great job.
Cooperation between these hospitals here and at New River, and then the two hospitals in Roanoke, often these guys are competitors in day-to-day business. But when tough times happen, they cooperate in wonderful ways. And that's what they've done.
And I thank you guys for all of that great work.
Glad to answer any questions.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
KAINE: Well, I just -- I said, hey that boy scouting comes in handy. I hope you called your scout master to thank him for the first-aid lesson. He said, "I've got to do that."
He was there with his parents and stepparents. And he's a -- getting ready to graduate with a triple degree -- or I guess engineering and communications. Getting ready to graduate. But he's, you know, got a smile on his face and was in good spirits.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
KAINE: I have to imagine he is. I didn't ask him about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hanging up in his room.
KAINE: Oh, it is? OK. So I guess that counts as being aware.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
KAINE: Well, I certainly -- I mean, when Anne and I saw -- you know, when we were first notified about this, we were overseas and made arrangements to get on a plane and fly back. And that's one of the images that I remember from being in the airport in Tokyo, seeing that and others who were there. Other passengers who were flying all over the world watching that same thing.
His parents this morning had a chance to have a visit. We saw them having a visit with the state trooper -- one of the state troopers who is carrying him in that photograph. They were talking with him over on campus.
So there's a lot of stories. But the good news is, got a smile on his face. Excited about graduation day. And that's good news.
ANNE HOLTON, VIRGINIA'S FIRST LADY: I was just going to chime in. You wouldn't believe how much Hokie spirit there is in there, too.
KAINE: Yes.
HOLTON: He and all of these other young people are really part of that Hokie nation. It's a remarkable strength.
KAINE: Yes, indeed.
QUESTION: Did anyone talk to you at all about what happened or why did this happen? Or did they really stay away from that?
KAINE: Yes, not this morning with these youngsters. Certainly, in talking to the families of the students and faculty members who were killed, those questions are coming up.
I think what we had here was more praise for the great medical treatment, feeling fortunate to be alive. You know, one of the parents said they are staying over at the inn. And they are staying there knowing that their child is recovering, and parents right across the hall have lost their children.
And that's -- you know, that's very difficult for them. They feel -- they feel very happy and blessed, obviously, that their children are alive and recovering, but it also is bittersweet knowing that so many like them have lost their children.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
Can you put into perspective how because of what happened Monday response has changed in Blacksburg?
KAINE: Yes. Well, I think, you know, there's going to be a time for the pendulum to kind of come back to center. In the days after this, I expect you'll see very, you know, significant response to anything.
You know, I -- people who would play hoaxes or do things like that in the aftermath of this tragedy while family members are still grieving and the campus is still -- has such a raw wound, I mean, they're just the lowest of the low, anybody who would do something like that. But, you know, it's a very tight and unified community.
One of the things that's been gratifying, I think -- Anne talked about kind of the Hokie spirit. People are questions, hard questions. They need to. That's very appropriate. But I don't see people dividing one against another into the blame game.
I mean, this is a -- this is a tight community. Questions have to be asked, and there will be every effort to answer those questions. But people aren't dividing against each other. And that is a real tribute to the university and the spirit here.
QUESTION: Cho Seung-Hui had tremendous -- there were a lot of people that knew about him and knew about his mental state, and even some treatment of his mental state. Do you think someone may have dropped the ball in kind of connecting the loop that this guy was deranged?
KAINE: You know, Andy (ph), it's too early for me to say that. But that's why the university -- when I spoke with President Steger yesterday, he was very focused on this issue of getting an independent commission up and running as soon as the law enforcement investigation is over.
That really comes first. But when that is done, we need to look at this whole incident. Everything that was known about this individual -- he did have a history of mental health problems. He had also been treated.
You know, was the treatment sufficient? Was he -- was he prescribed medication and then maybe chose not to take it?
We don't know answers to those questions now. But everything about the individual, everything about the shooting itself, and then the law enforcement response to it, all of that will be on the table for evaluation by people with independence and expertise so that we can learn everything we can about this incident and hopefully learn some things to do in the future. Not just on the Tech campus, but maybe other campuses.
QUESTION: Governor, one last question. What have you said to your own kids about what happened here on Monday?
HOLTON: Andy (ph), we've barely had a chance to talk to them. As you know, we've been on the plane. But we did get a chance to talk to each of them at least briefly, and sent out our hugs and hearts through the telephone lines.
My parents are with them now. Tim's parents are scheduled to be with them next week. And we are very, very happy to know that they're in the care of great family and with each other, too.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
KAINE: That's going to be one of the subjects of this review. Clearly, the university, law enforcement personnel, and everybody involved did everything at the time that they thought was right based on the information they had.
We now know the end of the story. We have the benefit of hindsight. They didn't have that. They were responding to the first shooting. And in the middle of the law enforcement investigation, interviewing witnesses and others when the second shooting started.
But the question of that gap and should anything have been done different, that will all be analyzed by people, you know, with expertise, who can do it objectively, who aren't involved in the heat of the moment. They can look at that and ask all those questions. And I know they will and they'll come up with answers for the family and for all of us.
And again, hopefully the reason to do that is to learn. You know, the reason to do that is to learn, because maybe there is something that we should do different.
Virginia Tech is not any different than any other college campus. This is an event unique in the history of this nation. But maybe there are some things that we can learn for college campuses everywhere as a result of this. I'm hoping that that's the case.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
Personally what was that like for you, actually seeing it for the first time?
KAINE: Well, it was moving. I mean, you know, some of the students, I think their injuries are recovering very nicely, not life- threatening. But some of the students had life-threatening injuries. I mean, it wasn't clear that they would survive.
And, you know, when you see somebody in a hospital bed or chair with tubes and, you know, they're looking very weak and drawn, but they've got a big smile on their face and they're happy with the care they received, they love the fact that their parents and their friends from college have been with them nonstop...
HOLTON: The hospital has done a particularly good job of accommodating the hospital and friends. And everybody commented on that. Even in the more intensive care units.
And that's obviously meant a lot to the whole community. And they were -- it's just -- it's the miracle of modern medicine that these folks are alive today, but they're not just alive. They really are -- all the ones we saw here are all in stable condition and tall talking about discharge dates and talking about weddings and things and their graduation.
So it's been an upbeat experience.
KAINE: Jennifer.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
KAINE: Interesting. You know, not that I detected. We didn't talk about that much. But the one experience that came to mind is talking to one young lady who had been pretty seriously injured. Her younger sister who -- this is an out-of-state student -- her younger sister, who's a senior in high school was in the room. And she's got her application in to Virginia Tech and wants to be the third member in her family to go to Virginia Tech. And this is an out-of-state student.
We didn't -- we didn't -- I didn't detect, you know, much fear or anxiety. Of course, we were talking more about the students and how they're coming along, how are they feeling, you know, when might they be discharged? But that -- I found that to be a pretty telling incident.
QUESTION: Did you get the sense that they were also still (INAUDIBLE) emotional?
KAINE: Yes. I think -- look, people are, you k now, getting along on adrenaline and painkillers, and they're still trying to figure it out. They're trying to figure out what has happened with other friends of theirs.
You know, Scott was saying some of the people in the hospital are friends. And hey, what's going on with my friend on the other floor? Can you get a message up to him? And then have him tell me how he's doing.
So messengers were going back and forth in the hospital between floors. "I want to get out of the intensive care unit and move to the other floor so I can be next door to my classmate."
So, yes, people are -- it's still a very emotional time. People are tired and worn out. But again, there is a real feeling of being blessed to be alive, to be recovering and thankful for the medical care.
I'll take one more. Yes?
QUESTION: Governor, talk about your future plans. Will you stick around (INAUDIBLE)?
KAINE: We're -- my wife and I are going to go to one more hospital today and visit with some more folks there. And then we're going to go back to Richmond and kind of monitor the situation from there, obviously the work of this panel to kind of assess the entire incident.
The president and the board -- and I want to stress, this independent review panel, it was incorrectly reported that I had commissioned it. I came to speak to the president about it. I thought that would be a good idea. And he said, governor, we are ahead of you, I've already talked to my board, and we think that needs to be done. So I want to praise the university for, within a day, recognizing that, starting it under way. The president asked me to appoint some law-enforcement experts that would be independent with great credibility. I've asked Colonel Gerald Masengill (ph), who's the retired head of the Virginia State Police, to be my designee, to be involved, because I know what integrity and expertise that he has. We'll continue to be involved and monitor that as it goes forward and try to do what more we can for the families.
I'm not going to say the other hospital we're going to. I think that one will be more of a quiet visit, but yes, we're going to do one more hospital.
QUESTION: Have you named anyone else to this committee?
KEANE: No, that discussion is ongoing, even as we're involved in talking to family members and victims. But Colonel Masengill, I called him last night, got him at home. I -- he retired as head of the state police, then Governor Warner got him out of retirement to run a state agency that had some serious trouble. He accepted that call, did that for two years, stepped down recently. I called him last night. I said, we really need you. Will you do this, colonel? He said, I'm humble to be asked and I'm on it. I'll do anything you want. And he will add a great deal to this.
For those of you that don't know, Colonel Masengill was head of the state police during the sniper incidents in Northern Virginia and Washington, and also during the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, and was a state trooper for 37 years, has a great deal of respect across all of the sectors of the law enforcement community.
He said -- you know, he didn't hesitate; he said, I'm humbled by your request and I will gladly do anything you ask that can be helpful. That is not yet clear, but him, he's a leader. He will lead -- whatever capacity's assigned he'll be a leader, because of his great track record.
Thank y'all very much. And, Scott, thank you guys in Montgomery.
HARRIS: It absolutely has to be said here that some of the post positive news has flowed from that hospital right there, Montgomery Regional Hospital there in Blacksburg.
Governor Tim Keane and his wife, Anne (ph), addressing the media after and giving an upbeat, an absolutely upbeat assessment after their visit with students and family members there at the hospital.
Just to reset the situation there, eight students still being treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital. Those students improving, many sitting up in their beds for the first time and smiling. Some of the victims walking for the first time since they were wounded.
And then the update on that young man we've heard so much about this morning, Kevin Stearns (ph), who was shot multiple times, shot once in the leg -- I believe it was the right leg -- through the femoral artery. This Eagle Scout stuck his finger in the wound, stopped the bleeding temporarily. And then with the help of others tied off the wound with an extension cord, an electrical cord, and then jumped back in the fray to try to save lives and protect everyone else in that room. That's a young man we certainly want to talk to.
But just an upbeat assessment from Governor Tim Keane and his wife. We will continue to follow developments and particularly the good news, coming out of Montgomery Regional Hospital throughout the morning and the afternoon and the days ahead here in the NEWSROOM.
Still to come this morning, the fallen. We are learning more about the 32 people who were killed in this shooting rampage. Live lost, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you up to speed now on the campus massacre at Virginia Tech. Here's what we know right now. Campus police say they did have contact with the gunman Cho Seung-Hui, twice in 2005. At a news conference just a short time ago, they say -- they actually responded to two complaints from two female students Cho was accused of stalking. Police say Cho was taken to a mental health facility because of concerns he might be suicidal.
CNN has also learned new information about the second gun Cho was carrying. Sources say the .22 caliber gun was purchased last Friday the 13th.
COLLINS: Most of the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting died in Norris Hall. You heard a lot about it. It's the school's science and engineering building. A noted professor of civil and environmental engineering, G.V. Loganathan, was among those killed.
His friend and colleague Kumar Malikarjunan is here, and also joining us is Ajitpal Singh Raina, a Virginia Tech graduate student. And they wanted to come here today and talk to us a little bit about this significant loss to the Indian community.
I want to begin with you, if I could, Aji. Tell me why you wanted to come here today?
AJITPAL SINGH RAINA, PRES., INDIAN STUDENT ASSN.: Well, I am president of the Indian Students Association here, so I thought it was very important that we actually come down and represent the Indian community here. And once again, we're absolutely shocked about what has happened. This incident is very tragic, but we want everyone to know that we are all united in this, and we are all helping each other out in any way we can. And I'm sure we will get through this tragedy very soon.
COLLINS: It is a very diverse community here at Virginia Tech. I've had an opportunity to speak to all kinds of students from different parts of the world, and I really have found that to be the same. How are you doing? How are the students doing that you are in contact with?
RAINA: Well, you are absolutely right. There is a diverse background of students that are here. And once again, the Indian students form a major check of that. They are the biggest international body over here. And when we heard the news in the morning we were very bad about all the deceased, and we were concerned if we had any of our own community members involved in that. So the way we could (INAUDIBLE) was we sent out e-mails on our listserve to all of our friends, all the people we knew to make sure everybody is fine. By evening, when everything was confirmed, we got together when all the news was being given out and really supported each other the best we could do.
COLLINS: It has been very hard. We know there was a professor of Indian decent that was killed, an Indian student killed and another whose parents were of Indian descendent. You knew the professor who was killed. Tell me a little bit about him.
PROF. KAMAR MALIKARJUNAN, BIO SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, VA. TECH: He was a modest person. He is known for his research in civil hydrology engineering area. He published several -- almost like 100 general articles in computer journals. Even with that he received several teaching awards. He is one of those who excelled in teaching and research. He is supposed to receive the highest teaching excellence award by the University. Even with that, he never showed that. He's pretty much like, we call him Mohandas Gandhi. He is so simple and kind and so friendly. The community really misses him. We are going to miss him a lot.
COLLINS: You miss a friend, as well.
MALIKARJUNAN: A friend as well, that's correct.
COLLINS: I wonder if it, at least in this case, you always try to find something good to remember people by, besides the fact he was a good friend and a caring individual. There is that research, there is the work that he's done. There are the writings that he's published. What do you think still will be made of those? Will they look at that any differently or honored in any different way?
MALIKARJUNAN: American's idea of civil engineering, I believe they will do something to that effect. I believe the department head and the college, they are working together on several fronts how to bring memorabilia situations to everyone in the community talking about maybe even forming a scholarship trust, something like that. We are going to have something solid to remember him.
COLLINS: I don't think we talked about much having you both here now as an engineering graduate student and a professor in the same field. This was the engineering building. There is a significant loss to this field is something we haven't seen before.
MALIKARJUNAN: That is true. Naturally the other engineering science and mechanics, I work with those faculty also. I know the department head very well. We were really, really shocked to hear of this loss. Not only to the faculty and to the students, it has shaken us quite a bit.
COLLINS: Sure. Any indication to what will happen with Norris Hall in particular? I ask that only because in the Columbine situation, we all know about the library and we know what they ended up doing with the library. Has there been anything that's said? It's very early, I understand.
MALIKARJUNAN: It is very early at this time. Again, I don't have any information on that. We are in touch with the department, the college. The dean of college of engineering, his building is the office on the third floor. They are very close to what really happened.
COLLINS: Sure. What's next for you in helping students in your community with this?
RAINA: What's happening, we are communicating with the Virginia Tech authorities and the international center in case they need any help with anyone else, all the people affected. As far as our own community goes, we might be holding a memorial service for those we lost. Let me speak on the entire student community at Virginia Tech. It was a great tragedy and we are all shocked and saddened by it, but I'm sure all of us, when we are united can actually help each other out here. The main thing we are looking for is anyone in any way, maybe counseling, maybe if they need any help, maybe any sort of of help for everyone, not only the Indian community, but any student of any sort.
COLLINS: Have you had a chance to speak with the students' families or parents?
MALIKARJUNAN: Yes. I didn't get a chance to meet them personally because they left, I believe, town yesterday after receiving the news, doing the paperwork. They left to their areas, the Baltimore area. There are families in town that live in close proximity. Actually, I am in touch with the family. They are grieving so much. It is pretty sad at this point.
COLLINS: Yes.
RAINA: At any point of time there were at least 30 or 40 Indian students over there along with the other members as well. And we stayed there all night until family arrived and once they were there, we made sure that we supported them as much as we could in their time of grief. We were there with them all night. More than 30 people at one time. So I'm sure that helped the families a lot. We made sure they came down and gave as lot of help actually. We appreciate that, as well.
COLLINS: We appreciate you coming and Godspeed to both of you in your healing process, as well.
MALIKARJUNAN: Thank you.
RAINA: Thanks again.
COLLINS: Tony, back to you now.
HARRIS: Heidi, thank you very much. As we continue to cover, what is developing on the campus there at Virginia Tech?
It must be said as we turn our focus to Iraq that, this has been an incredibly deadly day in Iraq. Insurgent bombers launched a series of attacks throughout Baghdad. Listen to these numbers. One-hundred sixty-six people killed, 193 wounded in six Baghdad bombings. One- hundred nine-teen dead and 28 killed in Sadr city, 11 dead. In a neighborhood around Baghdad, four killed to the south. Two in central areas of Baghdad. Two in the southwest. Just a wide area of violence. As you look at these pictures into CNN of the aftermath. Just an incredibly violent, deadly day across Baghdad. We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest developments, the death toll just continues to rise seemingly by the minute in those attacks. Heidi, back to you in Blacksburg.
COLLINS: That's right, Tony. Cho Seung-Hui's chilling behavior is something I've certainly never seen before. More of our exclusive interview with his former room-mates. Just ahead, here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Sorrow and grief, but also pride and determination. Thousands of Virginia Tech students gathered for a candlelight vigil last night. Remembering the victims and sending a message of unity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Let's go, Hokies!
Let's go, Hokies!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the vice president of student affairs told the crowd "we will recover. We will survive."
At one point, the sound of taps echoed through the air and some students began to sing "Amazing Grace." Virginia Tech canceled classes for the rest of the week.
COLLINS: A very emotional night on all accounts there, Tony, no doubt about that. We are also getting new details about Cho Seung-Hui this morning. We want to give you more now of Gary's Tuchman's interview with Cho's two room-mates. Both of them did ask that we only use their first names.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN, CHO SENUG-HUI'S ROOM-MATE: I keep running through my head a lot. Since I found out it was an Asian in his 20s, I thought it could be Seung. I just can't come to a good idea what we could have done other than what we did do. We called the police. We told our RAs. We thought we were doing the right thing. It was being taken care of. I'm not saying the police or Virginia Tech didn't do their jobs. No way am I saying that, but I just feel everything that could have been done was done at the time. And maybe if we had tried harder to get him kicked out or something like that, maybe that might have helped. I don't know.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Were you ever afraid for your own safety at any time with this kid?
JOHN: It was a little weird after you know he had been stalking girls and looking at their facebooks, learning everything about them. Sometimes at night when I would go to sleep I would be a little nervous. He would go into a pretty deep sleep because he would lay in bed and he would always moan and he would always be a really restless sleeper and moving around. So I went to bed after he did. He woke up about two hours before I did and was always gone.
TUCHMAN: What about you?
ANDY, CHO SENUG-HUI'S ROOM-MATE: There's a couple instances where he would, like, you would leave your door open when you went in the dorm. He would be standing there in the doorway and would I turn around and he would be there. There was one time he had taken a picture of me. The only reason I noticed him was because of the camera flash. I know there was a couple of instances with other people. I was more weirded out and scared.
Looking back, he could have been back there doing anything and I would never have seen it coming.
TUCHMAN: He was taking a picture of you?
ANDY: Yes.
TUCHMAN: What did you say to him?
ANDY: Well, there was another instance at the beginning of the year, when we were inviting him to dinner. He took us downstairs in the lounge. We were eating, he had the camera again and took a picture of the girls next to us. It was kind of embarrassing because he would put the camera down real quick. The girls think that, you know, a guy full of tables taking pictures of them. I never said anything to them. I wish I had because that was the thing he did he took pictures of everyone, I guess.
TUCHMAN: Why do you think he was taking a picture of you in your dorm room?
ANDY: He was a strange kid, so, expect strange things.
TUCHMAN: How do you feel now sitting here knowing what happened on your campus, John?
JOHN: I feel terrible. I keep thinking about it and thinking about the victims and their families and what they're going through. If maybe there was something you could have done to stop that. Not a good feeling at all.
TUCHMAN: What about you, Andy? Can you believe this?
ANDY: No. Seeing families today really brought it home because you know they're missing someone now. They didn't get to say good- bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Unbelievable interview done by our Gary Tuchman, here, at CNN. Tony and I are extending our time with you today, providing with you continuing coverage of the massacre at Virginia Tech. Still to come, intimidating and mean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI GIOVANNI, VA TECH PROFESSOR: I've taught crazy people. It was the meanness that bothered me, a really mean streak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A chilling description of Cho Seung-Hui from his own teacher. Details on this coming up in the NEWSROOM.
And the fallen. We are learning more about the 32 people who were killed in the shooting rampage. Lives lost -- in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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