Cho Seung-hui - A "Hero"?

He killed 32 students and professors this week, but Cho Seung-hui has already gone down as a "hero" among many young men, who feel isolated from main stream society. The 23 year old was enrolled as an undergraduate student in his senior year as an English major at Virginia Tech but ended it all in such a chilling way, massecuring fellow students then turning the gun on himself.




But it is the way he posted a video to NBC News and the pictures he took of himself that will be most remembered from this tragedy, and in time will be copied by those who already consider Cho Seung-hui a "hero". This killing spree has already been linked with events involving Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold - perpetrators of the Columbine massacre - and Kimveer Gill, who went on a killing spree at a Canadian school last year. Cho even refers to the Columbine perpetrators as "martyrs" in his video. Even the images are similar to Kimveer Gill's web page, where both Gill and Seung-hui are shown brandishing a gun and a hunting knife.

What next for this new "hero"?

Once the dust has settled and lives get back to normal at Virginia tech, what will happen to this new "hero" Cho Seung-hui? Sadly, lessons will not be learnt and even though tougher security measures will come into place and leaders make new promises, America's gun laws will almost certainly mean another massacre like this will happen. Those young men who feel isolated by the main stream society and find pleasure in reading about such events will look up to Cho Seung-hui and "admire" his works, seeking to emulate themselves by copying him in some way or another. Within days, copycat images - such as the one below, were appearing on the Internet. The victims of the Virginia Tech killings will almost certainly be forgotten by the masses, but the memory of Cho Seung-hui will live on for generations..........................

Time Table of Events:

Aug 2006: Moves into dorm at Harper Hall, Virginia Tech. Cho shared with 5 other students, yet made no friends. Spent long hours on laptop in isolation.

Feb 2007: Cho Seung-hui began to change- going to gym for intensive training alone and he also took up cycling.
Went to a porn shop and bought a pistol.

March 2007: Cho bought another pistol from a different shop.

April 16th 2007:
07:15: Police receive emergency call , man and woman shot dead. Police thought it might be a domestic incident. Cho goes back to his room at Harper Hall.
09:01: Cho arrives at Post Office with a package containing video, stills, documents and other multimedia.
09:45: Second emergency call to police, this time from the Norris Hall building, multiple shots are heard as 30 more students and lectures are gunned down. Finally Cho Seung-hui turns the gun on himself - knowing his multimedia messages will live on long after his bodied is buried.

You can view the images Cho Seung-hui posted to NBC at: robmaccaEXTRA