Virginia Tech Killer Cho Seung-Hui’s Family And A British Connection
VIRGINIA Tech murderer Cho Seung-Hui continues to fascinate.
On the Sun, readers learn of student Colin Lynam Goddard. He was shot three times by Cho and survived.
Colin is talking to the Oprah Winfrey show from his hospital bed. In between Oprah’s staple fodder of dieting news, car giveaways and book-plugging therapists, her viewers get to see the victim in his hospital bed.
Says Colin: “I just looked on the ground and acted like I was dead. I thought if I looked at him, then he’d know I’m here, I’m alive.”
And this is not all. Colin’s father is British, he’s the son of a Leicestershire engineer.
This story has global appeal, enough reason for the Sun to cover it on its front page.
And in the Telegraph (“We saw our grandson being carried from the scene, say British couple”), Ruth Goddard, of Melton Mowbray, Leics, says: “We got a phone call from Andrew [Colin's father] telling us Colin had been shot but wasn’t going to die.
“We were so relieved when we discovered the bullets had missed every vital organ, although it had shattered his femur. We haven’t been able to talk to Colin yet.”
Oprah Winfrey has. They should give her a call, or tune into her show.
Meanwhile, over in the Mirror, readers get to hear from the murderer’s family in South Korea.
In the front-page story “WE ARE GLAD HE IS DEAD”, Cho’s grandfather, Kim Hyang-Sik, says: “It’s better not to have such a child in the family.”
“Son of a bitch,” says he. “It serves him right he died with his victims”.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yang-Sun, remembers the “very quiet” boy, the “loner” with autism who “never showed any feeling or motions”.
She goes on: “The reaction of my brother was that Seung-Hui was a troublemaker and it served him right that he died because he caused his mother a lot of problems.”
His uncle Chan Kim adds: “He wasn’t like normal kids. We were worried about him not talking.
“Both his parents knew he had mental problems but they were poor and they couldn’t send him to a special hospital in the United States.”
Readers are so turned onto a new area of investigation – the state of mental health care.
Which, incidentally, is not something that’s ever talked about when other mass murderers in, say, Iraq and Afghanistan are wrecking lives…
April 20th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
QUOTE: “Readers are turned on to… the state of mental health care… which, incidentally, isn’t something ever talked about is other mass murders in Iraq.”
I think that’s because killers in the Middle East use faith as an excuse for their actions, whereas Cho was verifiably (in a clinical sense) disturbed. He didn’t hide behind faith; I think he was just angry.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
i can’t believe someone would dopthis even if they were on drugs or not my opinion is this dude was a fricken phyco at birth
April 20th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
It’s sad that his mental health is not being taken care of since young and worsen by the mockeries he was subjected to in school for his inability to communicate or rather act like normal students. How many times have we called those who do not fit in our cliques freaks or weirdos? Thankfully the “freaks” i knew in school weren’t known to have mental problems..Hmm, then again I’ll never know. There are people who develop mental problems when they are older though.
The worst I ever got was when this guy in my primary school pulled my hair. (I’m a grrl) He was really weird, even his mom admit it (he stammers and is always throwing tantrums so I bullied him!) and ironically we became neighbours when my family shifted house. Even at the age of mid 20s, I heard from my mom that he didn’t change much!)
April 20th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
the killer’s family has no right to blame him for killing people and say he deserved the death like that. parts of his behaviour are their responsibilities. they know his son/grandson best. they know he needed help and they are the ones who be able to prevent the incident if they cared him and loved him enough. still, i truely feel sorry for everyone’s lose of their beloved even for the killer himself. this whole incident was just so sad.
April 21st, 2007 at 4:04 am
I can’t believe someone would do such a thing to inicent people. Cho might of been picked on or things but how would he kill other people and himself for nothing. Everybody gets picked on. It is so sad seeing families being destroy for the person they lost in the incident. I couldn’t believe it when i saw it in the news.
April 21st, 2007 at 4:21 am
I also think that cho’s family shouldn’t be saying that about his son/grandson because Cho might of had mental problems but it was their responsibilty about it. Maybe Cho didin’t get that much love like he needed from his family like other people do. I also feel sorry for cho because maybe he was upset and lonely,but that could’ve change before that happened.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Cho is mentally sick and very angry. Mental illness made him isolated totally and lived in dillusional world. He has suffered severly and vert sad and angry. When kids moked him and picked hom on his accent, he even couldn’t express anger. He came to US. at the age of 8. He didn’t have solid identity. He was a loner to American and Korean society. Some kids moked his accent and told him to go back to China.
He has no place to back. It is such horrible to tell minorty immigrant to go back to country where you are from. Because there is no place to go back. He was treated as a weird and stranger. He was constantly mocked by insensitive kids . At home he was alone. Unresolved anger can boiled up inside and blow up and make some one snap. His family are very ignorant on mental health is responsible for not helping him.
Mental health is very important as physical and emotional well-being.
He lived in very distressed immigrant family. Parents are busy working to survive in America and very ignorant about system here. I wish Cho could received Jesus in his heart and ask the Holy Spirit help his troubled mind. I feel very sad for all innocent who were killed for no reason.
We should learn the lessons through this horrible tragedy.
1. Be comfortable getting mental health support if you need it.
2. Don’t make racical ethnic mocking to someone who is a loner. ( “go back to your country” )
Becasue it makes that person feel like a E.T.
3. Better support system in school for immigrant kids who are struggling between 2 different culture and world. Most of immigrant are very lonely living in America. They do not have many neighbors or friends who cann provide support system due to language and culture barriers.
4. Treat the person with respect and love.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
killa cali is still da numba one murda state! i’m glad he is a dead little bitche….middle east luv!!! semor your a bitch. shout-out to all da niggas…kill da crackas!!!