Virginia Massacre- Thirty-two people were shot to death before the Cho killed himself

NRI Karen Grewal, Roommate of Shooter said,
"His bizarre behavior became even less predictable"

Karan Grewal (AP)

Karan Grewal and Joseph Aust were roommates of shooter Cho Seung-Huiand describe him as a troubled, very quiet young man who rarely spoke to his roommates or made eye contact with them.

His bizarre behavior became even less predictable in recent weeks, roommate Karan Grewal said. "He didn't look me in the eye. Same old thing. I left him alone," Grewal told CNN. He said when he saw Cho that morning and during the weekend, Cho didn't smile, didn't frown and didn't show any signs of anger. Grewal also said he never saw any weapons.

Grewal said he was up all Sunday night and Monday morning studying. He said he was in the bathroom about 5 a.m. when Cho came in and used a toilet. "He was looking normal; he never talked to anyone," so his silence Monday morning was not in any way suspicious, Grewal said.

Neither Grewal nor Aust ever saw Cho with a friend of either sex. "I never saw him with anybody. . . . He seemed like a guy who didn't have a lot of friends," Grewal said. "He didn't speak to any of us, his roommates." He did listen to all kinds of music, including rock, rap and classical. Aust and Grewal said Cho frequently worked out with weights at a campus gymnasium.Neither knew what reason he would have to be at either building where the shootings took place. And they never saw him with firearms or ammunition.

Karen Grewal returned to his room and was asleep during the shootings. "I just woke up about 9:30 when I heard the sirens."

Aust said that when he returned to his room Monday after class, nothing was out of the ordinary, except for an electric screwdriver on Cho's desk. Aust, Grewal and two other suite residents left the building Monday and watched news coverage. Grewal's roommate was out of town, he said.

They didn't learn of Cho's involvement until the police arrived at their suite about 7 p.m. Monday."They were asking questions of everybody," Grewal said. They took brown bags with red tape out of Cho's room, presumably his clothing and other belongings. Aust said they took Cho's computer, too, before leaving about midnight.

Cho's recent writings were unsettling, some who read them say.One play, called "Richard McBeef" features violence and profanity, with a teenager protagonist chanting "Must kill. Must kill," referring to his stepfather. In the play, the teen attempts to suffocate the stepfather.

A fellow student in his playwriting class, Susan Derry, told The Collegiate Times his plays "were really morbid and grotesque." She said Cho never spoke in class and would only shrug if asked to talk about his work.

Ed Falco, who teaches the playwriting class, said he couldn't talk about Cho or his work. He said the university's lawyers asked staff not to talk about Cho as long as the investigation continues.

Those living with Cho at Harper Hall, however, were not aware of those restrictions.

Several students and professors described Cho as a sullen loner. Authorities said he left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids. News reports said that Cho, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English, may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly erratic.

Professors and classmates were alarmed by his class writings — pages filled with twisted, violence-drenched writing. "It was not bad poetry. It was intimidating," poet Nikki Giovanni, one of his professors, told CNN Wednesday.

"I know we're talking about a youngster, but troubled youngsters get drunk and jump off buildings," she said. "There was something mean about this boy. It was the meanness — I've taught troubled youngsters and crazy people — it was the meanness that bothered me. It was a really mean streak."

Giovanni said her students were so unnerved by Cho's behavior, including taking pictures of them with his cell phone, that some stopped coming to class and she had security check on her room. She eventually had him taken out of her class, saying she would quit if he wasn't removed.

Lucinda Roy, a co-director of creative writing at Virginia Tech, said she tutored Cho after that.

"He was so distant and so lonely," she told ABC's "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "It was almost like talking to a hole, as though he wasn't there most of the time. He wore sunglasses and his hat very low so it was hard to see his face."

Roy also described using a code word with her assistant to call police if she ever felt threatened by Cho, but she said she never used it.

Cho's writing was so disturbing, though, he was referred to the university's counseling service, said Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department.

Cho Seung-Hui had previously been accused of stalking two female students and had been taken to a mental health facility in 2005 after his parents worried he might be suicidal, police said Wednesday. Cho had concerned one woman enough with his calls and e-mail in 2005 that police were called in, said Police Chief Wendell Flinchum.

He said the woman declined to press charges and Cho was referred to the university disciplinary system. During one of those incidents, both in late 2005, the department received a call from Cho's parents who were concerned that he might be suicidal, and he was taken to a mental health facility, he said.

Several students and professors described Cho as a sullen loner. Authorities said he left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids. News reports said that Cho, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English, may have been taking medication for depression and that he was becoming increasingly erratic.

Professors and classmates were alarmed by his class writings — pages filled with twisted, violence-drenched writing.

"It was not bad poetry. It was intimidating," poet Nikki Giovanni, one of his professors, told CNN Wednesday.

"I know we're talking about a youngster, but troubled youngsters get drunk and jump off buildings," she said. "There was something mean about this boy. It was the meanness — I've taught troubled youngsters and crazy people — it was the meanness that bothered me. It was a really mean streak."

Thirty-two people were shot to death before the Cho killed himself. State Police have said the same gun was used in both shootings, but they said Wednesday said they still weren't confident that it was the same gunman.

Police searched Cho's door room on Tuesday and recovered, among other items, a chain and combination lock, according to documents filed Wednesday; the front doors of Norris Hall had been chained shut from the inside during the shooting rampage.

Other items seized include a folding knife; two computers, a hard disk and other computer disks; documents, books, notebooks and other writings; a digital camera; CDs; and two Dremel tools.

Any comments on this article or you have any news: Click here

Disclaimer
NRIinternet.com will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. We reserve the right to edit comments that are published.