Collegiate Times

It sounds like perhaps the post-4/16 system worked properly here in identifying a potential threat from a student in freefall. I'm glad to see that Tech took action to remove this individual from the campus, not just pass the buck between offices.

Fred, I believe this case is a bit more cut and dry. The police did what they normally do: respond to alleged crimes. Attempted stabbing is generally more serious than stalking, which is all that was alleged against Cho. You are comparing apples to oranges. Police did respond after Cho committed a forcible crime, but he was already dead before they could take action against him.

Jason: Cho stalked women, issued veiled threats to professors, wrote about highly violent themes in what was suppose to be normally sedate poetry and creative writing classes and spent time in a mental health facility after threatening to kill himself. Police weren't advised as to the aggregate extent of his problems, for someone along the way was reluctant (for fear of perceived liability risks), to put the dots together. Following the review panel report, these regulations have been clarified to allow more action to be taken "in good faith" by authorities to intervene before tragedy strikes.

Jason is right. Police didn't do anything special. They simply acted on a crime that already happened.

Fred, it was a 'perceived' liability risk - it was a real one. Unless you want Big Brother reading all of your essays and your IMs to determine whether or not you have mental problems, it's tough to claim that the police should have been told that Cho wrote some weird stuff and had some significant social problems. If the stalking was as extensive as you make it out to be, then it's likely that it would have been reported by multiple victims on multiple occasions, in which case the police would have had to have been involved (which leads me to believe that no charges were ever filed).

Wow, sounds like he has some problems. Definitely should be at home and not in college. Kudos to his friend for noticing the warning signs.

Guns are dangerous. There are too many crazy people in America. They should be harder to get.

To "TheObviousProblem": The issue with your statement is that unless we can identify and render the crazy people inert, then many non-crazy people will continue to want a way to defend themselves against the crazy people. To Fred: my point is that this situation would have been handled exactly the same way pre-4/16. If someone attempts to stab you and you report them, the police are going to investigate. It was only upon investigation of this crime, for which Mr. Tilrico had already been arrested, that they were able to obtain a search warrant after interviewing Mr. Burris. This led them to find his .40 handgun in his room and eventually led them to his safe deposit box.

Also, did anyone pick up on the fact that Mr. Tilrico had a gun on campus? Does anyone feel ok with this after reading the description of his actions? Perhaps he would have never used it maliciously, and perhaps he would have. Fortunately, we'll never know. But this gets to the heart of the problem. If you think that Tilrico is the only troubled student with a firearm on campus, I believe you're fooling yourself. If you think that the police will always be able to find others like Tilrico, again, I believe you're fooling yourself. The "no gun" policy is passively enforced. Unless someone is stupid enough to tell someone else they have a gun or expose it, the only way we ever find out is when they either use it or a search warrant is executed for some other offense.

he didn't have a gun on campus.. it was in the safety deposit box

Ah, sorry. When I read the warrant, my eyes must have gotten crossed thanks to the terrible document orientation. I thought that the handwritten inventory was from his dorm room. I stand corrected, although I would find it fairly hard to believe that it was never once on campus. Interesting to note, also, that he had several hundred 9mm Luger rounds and an empty Glock case, but no other handgun was recovered.

To "TheObviousProblem": Many things are inherently dangerous. Cars are dangerous. If I decide to go nutz and start running people down with my car, there isn't much out there to stop me. The problem isn't what is used as much as it is who uses it. My mom is a psych nurse in Maryland, and I've been to where she works. It is VERY difficult to tell who is and isn't crazy unless you have access to their extensive psychiatric history. It also doesn't matter how hard it is to get a gun or anything for that matter. This is america, if you want something badly enough you sure as heck can get it.

"guns are dangerous"...keep in mind Timothy McVie (sp?) used fertilizer and diesel fuel in a non descript vehicle and the 9/11 terrorists used box cutters. Think about that for a minute or two. 32 people senselessly died at the hands of a mad man with a pistol, what would have happened if he had explosives? The gun is not the problem, it is the lunatic with it. Bad people will do bad things in spite of the best intentions of good people.

I want to ask readers: what do you find interesting from this article? I think so many parts of this are rather uninteresting. He had camping gear. He kept his firearm in a proper place. He had enough ammunition for a couple of trips to the range. Nothing here strikes me as important, but since its in the news, everyone seems to just be reacting in shock. His ACTIONS are what we should be concerned with, as I see it.

Lack of Justice@VT!!! - why are students punished and put in a jail cell for drinking beer off campus yet creeps like this person allowed to have weapons held at VT Campus police and go free on bail ? VT has their justice policy backwards. Bring the drinking age back to 18!!!

CT Reader: You are exactly right, and that is the point I was making. All of these things were discovered only after he attempted violence toward a fellow student. Had he not done this, nothing is necessarily that out of the ordinary.

When you look at cold hard facts, it's really hard to put things into a different perspective. It's also hard not to make a bias about this issue when the writer clearly expresses his opinion.. Boys will be boys. a lot of guys have guns. yes, most of them know when and where to use them Yes, people do bad things but they're not all bad people. Michael wasn't a bad person. He just made a bad decision

I thought the issue with Cho is that none of the women he stalked pressed charges and he could not be forced to stay in psychiatric care. The authorities cannot act uless people press charges or sociopathic issues are documented. Let's just hope this guy gets help and that nobody over-reacted.

Don't take this the wrong way, but the best thing that could have possibly happened was his attempt at stabbing his roommate. If he had not done this and his roommates and police not taken action on that, it is hard to tell what could have happened

Everyone has the capability to do wrong to another person, whether physically, emotionally, or some other means. Most people just chose not to react to certain things. When you're in a fight, sometimes you just want a means for an end. Mike wasn't the type of person to lash out. He may have been quiet, but that was his personality. I think his frustration towards his roommate just finally for the best of him and in one quick moment- he lost control but he regained it when he realized what he was doing. Despite what the records say about his mental evaluations, that was simply a misunderstanding. He's not crazy.

"he lost control" (with a knife) Just the kind of person I want around with a handgun..

Roger, you would probably look for any excuse to make the statement you did. "He had on a Led Zeppelin shirt one day" or "He doesn't like birds." As a gun owner, it is so hard to keep respect - everyone is just looking for a way to discredit you. Get off the horse for a bit. Everyone is so uptight because of the way Cho "slipped through" so now we have to flinch at every sign of negativity. Awareness is good, but becoming hawks isn't going to make life any more enjoyable.

You make it sound like a normal slip up with anger. He crossed the line when he attacked somebody...and yes that could have been with a CAR (while wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt)

Whether this guy is crazy or not, his actions at least are a cause for concern. We all get mad at each other, but that doesn't give us the right to physically attack each other. Hopefully Mike will get the help that he needs...

It's a tragic shame that individuals like Tilrico has easy access to firearms! The judicial system gave him a $25,000 bond! This character should have been held without a bond! He is a menace to society! He gets to go home too! Why did he have the gun...and of all places, VTech University. If he he was thinking that having a gun would have given him some protection he is sadly delusional and poorly misguided living with a false sense of security.

Don't we all live with a false sense of security? people walk around thinking that nothing will happen to them but the truth is anyone could do that to someone. before you start to judge someone, try walking a day in their shoes. look at his life from his perspective. he had a gun because he liked to go to the shooting range. Everyone has their own way with stress. but he didn't use that gun Ronald. it was in his safe deposit box. maybe it wasn't the best to have it, but it wasn't on campus. no one in the world is completely and 100% safe. things happen, and yest some things could be avoided but you cant start jumping at every case thinking it's the same as chos. because its not. you can start comparing as much as you want to, but i can tell you its not.

im not trying to belittle your loss in anyway but i knew Mike personally, and i don't believe hes a menace to society.

Just a few things: 1. Mike's been shooting with the pistol club at Tech since the beginning of his freshman year. 2. Anyone who shoots targets for fun has that much ammo and targets with him. 3. Students are required to check their guns in with the police to store them safely; Mike wouldn't have checked it in with police if he thought he was about to be arrested so it went to the bank. 4. Now that he's been charged with a violent crime, he'll lose his right to buy and use guns. THat's the legal system working the way it should in keeping guns out of hands of people with violent tendencies. 5. Mike is a guy who truly cares for his friends. He's genuine and would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him to so don't call him a menace.

"5. Mike is a guy who truly cares for his friends. He's genuine and would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him to so don't call him a menace. " SO TRUE. Thank you 7:34