Police Seek Gunman's Medical Records
The Associated Press and other news outlets are reporting that law enforcement officials are trying to obtain copies of Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung Hui's medical records.
The Post's Jerry Markon reports that authorities were searching a mental health facility in Blacksburg where Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung Hui was once taken, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed today in Montgomery County circuit court.
The affidavit, signed by Virginia State Police special agent Joe D. Diamond, said the search would take place at New River Community Services at 700 University City Blvd. in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech campus police records show that Cho was taken to New River, but the affidavit does not say when. Investigators are searching for "medical records, including associated mental health records of Seung Hui Cho."
"It is reasonable to believe that the medical records may provide evidence of motive, intent and design of Seung Hui Cho," the affidavit said.
Earlier this morning, authorities revealed that Cho was detained at a mental health facility on Dec. 13, 2005. Virginia Tech police said at a news briefing this morning that they believed that Cho was taken on that day to a facility called St. Albans near Blacksburg after an acquaintance of Cho's called police and said Cho might be suicidal. It was unclear whether the 2005 mental health detention was related to Cho's detention at New River described in this morning's affidavit.
Authorities also revealed today what was seized in their search of Cho's residence at 2121 Harper Hall in Blacksburg. The search warrant, filed late Tuesday in Montgomery County circuit court, said the items taken included a "folding knife and combination pad lock," a Compaq computer, various documents and writings from Cho's desktop computer, nine books and two notebooks from a shelf.
By Liz Heron |
April 18, 2007; 3:14 PM ET
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I should certainly hope so (seek medical records). Hasn't any journalist ever wondered if the common denominator behind the majority, if not all, of sociopathic or psychotic serial or mass-scaled murders might be that all of the perpetrators had a signficant history of mood-altering medication? Wouldn't that be a worthwhile investigative piece? Or, maybe, it's already a given and plainly too simple a truth should it turn out so. Particularly considering how absolutely inured our culture has become to the "side effects" of socially acceptable medications, street drugs, and alcohol abuse.
I mean, doesn't all the abounding reports about his personality make him sound like some sort of medicated, programmed "zombie"?
Then, again, maybe I just have a strange, not-so-common understanding of "common sense."
Posted by: arc-us | April 18, 2007 04:12 PM
To follow the previous writers comments, I feel this is why psychological evaluations should be performed on individuals before they have to buy a gun. The evaluations should be paid for by the individual who wishes to purchase the gun, and if there are complaints on as to how long the evaluation would take, so be it, if you really need a gun that instant, chance are you're going to use it for bad reasons.
Posted by: RedskinsWiz23 | April 18, 2007 04:30 PM
It sounds more like he SHOULD have been medicated and was not being medicated. Please, let's not start this debate. Medications help the majority of people. Most patients do not do the work that is required of them on medications. Communicating to their doctors about how they are really adjusting to their medications, following the correct dosage and timetables.
If most people who took medications that were severlly mentally ill, we would be hearing about these type of events way more often.
Posted by: ag1976 | April 18, 2007 05:12 PM
Don't know if this is permitted but here's a link I just ran across - I have no affiliation with whoever/whatever runs the site and had never seen nor heard of it until now. Again, perhaps an inquiring journalist could do some follow-up. Or maybe this site is old news to some, I wouldn't know. But looks appalling to me on first glance without knowing any more about it.
I would probably agree that most medications for specifically diagnosed *physical* problems are effective in one way or another. I certainly would *not* agree that most medications with specifically known serious mood-altering side effects help the majority of people. My point is exactly that - we have become culturally inured to the consequences of side effects from such "medicine."
If linking is not permitted then Google "ssristories" or check www-ssristories-dot-com.
Again, I have no idea who sponsors or supports the site or how legitimate the data is. And, no, I have no medical background or credentials.
Posted by: arc-us | April 18, 2007 06:11 PM
And yet still, another:
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/casualties.htm
www-antidepressantsfacts-dot-com
It does my heart good to find that someone is at least attempting to compile statistics for this cultural insanity.
Same disclaimer as above. And I apologize for posting this many times to this particular article.
Posted by: arc-us | April 18, 2007 06:31 PM
Oh, the irony, the irony. This is from Oct 31st, 2005, Virginia Tech News:
Posted by: arc-us | April 18, 2007 08:01 PM
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