EXCLUSIVE: Gunman may have been in U.S. on visa (Chicago Sun-Times)

[marmar]

Gunman kills 32 at Virginia Tech before being killed

April 16, 2007
BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist
Authorities were investigating whether the gunman who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history was a Chinese man who arrived in the United States last year on a student visa.

The 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on Aug. 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai, the source said. Investigators have not linked him to any terrorist groups, the source said.

Police believe three bomb threats on the campus last week may have been attempts by the man to test the campus’ security response, the source said.

The exits to the buildings where the shootings occurred were chained by the shooter, the source said.

Students complained that there were no public address announcements or other warnings on campus after the first burst of gunfire. They said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage — around the time the gunman struck again. ....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/343354,vatech041607.article

[Little Wing]

1. In other news, Bill O'Really's head was found in pieces behind the set of "The Factor"

after what witnesses described as a violent overpressure and subsequent inertial decompression

[jhrobbins]

2. Shall we take a nanosecond of silence for this loss?

[Little Wing]

6. I tried but farted at the same time

[Junkdrawer]

3. This thing is taking a queer turn from the "jilted lover off his nut" line...

:tinfoilhat:

[Marrah_G]

9. A foriegn student could still be a jilted lover gone nuts

[Junkdrawer]

14. Why the chains on the doors...why the bomb threats to "test security responses"...

Crimes of passion usually don't involve this level of planning.

[bettyellen]

24. vilolence against women is v often preplanned. it is about control, "passion" is lawyer BS

[LisaL]

61. Even if it is pre-planned, isn't it usually directed against a

specific woman or her family? Why would someone pre-plan murder of innocent unrelated students, if that is what happened?

[bettyellen]

64. just sicker than usual, the murder suicide scenario often include kids and family

this is not all that different -loser psycho guy explodes at everyone who is making him feel inadequate, starting with the woman who would make him appear like he was a "man'. same ole same old on a much bigger scale.

[LisaL]

60. I would say. If that is true, then a lover gone nuts does not seem

so likely anymore. The bomb threats, if phoned in by the same person, would certainly be an indication of planning.

[bettyellen]

12. chinese men don't date?

[Raine]

42. It shows the media

doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

[davepc]

4. It would be very difficult for a Non-Resident Alien to purchase a firearm legally

That raises the question of who supplied him with the guns.

[slackmaster]

10. I believe that would make it impossible for him to purchase one legally

Student visa = non-resident alien. Only lawful US residents can, under federal law, buy guns from anyone.

We will see.

[bettyellen]

13. maybe that's where the person of interest comes in..... he also wore a bullet proof vest

he went shopping, huh?

[slackmaster]

19. Well, if it's true the guy was on a student visa it means that a crime was committed

By whoever supplied him with the gun.

I hope they find that and prosecute that individual.

[bettyellen]

he was not a student there, so he may have had some help getting in and or

maybe getting his weapons. fucking crazy, huh?

[davepc]

18. Not only violation of US law, but Virgina law as well

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308.2C01

It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a citizen of the United States or who is not a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence to knowingly and intentionally possess or transport any assault firearm or to knowingly and intentionally carry about his person, hidden from common observation, an assault firearm. It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not lawfully present in the United States to knowingly and intentionally possess or transport any firearm or to knowingly and intentionally carry about his person, hidden from common observation, any firearm. A violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class 6 felony.

For purposes of this section, "assault firearm" means any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock.

[slackmaster]

22. This fact, if correct, will fall on deaf ears among our resident gun banners

Too bad.

[davepc]

46. info from the ATF on federal laws governing aliens purchasing firearms:

In order to purchase firearms in the United States from a Federal
firearms licensee, an alien must:
(1) Be 18 years of age (21 for handguns);
(2) Provide the licensee with a government-issued photo identification
document;
(3) Complete ATF Form 4473, Firearms Transaction Record;
(4) Comply with the Brady law, 18 U.S.C. 922(t);
(5) Be a resident of the State in which the firearm purchase is made for
a period of 90 days and substantiate residency by documentation (for
example, utility bills or a lease agreement);
(6) Not be admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (for
exceptions, see 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2)); and
(7) Not be a felon or within any other category of prohibited person.
An alien who is legally in the United States will be considered to be a
resident of a State for the purpose of complying with the GCA if he or she is
residing in that State and has resided in that State continuously for at least
90 days before purchasing a firearm. Note, however, that even a legal
resident alien who has lived in the United States for many years will have to
wait 90 days before purchasing a firearm if the alien changes his or her State
of residence.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/feib/guidebook/FEA-Docs/App-A.pdf

Page 273

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Why is this an important point?

[marmar]

7. No clue....I just posted the article because Keith mentioned it.

n/t

[jhrobbins]

21. I think if we ignore legitimate cultural milemarkers, then we are not

being stupid and I don't think it is RW to do so. I'm a devout liberal, but sometimes this PC approach seems counter productive. I know it is hard to balance, but we have to try.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Sorry you lost me

Are we supposed to be angry because he was here on a VISA?

[jhrobbins]

51. Sorry, I just saw you were responding to the original post,

but what you posted didn't make sense as a response to that post. I thought you were commenting on the assumption that this shooter was allegedly Chinese and that this wouldn't be a factor.

[IronScorpio5]

52. No...hes talking about ETHNIC PROFILING !!!!

UN-BELIEVE-ABLE.

[IronScorpio5]

28. Because its a RW slap at "fer-ners"

wadda surprise.

[IronScorpio5]

8. Oh please....another asswipe against innocent people

spare the bandwidth for this rw crap.

[hang a left]

17. Article was discussed on Keith Olbermann

he did say that it was "poorly sourced".

However it seems to me that they do have some independent cooberation on the identity. They have interviewed a few eye witnesses. One of them was talking about the shooter coming into his class. THe witness was asked if he said anything and the witness said no. He also stated he had a serious look on his face. So he clearly got a look at the man.

[Irreverend IX]

11. I know that Chinese immigrants are under incredible pressure to succeed...

Only the most elite students over there get to come here, and if he made it here but couldn't cut it at the university I can see why he might have been despondent. And then there's the girlfriend trouble adding another angle to it.

[Emit]

15. So there was only one gunman?

At the time of the news conference earlier this afternoon, the police were unable to say for sure that the first shooting was even related to the second. I haven't been able to hear any other news since then, so does anyone know for sure whether it's the same shooter? Thanks in advance for any info.

[hang a left]

20. THey aren't coming right out and saying that.

But it sure seems that way.

[Emit]

31. Thanks hang a left

I just read through your other thread on the topic, too. Thanks again for the info.

[Marrah_G]

43. It's only one gunman

They simply cannot come out and say so until they have the ballistics tieing the two shooting together. Then they can say it was the one guy and that the original person they spoke to was not involved. Until the ballistics they HAVE to treat the two as seperate and the first person as a "person of interest". It all comes down to the authorities not wanting to state "facts" until they are confirmed.

[The Magistrate]

16. Ms. Sneed, Sir, Is A Local Gossip Columnist

A society chit-chat, who was at what table without his wife last night, guess who will be at the opening of the new chi-chi boutique, type. She is an unlikely channel for serious and accurate information on this matter.

[marmar]

25. Keith Olberman mentioned it, I posted it....I really don't have a whole lot of ownership in it....

:think:

[The Magistrate]

30. No Problem, Sir: Just Providing A Local Angle

She is not that well known outside the city.

[marmar]

36. Claro que si....The "sir" threw me off....

You're right, I have no clue who she is. And usually when I visit Chicago, I pick up the Reader and the New Times only, and leave the daily rags in their boxes.

[slackmaster]

26. But the most important question will be...

What was she wearing?

[Kingshakabobo]

23. Oh boy, herrrre we go. [/stewie griffin voice]

[brentspeak]

27. Here's an eyewitness account by a survivor

http://collegemedia.com/

Monday, April 16th 2007 5:27PM
Students react to the tragedy
T.Rees Shapiro, CT Staff Writer

Erin Sheehan was one of four people able to walk out of her 9:05 German class in room 207 Norris Hall.

"It's a small class, about 25 people," she said. "And I would say no more than 2 people didn't show up, were absent. And of those of us that were in there today, only four of us walked out of that room, but two of us had been injured during the shooting," Sheehan said.

"It seemed so strange," Sheehan said. "Because he peaked in twice, earlier in the lesson, like he was looking for someone, somebody, before he started shooting. But then we all heard something like drilling in the walls, and someone thought they sounded like bullets. That's when we blockaded the door to stop anyone from coming in."

"He was just a normal looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout type outfit. He wore a tan button up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something."

"I saw bullets hit people's body," Sheehan said. "There was blood everywhere. People in the class were passed out, I don't know maybe from shock from the pain. But I was one of only four that made it out of that classroom. The rest were dead or injured." She described.

"My professor, Herr Bishop," Sheehan said, "I'm not sure if he's alive."

(snip)

[FreeState]

29. I have a name but dont know if I should post it

I saw it earlier and made note of it... but I do not want to get into trouble if it is wrong - I did a search for the name and unfortunately its very close to a the name of someone who was recently in the news...

[Hosnon]

34. I'd sit on it...don't involve yourself. NT.

[FreeState]

35. Thanks, think thats what I will do... N/T

[Nikki Stone1]

33. kick

WOuld like more facts on this

[gatorboy]

32. Wonder if he acquired his arsenal at a gun show.

One of the perks of attending some of these shows is that some seller tables state in signs, "NO BACKGROUND CHECK".

Because, hey, we wouldn't want that!

[slackmaster]

37. It's still illegal to give or sell a gun to a non-resident alien

Background check or not.

[gatorboy]

39. Exactly.

The sellers make it more convenient.

[brentspeak]

47. That's it in a nutshell

Without a background check at a show, how would the seller know if the buyer was an unregistered alien in the first place? The seller could supply the tools of death for the next mass murderer, but legally be able to wash his hands of the whole matter.

There needs to be a legal challenge to the "no-background-check" gun shows -- and any other Brady-exempt gun transactions, for that matter.

[slackmaster]

58. The National Instant Check System, by law, is not available for private transfers

My state, California, has solved that problem by requiring that all private transfers of used firearms go through a licensed gun dealer. Dealers make a bunch of money off fees for private-party transfers here (at least the lawful ones).

There needs to be a legal challenge to the "no-background-check" gun shows -- and any other Brady-exempt gun transactions, for that matter.

Gun shows per se are not the issue. The issue is the lack of a way for a private party who has a gun to sell, to check the background of a buyer.

[Zynx]

62. Also illegal to destroy serial numbers on firearms. This guy did that too

[slackmaster]

63. I hadn't heard about that yet

Sounds like a real model citizen.

:eyes:

[brentspeak]

45. I don't understand why the gun shows are still allowed

if they're exempt from performing the background checks. It makes no sense.

[Junkdrawer]

54. After Columbine, when the loophole ban was first proposed, there...

was a deal offered: "We'll close the Gun Show loophole if you reopen the Pawn Shop loophole".

After the offer was made public, the NRA dug in its heels and opposed the ban tooth and nail. To this day, the loophole remains in place.

[slackmaster]

59. Gun show transactions are NOT EXEMPT from any laws

Under federal law, the Brady background checks are required any time a federally licensed gun dealer sells a firearm, whether that weapon is new or used.

Private sales of used firearms are not subject to background checks wherever they occur, under federal law. The federal government does not have the power to regulate private, intrastate sales of used firearms or any other personal property. States do have that power.

[Junkdrawer]

38. Well, this ought to quiet all the Manchurian Candidate theories....

:sarcasm:

[ComerPerro]

41. oh good. Does this mean we get to look forward to more scapegoating?

EDIT to clairfy: Of illegals and immigrants of all kinds?

[marmar]

44. Unfortunately, I would bet that it does....

I give it two days before one of the usual suspects uses this as a cry against immigration.

[AZBlue]

48. I didn't think they'd identified him yet?

He carried no wallet or anything to ID him, his fingerprints didn't come up in any database and he didn't even have a cell phone on him. And, he shot himself in the face.

[marmar]

49. I think it's a highly speculative story based on interviews with anonymous ATF people...

n/t

[Marrah_G]

50. they have made a preliminary identification

They just have to confirm it forensically.

[Deja Q]

53. Well, can the visa program then! The fucker's a terrorist.

Simple enough a solution. For at least part of the problem.

[davepc]

55. lots of people on a student visa didn't shoot anybody today

[Deja Q]

56. So?

Students with visas are far more likely to get jobs; especially when shipped back to their home countries.

[entanglement]

57. Ha, I figured it was only a matter of time before DU's arch xenophobe showed up

:eyes: