Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine accepted the Report of The Virginia Tech Review Panel; an independent review of the events that took place on April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech. Kaine said he had charged the Panel with focusing on what worked, what did not work, what practices should be considered best practices, and what practices need to be improved. He praised the Report saying that it met that charge.

Kaine added that his people are going to be spending the coming weeks carrying out an in-depth review of the report. They will deliberate on how to implement its recommendations.

In a speech he asked that special attention be paid to the following issues:

— Cho’s family, counselors and the Fairfax County School system were all well aware that Cho was troubled. They knew he had considered violence and needed some fairly intense services to be able to cope. As the system around him helped him, he did cope. Nevertheless, the University never received any information about his difficulties, neither had it been told what strategies had been used to enable him to cope up to that point in his life.

— Even though Virginia Tech students, parents, resident assistants, teachers, administrators, the Tech Police Department became aware of Cho’s troubles, there was no effective mechanism for compiling information and doing something about it – which might have been some kind of intervention or contacting Cho’s family.

— There seem to be problems with the way Virginia implements its mental health laws. Kaine pointed towards an absence of any official follow-up to find out whether the judicial order for outpatient treatment was complied with.

— Privacy laws are confusing and lead to significant misunderstanding about what they cover. The circumstance where sharing information is allowed is very relevant to these issues. As lay people are not sure at which point a violation may create liability, tending towards a default position of not sharing any information is common. These laws must be explored thoroughly so that instructions are clear for people working in the field – they need to know what information may be shared in order to ensure people’s safety.

— It is crucial that campus police coordinate their operations with other state and local law enforcement agencies. The report praises the Virginia Tech Police Department for their professionalism and cooperative relations with local law enforcement agencies. However, the report notes that as there is a wide variation of security in college campuses, further work is needed to coordinate it smoothly and effectively.

— With hindsight, immediately after the first shootings the campus community should immediately have been notified of the fatality and the fact that the shooter was still at large. The report saw no disadvantages in providing accurate and prompt information to a community of adults who are well able to make their own decisions about their own safety. The Virginia Tech Police Department did not initiate such notice.

— There were serious communication and coordination problems during the aftermath of this tragedy which created frustration and confusion, especially among those most affected by the shooting.

Kaine said “The communication issue between the State Medical Examiner’s Office and the families who awaited word about the fate of their spouses and children was the most significant example of this issue. Without taking anything away from those who extended themselves to help, the coordination of services to victims in such instances has to be done in a more thoughtful and comprehensive way.

Kaine said he will closely review all the Report’s recommendations during the coming weeks.

He described the magnitude of the losses suffered by the victims and their family as ‘immeasurable’.

Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel – The full report is a PDF document of 16 megabytes. However, this link allows you to download different parts of the report separately.

What Happened at Virgina Tech? (Background)

On April 16th, 2007 there were two separate shootings, about two hours apart. The shootings took place on the Virginia Tech campus, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Seung Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people, many others were wounded. He then killed himself. It was the deadliest shooting in modern US history.

Cho had moved to the USA from South Korea at the age of eight. He was studying for a degree in English at Virginia tech. He had been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder when he was in middle school, for which he received therapy until his first year of junior high school. A Virginia special justice declared him as mentally ill in 2005 after he had been accused of stalking two female students. A professor had urged him to seek counseling.

The tragedy at Virginia tech triggered debate throughout the USA on the country’s gun laws and how the health system and other agencies deal with mental illness.

— More detailed background on what happened that day – Wikipedia

Written by: Christian Nordqvist