Aggression and Violence in the United States: Reflections on the Virginia Tech Shootings (Editorial‪)‬

The shootings at Virginia Tech University in April 2007 have again brought home the tragic consequences of violence. As yet another instance of senseless aggression unfolded, the nation watched as details emerged about the perpetrator and the deaths of 32 students and professors. The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, lived a troubled life characterized by social isolation, alienation, and depression. Furthermore, professors at Virginia Tech had recognized erratic behavior in Mr. Cho and had referred him for counseling and mental health treatment on several different occasions. On the other hand, Mr. Cho's victims were, by all accounts, normal students going about their daily routines. Sadly, we could easily substitute the name of any U.S. university for Virginia Tech. Images of what happened on April 16 in Blacksburg have filled the thoughts and minds of university students, faculty, and staff across the nation. Reports of frantic parents trying to reach their loved ones and of cell phones ringing in the pockets of dead students affected the psyche of an entire country. The Virginia Tech shootings were preceded by deadly violence on at least 12 other college campuses dating to the well-known Kent State shootings of 1970. It is disturbing that seven of these 12 incidents have occurred since 1991; four have happened since 2000 (Smith, 2007).