Search warrant reveals VA Tech killer had no video games

Gaming Features

By Casey Lynch Apr 20, 2007, 14:37 GMT

There has been no shortage of theories regarding what caused Virginia Tech student Cho Seung-Hui to kill himself after slaying 32 classmates and teachers, but so far violent video games don’t appear to be a factor. Police found no evidence in Seung-Hi's room that he played video games.

Police found no evidence in Seung-Hi's room that he played video games.Despite the best efforts of U.S. television personality Dr. Phil McGraw and notorious anti-gaming activist/lawyer Jack Thompson to pin the blame on the influence of what Thompson calls “murder simulators”, the FBI search warrant of Seung-Hi’s dorm came back with no evidence that Seung-Hi owned, or even played games.Virginia State Police searched Seung-Hui’s room at around 9:00 PM on April 16th and recovered 16 pieces of evidence. Most of the items were fairly average - combination locks, tools, chains - but no games.Here is a complete list of all the items the police recovered:• Chain from top left closet shelf
• Folding knife & combination padlock
• Compaq computer from desktop
• Assorted documents, notepads, writings from desktop
• Combination lock
• Dremel tool and case
• Nine books, two notebooks, envelopes, from top shelf
• Assorted books & pads from lower shelf
• Compact discs from desktops
• Items from desktop & drawers: winchester multi tool, 3 notebooks, mail, checks, credit card
• Items from 2nd door: Kodak digital camera, Citibank statement
• Two cases of compact discs from dresser top
• Drive: Seagate: 80 Gb
• Six sheets of green computer paper
• Mirror with blue plastic housing
• Dremel tool box with receipt
• Dell Latitude service tagCNN has obtained a copy of the search warrant and the list of items collected. You can read that document here. Almost immediately after the shootings, Dr. Phil and Thompson appeared on major news networks and suggested there was a link between the VA Tech shootings and violent video game play.Looking at the list, there are obviously no games, no consoles, no accessories, no gamepads, software – nothing gaming related in Seung-Hui’s room. Additionally there were no gaming consoles anywhere in the overall dorm room.Seung-Hui’s roommates had told police and reporters that they had never observed the killer play any video games. Now, the police could possibly find games on the hard drives or compact discs, but, so far, it doesn’t appear that video games immediately contributed to Seung-Hui’s rampage.Dr. Phil McGraw appeared on CNN’s Larry King show shortly after the killings and proffered that violent video games were “programming” kids saying, “You cannot tell me, common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they're on a mass killing spree in a video game, it's glamorized on the big screen, it's become part of the fiber of our society,” said McGraw. You can read the entire transcript of Dr. Phil’s comments here. Attorney and anti-violent game activist Jack Thompson also went on a media offensive by appearing on major networks like Fox News and MSNBC. He additionally wrote a letter to Microsoft CEO Bill Gates charging him and Microsoft with guilt over the massacre because of what Thompson described as the production of the game Counter-strike, a game Thompson claims Seung-Hui played avidly. Thompson was unable to produce any proof that the killer played Counter-strike other than a few times recreationally, and it was years before in high school at that.Of note, Thompson blames the wrong gaming company by pointing the finger at Gates and Microsoft - Counter-strike was developed by Valve Software and the online veriosn PC version, which is by far the most popular version of th game, is handled by Vivendi/Universal while Counter-strike: Source, the preferred CS game of choice, is a player developed mod.In his FOX News interview, Thompson suggested that an FBI study stated that video games are the “common denominator” in all school shootings because they help the killers simulate and plan out the shootings. The study that Thompson cites, “The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective”, isn’t as clear cut as Thompson asserts. It said that violent video games was a factor, but also suggested that violent movies and other types of violent media could also cause violence. You can read the FBI paper here. http://www.fbi.gov/publications/school/school2.pdfAt this point, unless further evidence that corroborates or disproves Seung-Hui’s level of interest in video games comes to light, he might take the truth about his gaming habits with him to the grave.On a side note, Kotaku just posted a breakdown of Thompson's FOX News interview that's a very interesting read. Written by Kotaku editor Brian Crecente, this analysis gives a point by point breakdown of Thompson's assertions and what Crecente calls, “more than a half-dozen points which were either grossly misleading or out-right lies.”Crecente has done a bang up job, here’s a full look at the breakdown but click over to the page here to check out all the links and the actual video of Thompson’s interview on FOX. 1. The FBI and Secret Service found that the most common denominator for shootings prior to Columbine was that the perpetrator was immersed in "incredibly violent entertainment, most notable video games."
Time: 30 seconds
Verdict: Not exactly True
Evidence: In 2000, the FBI published an analysis of 18 schools, 14 of which had actual shootings. In the other four, students planned shootings but were thwarted. The analysis broke down the assessment model of a shooter into four prongs.While "The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective" found that a "fascination with violence-filled entertainment" was one personality traits and behavior common among shooters, in one of the four prongs,it lists another 27 traits as well. It also does not single out video games as being most notable among the "violence-filled entertainment" shooters were fascinated with.The student demonstrates an unusual fascination with movies, TV shows, computer games, music videos or printed material that focus intensively on themes of violence, hatred, control, power, death, and destruction. He may incessantly watch one movie or read and reread one book with violent content, perhaps involving school violence. Themes of hatred, violence, weapons, and mass destruction recur in virtually all his activities, hobbies, and pastimes.
The student spends inordinate amounts of time playing video games with violent themes, and seems more interested in the violent images than in the game itself. On the Internet, the student regularly searches for web sites involving violence, weapons, and other disturbing subjects. There is evidence the student has downloaded and kept material from these sites.In the lengthy study's proposals the FBI recommends training parents to track their child's use of the Internet and viewing of violent videos. No reference is made to tracking video game playing.2. The FBI found that Red Lake school shooter Jeffrey Weise had "basically rehearsed for the massacre" by playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City in order to get his heart rate down and be able to kill.
Time: 49 seconds
Verdict: Cannot prove or disprove
Evidence: The only references I could find on the Internet, with the FBI, in the newspaper coverage, with the police department of Weise training for the Red Lake School shooting come from Thompson himself. On several occasions he both predicts that police will find this to be the case and then goes on to say it is the case, but never provides any sort of proof or source.3. Prior to going on a shooting spree at Dawson College in Montreal, Kimveer Gill "trained on Super Columbine Massacre."
Time: 1 minute 10 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: While one could argue endlessly about the merits of Super Columbine Massacre RPG and whether it crosses a moral boundary, there is no argument about it's use as a tactics trainer. The game was created using RPG Maker and requires zero tactics or marksmanship to complete. Instead you roam endlessly through a generic school setting killing students in an abbreviated turn-based attack system similar to Final Fantasy.Gunman Kimveer Gill did play the game, including it among a long list of games he liked to play. It was not his "favorite game" according to his profile on his blog.4. Michael Carneal was spurred to go on a spree shooting in Paducah, Kentucky by computer games and trained on Doom before the shooting.
Time: 2 minutes 12 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: That song and dance is certainly what Jack Thompson tried to prove in the $130 million lawsuit he filed in April, 1999 against two Internet pornography sites, several game developers and the makers and distributors of The Basketball Diaries.Fortunately, Thompson lost that little bid. In 2002 the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was "simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom."A psychiatrist who interviewed Carneal also rebuked Thompson's claim that Carneal had never fired a gun, saying that the teen admitted to stealing a .22-caliber pistol and practicing with it and other handguns.Thompson continues to spread this particular lie despite a court of law saying it isn't true.5. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold used Doom to train for "what they did at Columbine."
Time: Two minutes and 32 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: Again, a lawyer tried to show a connection between games, including Doom, and the shootings and again that lawsuit was tossed out by a federal judge.In dismissing the suit, the U.S. District judge said there was no way the makers of violent games including "Doom" and "Redneck Rampage," and violent movies such as "The Basketball Diaries," could have reasonably foreseen that their products would cause the Columbine shooting or any other violent acts.But perhaps Thompson is talking about the wide-spread myth that Harris created a level for Doom so he could practice the deadly shooting. Again, not true. While Harris did create four levels for the game, none of them resembled the school. 6. Jeffery Weise uploaded a "flash game version" of Grand Theft Auto Vice City in which he was predicting what he was going to do.
Time: Three minutes and 15 seconds
Verdict: False
Evidence: While Jack Thompson certainly tried to liken Jeffery Weise's animation to both a video game and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it is clear neither are true.The animated short, entitled Target Practice, shows an animated character shooting four people and blowing up a police car before committing suicide. Shortly after the Red Lake school shooting Thompson also tried to tie another short, entitled Clown, to a Rockstar game, saying it was a"replication" of Manhunt. Also, obviously not true.7. After Robert Steinhauser's deadly shooting at a school in Erfurt, Germany, police found "52 shooter games, most notably Counterstrike Half-Life which was his game of choice." Steinhauser "dressed up like the hero in that game for his assault." The involvement of video games in that shooting changed the law in Germany.
Time: Three minutes and 55 seconds
Verdict: Not exactly true
Evidence: Police did find violent comics, movies and video games in Steinhauser's home after the shooting, but according to Erfurt Police Chief Rainer Grube there were "several computer games featuring "intensive weapons usage" not 52.While Steinhauser did dress in black "ninja-like" garb, it would be a stretch to say he was "dressed up like the hero" in Counterstrike. His last point, about it changing the law, was a bit tricky to prove or disprove. I finally tracked down an update at EurActiv, which tracks political actions in the EU. According to the site, while there was a lot of initial political grandstanding, no law was ever passed. Instead the Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini called on ministers meeting in Dresden to agree "to share best practices" on curbing the sale of violent video games to minors. Update: Reader Lazy points out that there were some changes in law due to the shooting.Conclusion: What do we learn from this assessment of Thompson's babble on national television? That you can say anything on TV and not have it fact-checked as long as you say it quickly, when TV needs someone to fill time and it's a good sound bite.

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wtfApr 20th, 2007 - 16:44:26

vidoe games do not suck
video games do not cause people to do crazy things
Any Fa**ot that thinks game cause shootings at school should die
video games are not the cause its the way the person is being treated at school is the cause

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that one guyApr 22nd, 2007 - 17:14:58

video games do not cause people to kill, as does a gun does not kill a person. there may be some games that have violence in it, but that could hardly be considered promoting it.

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Umm..Apr 22nd, 2007 - 23:40:31

As silly as the 'violent video games cause school shootings' argument is, the defense of those video games by games enthusiasts is about as blind and stubborn as the defense of guns by the pro-gun lobby.

And I think you're jumping the gun here. You take a list of items recovered from his room and because 'video games' are not specifically mentioned, you assume that he had none? What about his desktop computer? What about those compact discs?

I think the sensitivity and defensiveness of the gaming community when events like these occur really demonstrates the fact that you all know that these games have a greater effect on players than you will want to admit.

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IntreastingApr 23rd, 2007 - 01:10:09

'And I think you're jumping the gun here. You take a list of items recovered from his room and because 'video games' are not specifically mentioned, you assume that he had none? What about his desktop computer? What about those compact discs?'

I'm suprised that nobody else has asked that yet. When i got to the 'computer' part of the search list, i was wondering if the police has went on it and searched the hard drive. I'm sure they might find something there to there liking.

Cho was clincally depressed though, so thoughts of harm to himself or to others would have came eventually.

But i still would like to protect the notion that violent video games do not cause acts of violence. Even if Cho played violent video games, i think the enviroment he grew up in may have been a bigger harm to him than the game itself. The media described him as a 'Loner' and a person that had no friends. Maybe the fact that he didn't have anybody to turn to was the cause of this. Perhaps he was too afraid of the truth, and started using other people as his 'hate scapegoat'.

Meh, thats my thoughts.

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DanApr 23rd, 2007 - 02:37:23

Correction:

Counter-Strike was a fan-created 'mod' for Valve's 1998 game Half-Life. After Counter-Strike's enormous success, Valve bought the mod's development team and hired its staff. Counter-Strike: Source was developed by this team and Valve using the technology behind Half-Life 2 (specifically its new graphics engine, called Source).

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Travo.CadavoApr 23rd, 2007 - 05:23:02

I really am tired about hearing about the VA Tech slaying or whatever the media wants to call it.

About a year ago now a man had taken hostages at an Amish school and had killed some students and then himself it hardly got mentioned. Does that make it okay?

What it does is send a compelling message about our culture and show us that only the high visibility tragedies will be the only ones that are relevant.

Personally I am pissed off about it all and am saddened by the incident. I don't think that it is fair to undermine things that happen in our own communities every day.

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AndreasApr 24th, 2007 - 14:04:22

I bet that the guy who even suggested Counter Strike causes kids to go kill people is/was/has:

Religious in some way
Gay
Heavily Bullied at School
Never Even Played a computer game
Finds Barbie Video games 'Pornographic'

And by the way Counter Strike was origionally a Quake 1 Mod called Navy Seals, just thought i'd point that out.

Another thing i realised is that why is that guy blaming Microsoft, they have nothing to do with Valve or Counter Strike...

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numpteeApr 25th, 2007 - 22:08:44

No need to be homophobic is there....

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JuggsApr 25th, 2007 - 22:35:01

The only reason this story is lasting this long in the media so long is because the kid is asian. Every asian kid obviously plays violent videogames, and the fact that they didn't find any in his room should have sent up a red flag. I bet this kid would not have killed so many people in real life had he owned a copy of counter-strike, or if Steam didn't make it so hard to play for free, because he probably would have pirated it at some point.

The moral of this story is to buy a lonely kid some video games before it's too late.

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ChipichaApr 25th, 2007 - 23:56:44

Travo Cadavo,

The reason the VT shootings is making so much news is because it was at a college which people can relate to and are therefore personally affected by it. The Amish school, on the other hand, was, well, Amish. I don't know any Amish people, nor have I been to an Amish town, therefore it feels alien and somewhat disconnected from me. Yeah, it's sad that I don't feel the same about both tragedies, but it's the honest truth. We (well, most people) are more impacted by events that we can relate to.

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