Gaming Features

Search warrant reveals VA Tech killer had no video games

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.

And Also

What's the Truth About Brangelina? - PopEater
no articles available.
- The Tech Herald
Jennie Garth throwing a Garden Party, Zucchini and Eggplant need not apply, the interview
Barbra Streisand Turns Down Massive Vegas Payday - PopEater
Johnny Depp death hoax and similar schemes explained - The Tech Herald

Your Talkback on this Story

Latest Headlines in Gaming

Older Talkback

page: 1

IndeedApr 26th, 2007 - 01:31:59

It is ignorant to lay the blame entirely on video games, but you can't really blame Jack for his comments. While he is ignorant, egotistical and somewhat of a social vigilante, he is as much of product of our society as Cho was. He feels that someone should pay for the loss of life which he has seen in today's world. Video games are what he happens to put the blame on, because he is ignorant of what they really are, which is why he has no problem blaming them. For we, as humans, have always feared the unknown. That thing which goes bump in the night. If we knew what it was, we wouldn't be afraid. But we don't know, and all of those scary stories come back to us, when we are alone in the night. Video games are Jack Thompson's boogey-man. Pity him, because while his intentions are good, he is weakened by his fear of what he doesn't know.
Also, Cho may have played video games(Maybe even *violent* ones, god forbid, oh noes), but that didn't create what he was. From what I know, he was a reclusive person, who felt that the rich kids had it easy,(please, forgive me if I am misinformed) which had nothing to do with video games. His hate, and his passion against the other students was formed and tempered by the actions of individuals, even if they didn't mean to hurt him. It was a tragic event, and a production of a society which is beginning to decay.
But I have one final question. I noted that the President offered his condolences to the families of Virginia Tech, which was a thoughtful gesture. But why did he offer condolences for the 33 deaths of the students, (please don't take me wrong, I'm not trying to trivialize their deaths, only prove a point) and not see it fit to offer his condolences at the Station fire, where over a hundred people died? Was it because he wasn't so desperate to move up in the public opinion? Are his condolences just an assumed pose, to gain face with the general public? I'm sure he feels something, but perhaps his appearance was motivated by political reasons? If so, I am quickly losing faith in our government's morality.

Report this comment

JimmyApr 26th, 2007 - 10:28:05

Games do not make people violent, a bad upbringing, trauma and stress cause violence. If i walked up to you and put a gun in you hand what would you do? would you drop it? would you give it back to me? or would you kill me? What you decide to do with the gun is based on what your previous experiences have taught you not the fact i have just handed a gun to you. By giving you the gun i have given you the opportunity to do something bad weather or not you do it is up to you.

Report this comment

AdamApr 26th, 2007 - 17:09:28

I play (and make) violent video games (oh no!) almost every day. I have no form of destructive behavior. I don't hate people, life, animals, society, anything. In fact I have a very hard time ending the life of an ant crawling across my kitchen floor.

I'm sorry, but solely blaming games for such a tragedy is wrong. There are many many more important factors involved.

Report this comment

heartlessApr 26th, 2007 - 20:39:38

Why is it so difficult for people to blame him?

After all he pulled the trigger, not some software designer or highschool bully.

The real problem here is that personal responsability is gone in this country because you can bet that all of those who are reaching for someone other than the shooter to blame are the first to find someone else to blame for their own problems.

Report this comment

errApr 26th, 2007 - 22:40:38

excuse me wtf but you're not exactly creating a good argument for yourself there .... lol

Report this comment

Umm...Apr 27th, 2007 - 05:43:30

I have completely lost interest in Dr. Phil's show now.

Jack Thompson, meanwhile, he's just trying to gather attention. Most of my friends are almost normal, and they play video games/watch violent television every day. I don't see Thompson trying to say that television is the cause of this, no. He just assumes this because apparently 'interactivity stirs emotions.'
If you're going to slander video games, THEN SAY SO IN A VIDEO GAME, IT MIGHT 'STIR' MORE EMOTION!

Idiot.

Report this comment

T-ravApr 29th, 2007 - 20:45:52

It's sad, but true. People can't accept responsibility for their own actions anymore, and thus do not expect other people to be responsible for theirs. It's always someone else's fault.

The facts are simple: Cho thought up the event. Cho bought the guns. Cho bought the ammunition. Cho walked around the school and pulled the triggers. Cho killed these people.

Blaming video games, blaming guns, blaming their creators... it's all a way to deflect the facts. This man, for whatever reason, went crazy and decided to kill people. The rest doesn't matter. Any sane individual could play violent games and own guns without ever going so far as to slaughtering innocent people. In fact, an overwhelming majority of them do just that. Why are we so obsessed with the minority here? Obviously, something is wrong with those people, that's why they kill others.

How hard is that to understand? How hard is it to place the blame where it is due?

Report this comment

Mark4011Aug 31st, 2007 - 22:21:28

Video games prevent crimes of all kinds. Boredom is a major factor in the level of crime in society. By giving people a vicarious outlet for boredom or unresolved negative emotions, and teaching players repeatedly that there is a consequence for errors in judgement, you're promoting a safe society. We see this kind of vicarious outlet taught in psychology as well, where it is commonly suggested someone who is angry should focus thier frustrations on inanimate objects such as a pillow, or counting to 10. As an avid gamer for years, and having seen the research on how crime has dropped the more popular video games have become, I have see every reason to find contention with the FBI and Dr. Phil, who probably only want to see video games taxed in a way not unlike cigarettes or gambling.

Report this comment

page: 1

Gaming Features

Search warrant reveals VA Tech killer had no video games

And Also

Your Talkback on this Story

Latest Headlines in Gaming

Older Talkback

From Sites we Like

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print