On April 16th, 2007, These students on the Campus
of Virginia Tech watch helplessly as the deadliest massacre in United States
History took place. Seung-Hui Cho
shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two different attacks, about
two hours apart, before turning the gun on himself. This photo shocked
Blacksburg, VA, as well as the rest of the United States. While the experience
that these students went though is unimaginable for those who were not present,
I can kind of relate to the students in this photo. I am a huge Virginia Tech
fan, and just as the students waited behind the glass, unable to help their
classmates and school, I vividly recall sitting on my couch, eyes glued to the
television, watching the CNN coverage of the massacre. I was brought to tears
as the reported death toll seemed to gain in quantity every five minutes, and
as the gun shots could be heard in the background.
Other than the significant emotional toll it took on the Virginia Tech community,
myself, and many other Americans. The event was extremely well covered by the
media, and almost immediately sparked debate over gun control and mental health
regulations, as Cho was declared to be mentally unstable. As a result, a law
that requires an instant criminal background check before purchasing a handgun
was put into place, which caused some major controversy across the country.
However, the NRA along with several other similar associations did endorse this
legislation.
This was the very first major disaster that I can vividly
remember watching unfold, and that I was old enough to fully comprehend. The
Virginia Tech Massacre is a very important memory that I will always carry with
me, because it was the first day I experienced what I perceived as true evil in
the world.
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