Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: April 27, 2007             No. 10

Panel to Examine Virginia Tech Tragedy 

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has established an independent panel of experts to review the Virginia Tech tragedy. In the wake of this ordeal, there are many unanswered questions surrounding the university and the impact of a lone gunman. The purpose of the panel is to review the incident and provide a report with findings and recommendations to the Governor.   

The panel will conduct its review in three stages: 

§      The panel will study all information available about Cho Seung-Hui (identified as the gunman in the shootings), inquiries regarding his ability to purchase weapons, and his connection to the mental health system. 

§      The panel will review the circumstances surrounding the shootings. 

§      The panel will investigate the response by the university and law enforcement agencies and others. 

The panel consists of the following individuals: 

§      W. Gerald Massengill, retired superintendent of the Virginia State Police, who will act as chairman 

§      Gordon Davies, a former director for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and a former president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education 

§      Roger L. Depue, a retired administrator of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime 

§      Marcus L. Martin, an expert in emergency medicine and an assistant dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia 

§      Tom Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and a former U.S. secretary of homeland security 

§      Aradhana A. (Bela) Sood, who is chair of the division of child psychiatry and medical director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Virginia Treatment Center for Children 

According to Governor Kaine, panel members have been chosen for their expertise in specific areas important to the investigation.   

The panel will begin its work immediately and they will meet with legislators and members of the public.
 

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.