Found this linked on Digg, search warrant reveals that Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung Hui did not have any video games in his possession. That kind of blows some big holes in accusations being raised by the likes of Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil, that violent video games had a part in this and other shooting sprees. While video games can be and are stereotyped as, a solitary pursuit, they can be, and often are, very social. Perhaps if this young man had been involved in the gaming community, he would have found some of the support he so clearly needed.
After the Columbine shootings, there was a rush to judge the parents of the shooters and vilify violent video games. Despite the similarities, I think the Virginia Tech tragedy has one fundamental difference. The evidence coming out, clearly reveals a person who was mentally ill is any sense one would define mental illness. I don’t think the parents, or anyone else, can be blamed for Cho’s condition. However, I can blame the media for exploiting and over sensationalizing this tragedy. Was it really necessary to show the video that Cho left? Are all of the pictures of him plastered all over the TV and Internet really helping? This is really sending the wrong message. There are still a lot of mentally ill people out there, who are going to be getting the wrong idea about what’s happened. Cho has not found any salvation in what he did, so for the media to essentially make him the patron saint of troubled youth in their pursuit of ratings is just plain wrong. They are not helping the victims, and may well be laying the ground work for future copycats. How can they criticize Al Jazeera and then do something like this?