Atomic Dog

Link to article

Student Arrested After Talking About Gunman
Remarks Deemed Sympathetic to Virginia Tech Killer
AP
BOULDER, Colo. (April 19) - A University of Colorado student was arrested after making comments that classmates deemed sympathetic toward the gunman blamed for killing 32 students and himself at Virginia Tech , authorities said.

During a class discussion of Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech, the student "made comments about understanding how someone could kill 32 people," university police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley said.

Several witnesses told investigators the student said he was "angry about all kinds of things from the fluorescent light bulbs to the unpainted walls, and it made him angry enough to kill people," according to a police report. Witnesses "said they were afraid of him and afraid to come to class with him," Wiesley said.

The student, identified by police as Max Karson of Denver, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of interfering with staff, faculty or students of an education institution. He had a court appearance set for Wednesday afternoon.

His father, Michael Karson, told the Camera newspaper that the comments may have been misinterpreted and questioned whether his son's free speech rights had been violated.

"I would have hoped that state officials would know their First Amendment better than they seem to," he said.

University spokesman Bronson Hilliard said privacy laws prevented him from releasing personal information about the student.

At Oregon's Lewis & Clark College, another student was detained by campus police Wednesday shortly before a vigil for the Virginia Tech victims when he was spotted wearing an ammunition belt. Portland police later determined that it was "a fashion accessory" made of spent ammunition, and said the man did not have a weapon. The belt was confiscated.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-04-19 00:59:55


Discuss...

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CingularDuality

Investigating the guy is one thing, but actually arresting him? That seems over the top and dangerously close to being illegal to me. The obscure law that he was arrested for keeps it from actually being an illegal arrest, though.

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Steeler

So it begins.

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Atomic Dog

My fears exactly. If it begins here...how far will it go before it ends? A lot scrutiny has been given to Cho's writings as if it defines his madness. If this were to be considered true, then are all creative expressions that borderline the macabre subject to investigation? If so, Quentin Terantino better be brought in for questioning.

If showing any sympathy for someone like Cho or if even attempting to understand and sympathize with the cause of his actions is going to result in legal enforcement...then this is madness in and of itself. It says to me that we're all to eager to blame the real causes, and in fact, we'd prefer to not even consider them. Instead it would be better that we blame video games, movies, cartoons, etc.

It's a very scary thing. I'm kinda nervous about what's to come, if anything at all. Hopefully this will get settled and laughed out of the courtroom. I'm going to try and keep an eye on how it plays out.

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Chewy

Right. Who needs freedom of speech anyway?

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thebleakaffinity

anyone who's lived in a dorm room for more than a month understands how something like this could happen :/

Atomic Dog

I lived in a 3 bedroom house with 9 hippies for about a year...does that count?

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icky

That depends if the total was 10 hippies or not.

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Peace through fear... since 1947!

Atomic Dog

I couldn't resist! They assimilated me!

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Chewy

As much as I am for freedom of speech... I still think that disturbing behavior (even talking about doing something) should not go unnoticed. Should it include arresting the person? Probably not, unless he/she made a direct threat towards another person.

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Atomic Dog

By the account given it doesn't sound like Max mentioned anything about harming anyone specific. Just that some things made him angry enough to kill. Truth is, if a majority of people were honest about their emotions I'm certain that this is not unique to Max alone. What seperates the crazies from the normal is how they act upon impulses, not what they're thinking. If we start arresting people for crimes they MIGHT commit then we've completely lost sight of what it means to be American. Hell, our forefathers founded this Nation on the principle that a man could do whatever he felt on his own property utilizing whatever resources he had gained so long as he did not impede on the liberties of his neighbor. We're far from that now and situations like this only show that we're still moving further from being the land of Liberty that we all embrace.

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Chewy

Yeah... you are completely right. That's exactly why it's not the video games... or the guns. It's the choice made by the person who commits the crime.

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FatManMGS2

But he took it one step further in actually communicating the thoughts, whereas most people would regard the thoughts as fodder and ignore them, he gave them weight.

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"All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies."

CingularDuality

Being honest and uninhibited is not a crime, and doesn't mean that he's given them any more weight than the loon that is actively planning but has told nobody.

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Atomic Dog

Precisely.

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