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Police Talked to Cho in 2005

Officials say they didn't have grounds to arrest, mandate treatment

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 18, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

(Newser) – Police questioned Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui twice in 2005, after two women accused him of accused making unwanted contact, the Virginia Tech police department said this morning. The same semester, poetry professor Nikki Giovanni had him removed from her class. But since Cho made no direct threats, the police could not legally take action against him, they say.

After the second woman asked police to intervene, a friend reported that Cho seemed suicidal, which led to a voluntary psychiatric evaluation and hospital stay. Police say they had no grounds on which to mandate continued psychiatric treatment, setting off a barrage of questions about how campuses nationwide handle mental illness.

Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui (Associated Press)

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Police Talked to Cho in 2005

Officials say they didn't have grounds to arrest, mandate treatment

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Officials say they didn't have grounds to arrest, mandate treatment

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

In the News

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Virginia Tech • mental health • Seung-Hui Cho • Virginia Tech shootings • shooting

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Found: Missing Mental Health Records of Va. Tech Shooter

Files had been removed from university clinic illegally

Va. Tech Shooter May Have Practiced

Investigators reveal new details of deadly April rampage

Cho's Macabre Plays Warned Of Violence

Playwriting class submissions cast their writer as "school shooter" type

Bad Tip Led Police Off Shooter's Trail

Cops sought first victim's boyfriend after tip that he owned guns

Virginia Tech Shooter Was A Student

Cho Seung-Hui was a senior; immigrated from South Korea as child

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