TIPP CITY, Ohio - US President Bush said on Thursday that mass shootings are
a reminder that people must be willing to raise a red flag about others'
disturbing behavior.
US President Bush speaks at Tippecanoe High School gymnasium
Thursday, April 19, 2007 in Tipp City, Ohio. [AP]
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"One of the lessons of these
tragedies is to make sure that when people see somebody or know somebody who is
exhibiting abnormal behavior, you do something about it, to suggest that
somebody take a look," the president said during an appearance at a high school
here.
His war on terror speech came after a moment of silence for the victims of
the Monday shootings at Virginia Tech in which 33 people, including the shooter,
died.
In a question-and-answer session, the president was asked by a student what
he thought should be done to ensure safety in schools.
He said he didn't want to draw conclusions from the Virginia case because
"they're still digging out the facts." But he suggested that concerns about
privacy violations, while understandable, may be preventing people from taking
needed action.
Gunman Cho Seung-Hui had been accused of sending unwanted messages to two
women. He was taken to a psychiatric hospital on a magistrate's orders and was
pronounced a danger to himself, but was released for outpatient treatment. Also,
Cho's twisted, violence-filled writings and menacing, uncommunicative demeanor
had disturbed professors and students so much that he was removed from one
English class and was repeatedly urged to get counseling. A video rant Cho
mailed to NBC in the middle of his Virginia Tech rampage only added to the
disturbing psychological portrait.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said she did not know whether Bush had
seen any of the video. But it was clear he was aware of it.
"If you are a parent and your child is, you know, doing strange things on the
Internet, pay attention to it and not be afraid to ask for help and not be
afraid to say `I am concerned about what I am seeing," Bush said. "I think it's
very important for us not to comment until it's all said and done, but that
other cases there have been warning signals - that if an adult for example
had taken the signals seriously, perhaps tragedy could have been avoided."
Bush said the reeling community in Blacksburg should take heart from its
support in the rest of the country.
"It really speaks to the strength of this country, doesn't it, that total
strangers here in Ohio are willing to hold up people in Virginia in prayer?" he
said.