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CNN: SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT

Special Investigations Unit: Campus Rage

Aired April 12, 2008 - 20:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): On a peaceful college campus, a quiet Korean American math major was unraveling. WILLIAM KIM, FATHER OF DANIEL KIM: When he came home, he mentioned that he didn't go out from his dorm room for two weeks. BOUDREAU: This 21-year-old senior confided to friends online that he was deeply depressed and feeling isolated. He talked about a gun. SHAUN PRIBUSH, FRIEND OF DANIEL KIM: He's like, I'm serious. I actually bought a gun. BOUDREAU: That friend sent this emergency e-mail, alerting the school that Daniel was threatening suicide. But what was done about it? PRIBUSH: I said, this is really serious. This is not a joke. BOUDREAU: The family of Daniel Kim wants answers. JEANNETTE KIM, SISTER OF DANIEL KIM: My brother, he is not a violent person, but what if there was somebody that was violent, and they got the warning signs, and they did a massive shooting spree again?

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BOUDREAU (on-camera): Warning signs, massive shooting, a troubled student with a gun. If any school should have recognized the danger, you would think it would be this one. You see, this all took place at Virginia Tech, just months after what's become known as the Virginia Tech massacre. (voice-over): Monday morning, April 16, 2007. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang out in the hallway. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were brought in with gunshots or other injuries. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The agents based out of Roanoke are on the scene. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. And I saw everyone running across the drill field. BOUDREAU: In all, 33 people dead. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Including the gunman. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been able to confirm the identity of the gunman at Norris Hall, Cho Seung-Hui. BOUDREAU: Cho, a Virginia Tech senior, a loner, depressed, and angry. Just how angry became clear when this videotape was made public.

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CHO SEUNG-HUI, VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTER: You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood. It is not for me. For my children and my brothers and sisters that you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I did it for them. BOUDREAU: Why would this young man, so obviously disturbed, plot the murder of his fellow students? For almost a decade, there were warning signs. In 1999, after the murder spree at Columbine High School in Colorado, Cho, then an eighth-grader, wrote that he wanted to -- quote -- "repeat Columbine." At Virginia Tech, the 23-year-old wore mirrored glasses in class, took secret photos of other students. Even more alarming was his writing, violent scenes about rape, torture, and murder. Cho's writing professor, poet Nikki Giovanni, told her boss it was too much to handle. NIKKI GIOVANNI, VIRGINIA TECH PROFESSOR: I just was very clear that this gentleman has to come out of my class or I'm going to resign.

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BOUDREAU: The head of the department agreed to tutor him, but soon she, too, became alarmed at what she saw. LUCINDA ROY, CHAIRMAN, VIRGINIA TECH ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: I would go to the police and to counselors and to student affairs and everywhere else, and they would say, but there's nothing explicit here. He's not actually saying he's going to kill someone. BOUDREAU: And, still, the warning bells kept going off, reports of stalking, campus police at Cho's door. The girl didn't press charges, and the officers left, warning Cho to leave her alone. Cho's roommates... UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then he went over there. He was using the name question mark. He says, hey, I'm question mark. And that really freaked the girl out. BOUDREAU: After a second stalking incident, Cho told his roommate he wanted to kill himself. They called the police and Cho spent the night here at this mental hospital. A judge signed a court order declaring him mentally ill, a threat to himself or others.

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But the judge set Cho free, on condition he see a therapist at Virginia Tech. Cho attended one session and never went back. WILLIAM POLLOCK, HARVARD PSYCHOLOGIST: It happened all over the country. BOUDREAU: Harvard Psychologist William Pollock studies the minds of school shooters. He's convinced that suicide threats are a red flag for violence. POLLOCK: You have to call it self-murder. When you start calling it that, you get the point. And some people who want to self- murder also want other-murder. They want to kill others as well. BOUDREAU: But even after the judge ruled that Cho was a danger, no one followed up, not once. The rest is history. Cho grabbed two pistols and walked out his door for the last time. It's clear from a state-commissioned report that Cho had significant mental illness going back to childhood. But according to Chris Flynn, the head of Virginia Tech's counseling center, the school did all it could legally. And no one connected the dots, all those warning signs.

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CHRIS FLYNN, DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH COUNSELING CENTER: And I think he really would have benefited by focused, concerted, intensive treatment. And so there are a lot of places where he could have come forward and we could have connected, and that didn't happen. BOUDREAU: Just this week, Virginia Tech agreed to pay $11 million to the victims' families. Since the massacre, Virginia Tech has made changes to improve campus safety: a new alert system to warn students via text message, more security guards. Most important, the school says it has improved communication among teachers, counselors, administrators, and the police. So, troubled students like Cho are less likely to slip through the cracks. But is it a false sense of security? When we come back, the story of another Virginia Tech student with a gun, and later, a young man who plotted a shooting spree at his high school.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to get as much revenge as I could. BOUDREAU (voice-over): At Virginia Tech, this was a school year for healing. All was quiet. The problems were worked out. Campus was safer. But one Virginia Tech family tells a very different story. KIM: They just treated it like some kind of a joke. BOUDREAU: Some kind of joke. To William Kim, his son Daniel's safety was no joke. After the school massacre, Daniel, a senior at Virginia Tech, sank into a deep depression. He worried that he could be mistaken for the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho.

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Daniel's sister... KIM: He was like, everyone is going to think that I look like him, the shooter. And I was like, you don't look anything like him. I can tell the difference. Other people can tell the difference. BOUDREAU: By September, Daniel had become more reclusive, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. Then he stopped going to class. W. KIM: He just don't go to classes. That doesn't even make sense. That's not like him. BOUDREAU: He seldom left his off-campus apartment, online, playing games, living as a character in a virtual world, where, unlike in real life, he made friends easily. PRIBUSH: Dan, he was actually -- I thought he was really funny. He told all these like great jokes. And everything just made people laugh. BOUDREAU: Shaun Pribush is a recent graduate of RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in New York. He met Daniel online in the "World of Warcraft." After about four or five months, Shaun noticed a change in Daniel.

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PRIBUSH: He was saying he was Asian, and he didn't really have too many friends in real life. And then, later on, I started to realize that, I guess, all the depressions are adding up and putting a lot of pressure on him. BOUDREAU: Then, in late October, Daniel revealed his darker thoughts. PRIBUSH: He actually talked about purchasing a gun and planning to kill himself, like, soon. I'm like, Dan, is that like a joke? Is that something funny? I don't think that's funny. You shouldn't joke about having a gun. He's like: "I'm serious. I actually bought a gun." BOUDREAU: Several days later, Daniel Kim threatened suicide again by swallowing pills and getting into a car accident. Finally, he wrote he was going to go through with it. His online friend, Shaun Pribush, decided to take action and e-mailed the Virginia Tech counseling center.

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PRIBUSH: This is the e-mail that I sent. BOUDREAU: It was about 4:00 a.m. The subject line, "Emergency about suicidal student." PRIBUSH: "Dear health center, this is a serious e-mail. This is not a joke. Daniel has been acting very suicidal recently, purchasing a $200 pistol and claiming he will go through with it." BOUDREAU: Shaun also wrote of Daniel's past suicide attempts, downing 22 pills. He wrote again: "This is very serious. This is not a joke." University protocol states a suicidal person needs to see the psychologist on call. But that didn't happen. Instead, Virginia Tech passed on the information to Blacksburg City Police, who, at 11:45 a.m., showed up at Daniel's doorstep for a quote -- "welfare check."

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Chris Crumpler (ph) was Daniel's roommate. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All did they did was just knock on the door and asked me if Dan was here. And I got Dan, that was pretty much it. And 30 seconds later, the door was closed. BOUDREAU: Within that short time, police asked Daniel if he knew a Shaun from RPI. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said he didn't even know what RPI was or what it was. BOUDREAU: Police records show Daniel was classified C4, code for OK. And they drove off. W. KIM: This is the receipt that he purchased the gun with. BOUDREAU: Three weeks later, Daniel bought a pistol for $400 with his dad's credit card at JND pawn shop, the very same place Seung-Hui Cho picked up his gun. Daniel's father says he had no idea about the purchase at the time. Then, on December 9, one month after police checked on Daniel, his sister Jeannette got an urgent call from home. Something was wrong with Daniel.

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J. KIM: So, I texted him. And I was like, hey, Opa. Opa means older brother in Korean. And I said, you know, it's Jeannette. Where are you? I'm really worried about you. BOUDREAU: It was too late; 21-year-old Daniel Kim was dead. He shot himself in the family car in a parking lot seven miles from campus. Daniel Kim never said he planned to kill others, but he was willing to pull the trigger on himself. Today, Daniel's father still drives that car. He still calls his son's cell phone just to hear his voice. W. KIM: Then I can hear his name. He... BOUDREAU: He clings to the clues that Daniel left behind, feeling cheated out of a chance to save his only son's life. W. KIM: What did they do? I mean, what did they do? BOUDREAU (on camera): Did Virginia Tech let you down? W. KIM: I feel like it, yes, especially after the shooting.

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J. KIM: I thought my brother would be safe there. And nobody saved him. W. KIM: "I am Shaun Pribush." BOUDREAU (voice-over): And remember that emergency e-mail? Turns out Virginia Tech never shared it with Daniel's family until it was too late. (on camera): What would you say to Virginia Tech officials? J. KIM: Virginia Tech is lucky this time that only my brother died. And to me, my brother was everything. So -- I'm sorry, I keep crying. BOUDREAU (voice-over): Coming up, why didn't Virginia Tech do more to help Daniel Kim? DR. ZENOBIA LAWRENCE HIKES, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS, VIRGINIA TECH: Human behavior is very difficult to predict. And one... BOUDREAU (on camera): Do you think that mistakes were made in this case? HIKES: I think the correct protocol was followed.

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BOUDREAU: It's been four months since Daniel Kim killed himself. J. KIM: I wake up every morning to my mom crying out for my brother, and I know my dad cries alone. BOUDREAU: There were clear warnings. A depressed, shy Daniel Kim stopped attending class. Virginia Tech's counseling center received an e-mail from Daniel's online friend, Shaun Pribush, saying Daniel has been acting suicidal and is going to go through with it. PRIBUSH: I said, this is really serious. This is not a joke. My friend, Dan Kim, at your school sent me these exact quotes. W. KIM: I am really angry. I am really angry how they handled the things. BOUDREAU: The only messages William Kim got from Virginia Tech were letters about class rings and graduation, nothing at all about that e-mail spelling out his son's suicidal threats. Virginia Tech's written policy on suicidal students is clearly stated in the care team manual. Students showing any suicidal tendency get seen by the school's on-call psychologist.

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(on-camera): The protocol is, if the school is aware of a threat, of someone who is threatening suicide, that person must be seen by counselor or psychologist. Why didn't that happen? HIKES: Well, I don't want to speak to his individual case, but that is correct. That is what is the appropriate protocol. And the appropriate measures were taken in his case. BOUDREAU (voice-over): Zenobia Hikes, vice president for student affairs. (on-camera): If that's the appropriate... HIKES: I think it is inappropriate. And I respect your question, first of all. I respect your question, but it is inappropriate to talk about his individual case on camera. BOUDREAU (voice-over): Daniel Kim never saw the psychologist. Instead, when the school received Shaun Pribush's e-mail warning, they sent the local police.

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HIKES: Two-thirds of our students live off campus, and the protocol is for the police to go and -- and do a wellness check if an individual lives off campus. BOUDREAU: The university later told CNN Hikes was describing an unwritten policy for off-campus students. Officers who Blacksburg police say are trained to do wellness checks visited two Daniel Kims living off campus. Chris Crumpler (ph) is the roommate of the Daniel who threatened suicide. Thirty seconds later, the door is closed and Dan is going back upstairs. BOUDREAU: We tracked down the other Daniel Kim. In an e-mail to CNN, he said officers did ask him about Shaun Pribush, but said -- quote -- "They didn't seem very interested. They didn't ask me if I was feeling depressed or suicidal."

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Hours after the police made their house calls, Shaun Pribush received an e-mail from a campus police officer. The e-mail made it clear officers didn't know which Daniel Kim they were looking for. They didn't realize they had already talked to him. PRIBUSH: I gave them the cell phone number, his major, his name, and I might have given the age. I can't remember. BOUDREAU: But, armed with this new information, the police never went back. HIKES: I don't want to give you the impression that -- where it ends with the police once they have seen that individual. BOUDREAU (on-camera): It did in that case. HIKES: No, it did not end there, because the dean of students office and the care team did -- were aware of that particular case. And, so, that was one of the cases on their docket. So, they were aware of that. BOUDREAU: If they were aware of the case, then why didn't this particular student see a psychologist or a counselor? HIKES: That, again, is a particular that I won't speak to as it relates to that individual.

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BOUDREAU (voice-over): One month after the so-called wellness check on Daniel Kim, he took his own life. (on-camera): Should the police have been the first people out there assessing this person? POLLOCK: My personal opinion, my professional opinion, no. Perhaps the police should be with someone who is in a mental health condition in case they are needed. But they shouldn't be out there alone. BOUDREAU (voice-over): Harvard psychologist William Pollock. POLLOCK: If colleges don't get the warning signs, don't get the wakeup call to prepare for kids with emotional disturbance, we are going to see more and more kids on a continuum in college dropping out from depression that's untreated up to and killing themselves and killing others. BOUDREAU: But campuses nationwide are struggling to keep up. Growing numbers of students are seeking counseling. More students than ever come to college already taking prescription psychiatric drugs.

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Chris Flynn runs Virginia Tech's counseling center. He's seen a 35 to 40 percent increase in students seeking counseling since last year's shooting. FLYNN: I have a staff of about 18 altogether. With a staff of 18, how do you reach out to 28,000 students? We see over 10 percent of the student body in a given year. Does that -- what about the other 90 percent? Are they in need of resources? BOUDREAU: In the wake of Kim's death, Virginia Tech is reexamining its protocol for suicidal students. Still, Hikes insist the university acted appropriately in the case of Daniel Kim. HIKES: If the institution determined that Mr. Kim was threatening suicide or was suicidal, then he would have been -- he would have gone through the protocol for students that we were concerned about who were a danger to themselves. BOUDREAU (on-camera): So, an e-mail to the care team is not enough, is what we are saying?

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HIKES: We will close that conversation, because I have spoken to that already. We followed the protocol for Daniel Kim in following all the procedures that we were scheduled to do based on the information that we had in the e-mail. And we pursued the information in the e-mail, followed the protocol, and acted appropriately. BOUDREAU (voice-over): The Kim family believes the school could have prevented Daniel from taking his life, if only they were told of the warning signs. Though colleges are not required to alert parents in cases like this, there's nothing legally stopping them. Meanwhile, those letters to the families of graduating seniors continue to pile up. J. KIM: When I see that they are still sending us letters, it is like, wow, you really don't care? Like, you care that much to keep sending us letters when my brother has passed away.

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