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Cho posed ‘imminent danger’

April 18, 2007

By Bill McKelway

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Times-Dispatch has obtained court records that Cho Seung-Hui posed "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness" in December 2005 but was released to receive outpatient treatment.

A Montgomery County magistrate issued a temporary detention order Dec. 13, 2005.Cho was "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization and present an imminent danger to self or others as a result of mental illness, or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self and is incapable of volunteering or unwilling to volunteer for treatment," the order states.

Cho, who was listed as 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, was brought in by Virginia Tech authorities and was examined the next day by a licensed clinical psychologist.

The doctor, who works for a private practice in Blacksburg, reported that Cho's "affect is flat and is depressed," but "he denies suicidal ideations. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. His insight and judgment are normal."

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum today said campus authorities had contact with Cho on several occasions in the fall of 2005.

Cho has been identified by authorities as the student responsible for killing 32 people on campus Monday before taking his own life.

Speaking at a news conference this morning, Flinchum said that on two occasions, female students called campus police about what they described as annoying contact made by Cho. In both cases, the women said there were no threats, and they did not want to press charges, Flinchum said.

After the December 2005 psychological examination of Cho, a special justice in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court found that Cho presented "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness," but that he "the alternatives to involuntary hospitalization and treatment were investigated and were deemed suitable."

Cho was ordered by Paul M. Barnett, a special justice in Christiansburg, to receive outpatient treatment.

Bill McKelway is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.