Sunday, April 22, 2007
Investigators piece together Cho's spending spree
The gunman apparently made several stops in the Roanoke area last month, as well as buying some supplies off eBay.
Seung-Hui Cho, the gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in Monday's massacre, appears to have made several stops in the Roanoke Valley last month, according to reports.
Beginning March 12, Cho rented a van from Enterprise Rent-A-Car at the Roanoke Regional Airport which he kept for more than a month, The New York Times reported in its online edition Saturday, citing law enforcement sources.
Just 10 days later, Cho visited Roanoke's PSS Range just off Plantation Road in Northeast Roanoke, advertised as the only indoor pistol range in Roanoke. Witnesses identified an Asian man videotaping himself in the back of a van in the parking lot, reports said. Employees at the range would not comment Saturday.
Cho also stayed the night at Roanoke's Mainstay Suites on March 28, Ed Wray, general manger of the hotel, told The New York Times. Another overnight stay at a Christiansburg Hampton Inn has workers claiming that a video created by Cho was taped in one of the hotel's rooms because a gold extension cord seen in the video resembles one in a room there.
Credit card records then show Cho returning to Christiansburg to finish his shopping list. According to reports, Cho visited Wal-Mart on several occasions, purchasing cargo pants, sunglasses and gun ammunition. Cho also purchased a hunting knife, gloves and a granola bar, according to reports. The chain used to lock the doors of Norris Hall, where the majority of students were killed, was bought at Home Depot.
The Virginia Tech killer also looked to eBay to buy supplies for his mission, The Associated Press reported. Cho purchased two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22 -- one of two handguns used in the shooting. The magazines were bought March 22 from a gun shop in Idaho.
"It's apparent that he purchased the empty magazine clips," eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said. "They're similar to what could be purchased in any sporting goods store around the country."
Cho's eBay rating was an outstanding 98.5 percent. He also sold football tickets and books with violent themes, according to the AP.
Computer forensics, including tracking down credit card purchases and seeking cellphone records, have played a major role in the investigation.
