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Shaozhuo Cui

Photo by Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

Shaozhuo Cui, a photographer with Virginia Tech’s school newspaper, was handcuffed during a manhunt for a shooter on the campus Monday morning.

BLACKSBURG -- Shaozhuo Cui planned to cover the shootings at Virginia Tech for the school's paper, not to become part of the story.

But when the 24-year-old from Reston, Va., was arrested while taking photographs Monday of police activity outside Norris Hall, images of him handcuffed appeared in media around the world.

Cui said he was detained for about two hours, first outdoors, then in the back of a police car, before being released.

On Wednesday, he said authorities have yet to return the camera and driver's license they took from him, and he has been contacted by friends from as far away as Brazil who saw him portrayed as a possible suspect on the news.

"I'm not upset about the police officers," he said. "They're doing their job, and I respect that."

As for winding up on the other side of the camera, Cui said, "For the media, I think they jump to a conclusion real fast."

Cui moved to the United States from China five years ago. The man authorities say was responsible for the Norris Hall shootings was born in South Korea.

"When they searched me and detained me, they said we've got one suspect matching the profile -- I was like really surprised," Cui said.

He said he was not upset about the possibility that his race affected how he was treated, but he does want back his $1,000 Nikon D70S and the $300 lens he was using.

Kelly Furnas, editorial adviser for the Educational Media Co. at Virginia Tech, which owns the Collegiate Times, said a lawyer sent a letter to Virginia State Police on Tuesday seeking the return of the camera and any images that were in it. Furnas said the state police indicated they would return the camera and possessions by this morning.

He said the incident raises concerns about treatment of student journalists.

"They didn't confiscate anyone else's camera," Furnas said. "I think they took advantage of him [Cui] because he was a student and he was detained."

He said Cui's photographs might have proved valuable in Monday's coverage, but "assuming they are still on the camera, they have lost a very large chunk of their newsworthiness" with time.

Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, said that if Cui had complied with authorities' requests to leave "in my opinion there wasn't any probable cause for them to retain his camera or personal effects."

State police could not be reached for comment on the incident.