Shooter’s family recalls troubled child

SEOUL, South Korea – The shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre had troubled his parents as a child because of speech difficulties, a newspaper reported today.

Cho Seung-hui left South Korea with his family in 1992 to seek a better life in the United States, Cho’s grandfather told the Dong-a Ilbo daily.

Relatives said they had minimal contact with the family after they left South Korea.

“How could he have done such a thing if he had any sympathy for his parents, who went all the way to another country because they couldn’t make ends meet and endured hardships,” Cho’s maternal grandfather, identified only by his last name Kim, was quoted as saying.

The 81-year-old Kim said Cho “troubled his parents a lot when he was young because he couldn’t speak well, but was well-behaved,” the report said.

Kim said he had little communication with Cho’s family after they left for the U.S. Cho’s uncle – his mother’s younger brother – also told the newspaper that he was unaware of how Cho’s family was doing.

“I don’t even know my sister’s phone number,” the uncle said, adding he last talked to Cho’s mother in October, the report said.

– latest Associated Press story at CT press time