World expresses horror and criticism of US gun laws
An Indonesian mother bemoaned the availability of guns in the United States after learning her son was among those killed in a school massacre, while South Koreans expressed shame and shock that one of their own was the gunman.
Sympathetic messages for the 32 who died on Monday at Virginia Tech University - the deadliest school shooting in US history – continued to ring out from London to Beijing.
But few were surprised, pointing to liberal American gun control laws.
“We took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country,” said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who staked his political career on promoting tough gun laws after a gunman went on shooting spree 11 years ago.
The tragedy in a Tasmanian tourist resort left 35 people dead. Afterward, Australia’s gun laws were changed to prohibit automatic weapons and handguns and toughen licensing and storage restrictions.
In Sweden, civilians can acquire firearm permits only if they have a hunting license or are members of a shooting club and have no criminal record. Firearms are forbidden for private Chinese citizens.
Sugiyarti, an Indonesian woman who learned last night that her 34-year-old stepson was among those killed, broke down in tears as she begged for answers.
“Why can people bring guns to campus?” she said, recalling third-year doctoral student Partahi Lumbantoruan, who showed so much promise for the future. The family had sold property and a car to finance his civil engineering studies.
“How is it possible that so many innocent people could be killed? How could it happen?” asked Sugiyarti, who goes by only one name.
Other foreign victims included Peruvian student Daniel Perez Cueva, 21, according to his mother Betty Cueva, who said her son was studying international relations.
Professors from Israel and Canada also were killed.
India – which lost a lecturer – added a second victim to its toll, Minal Panchal, a 26-year-old master’s student in building sciences, CNN-IBN news said Wednesday. She had been listed as missing before her body was found at Norris Hall.
The shootings were carried out by South Korean Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old English student who killed himself after police closed in, and the case topped the front pages of nearly all newspapers there today.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun offered condolences to victims for a third time and, among the South Korean public, a sense of despair prevailed.
“I and our people cannot contain our feelings of huge shock and grief,” said President Roh Moo-hyun. “I pray for the souls of those killed and offer words of comfort from my heart for those injured, the bereaved families and the US people.”
Hundreds left messages on the country’s top web portal site, Naver.
“I’m too shameful that I’m a South Korean,” wrote an internet user identified only by the ID iknijmik. “As a South Korean, I feel apologetic to the Virginia Tech victims.”
Virginia Tech classmates and professors painted Cho as a sullen loner, and said they were alarmed by his class writings – pages filled with twisted, violence-drenched writing.
