Associated Press: “The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school’s counseling service. News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against ‘rich kids,’ ‘debauchery’ and ‘deceitful charlatans’ on campus.”

Okay, so maybe I was wrong about the guy not having an ego. I’m still stunned by the way he carried out this violence with calculated anonymity. I’m also wondering if he would have committed this violence if some brave soul dared to understand his writing. By this standard, Chuck Pahluniuk should have been sent to a counselor years ago.

Also, maybe I’m just a morbid guy, but I find it ironic that the English department chairwoman is named Carolyn Rude.

[UPDATE: Salon’s Joe Eaton has done some reporting and collected student impressions of killer Cho Seung-Hui.]

[UPDATE 2: Sarah has unearthed two of Cho Seung-Hui’s plays. Sample dialogue: “What are you, a Catholic priest! I will not be molested by an aging balding overweight pedophilic stepdad named Dick! Get your hands off me you sicko! Damn you, you Catholic priest. Just stop it, Michael Jackson. Let me guess, you have a pet named Dick in Neverland ranch and you want me to go with you to pet him, right?”]