Federal agents investigating the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech think Seung Hui Cho displayed many of the same characteristics of a criminal behavioural profile called the “Collector of Injustice”, or someone who considers any misfortune against him the fault or responsibility of others. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also think Cho mentally and physically tried to transform himself into an alter ego he called “Ax Ishmael” before his rampage.

In the days and weeks leading up to the massacre of 32 students and faculty members, Cho changed his personality from passive to active. On the morning of the shootings, which the agents say were motivated by a vendetta against society, he tried to further erase his identity by deleting his Hotmail account from his computer. In addition, he removed the hard drive, and investigators have not been able to find it, the agents say.

When police found Cho’s body inside a Norris Hall classroom, the words “Ax Ishmael” were scrawled in red on his left arm, and notes and tapes he left also referenced them.

Investigators think “Ax Ishmael” is based on the biblical figure Ishmael, the son of Hagar, a maidservant to Sarah, and the prophet Abraham. Ishmael lived as an outcast, and his brother Isaac was favoured. Writings that Cho left in his dorm room, sent to the Virginia Tech English Department and mailed to NBC reveal twisted references to religion as part of his identity.

This working theory is part of the preliminary findings of an enormous law enforcement investigation. Over the past two months, state police and federal agents have documented and tracked more than 700 leads and conducted thousands of interviews. They do not think Cho targeted anyone individually. Police have also looked for Cho’s hard drive, including a search of the Virginia Tech duck pond, where someone saw Cho early on the morning of the shootings.

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