CHINA: Speculation over nationality of Virginia gunman is inappropriate, says Chinese official

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao says speculation over nationality of Virginia gunmen is inappropriate. China said on Tuesday (April 17) that speculation over the nationality of a suspected gunman who killed 32 people at a Virginia university was inappropriate, following media reports that he was of Asia origin. In a report on CBS News, one student said the killer was an Asian male, about 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall, who walked into his German class and shot a student and professor before systematically shooting nearly all of the other students in the room. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (pron: lee-oh djee-ehn chah-ow) said it was inappropriate to start making guesses about the gunman's identity. "This is an unfortunate incident. The Chinese government is shocked by the gunfire incident that happened on the campus of Virginia Tech. We want to pay our condolences to the dead and express our thoughts to the injured and the families of the victims. We have noticed that some reports said the gunman was a Chinese student. As far as we know, the investigation is still under way, so it's not appropriate to make any conjectures about the relevant situation," Liu told a regular news conference in Beijing. The man, whom police have not identified, killed himself in a classroom at Virginia Tech after opening fire on students and staff during class in an apparently premeditated massacre in the deadliest shooting rampage in US history. Most of the 32 people killed were students attending classes at a hall at Virginia Tech, where the gunman apparently used chains to lock the doors and prevent the victims from escaping, university and police officials said. Fifteen people were wounded, including those shot and students hurt jumping from windows in a desperate attempt to escape the gunfire, officials said.

ITN Source | April 17, 2007

Tags:. .room. .government. .dead. .walked. .investigation