Victims

Va. Tech gunman didn't talk much as a child - Uncle

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-04-20 07:48

This video frame grab image taken from a video aired by NBC News on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 shows Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui. [AP]

SEOUL: Cho Seung-hui was a worry to his family as he didn't talk much as a child, his uncle said Thursday.

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Cho left South Korea with his family in 1992 to seek a better life in the United States, Cho's uncle - his mother's younger brother - said in a telephone interview.

Cho "didn't talk much when he was young. He was very quiet, but he didn't display any peculiarities to suggest he may have problems," said the uncle, who requested to be identified only by his last name, Kim. "We were concerned about him being too quiet and encouraged him to talk more."

Kim, who said he was in his mid-50s, said he could not recognize Cho when his picture was shown on television because Cho's family had not visited South Korea since they left 15 years ago.

Kim said his sister occasionally called, around holidays, but had never mentioned having any problems with Cho.

"She said the children were studying well. She didn't seem worried about her children at all," Kim said. "She just talked about how hard she had to work to make a living, to support the children."

Kim said Cho's parents ran a small used-book store before they left for the US, where they hoped to make a better living and provide Cho and his sister with a better education.

Cho's maternal grandfather also told local newspapers that relatives were concerned about Cho not talking much as a child.

Cho "troubled his parents a lot when he was young because he couldn't speak well, but was well-behaved," the grandfather, who was identified by only his last name Kim, told the Dong-a Ilbo daily.