Massacre in Virginia: For Rampage Killers, Familiar Descriptions, 'Troubled,' 'Loner,' but No Profile

18 April 2007

Reflecting on the Virginia Tech killings perpetrated by university student Seung-Hui Cho, in what amounted to the largest school shooting in US history, Dr. Jerrold Post contrasted suicide mass killers like Mr. Cho with suicide bombers. Suicide bombers are chosen for their mental stability, while rampage killers are typically mentally troubled, said Post, Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS). Suicide bombers are usually directed by a commander, and believe in a fundamental sense they are acting to save the world, he added in a New York Times interview.

Dr. Jerrold Post is Chief Scientist in Political Psychology at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (CADS), a non-profit, non-governmental national security group that applies the intent-centric paradigm to promote research, innovation and education in the fields of information sciences, cognitive studies and information security.

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