9mm vs. .22lr in the Virginia Tech Shooting?

ScottRiqui · October 21, 2012, 07:13 PM

In the VT shooting, Cho used a 9mm Glock and Walther P22, which I think is a strange combination of pistols to use for his purposes, to say the least. Of the 49 killed/injured in the attack, did any of the publicly-available reports after the shooting break down the number of killed/injured by caliber?

Winchester_73 · October 21, 2012, 07:52 PM

I think its pretty obvious given that he had high cap 9mm magazines and the power difference between the two, that the 9mm glock was more lethal. IIRC he used both at once, so it would be hard to tell which one killed who. I don't remember any reports breaking the deaths down by the caliber.

Regarding it being an odd choice of backup arm, I think he didn't have much choice. It was apparent by the profile of the shooter that he didn't have much about life figured out, and that he wasn't very successful. In turn, he probably did not have much money or a good job. So then he did not have many guns, and likely only owned those two. If he had several to pick from, and chose that P22, which aside from cal is a lower quality gun, then you would have a point. However, there is no info to support that he had other choices. He could have saved money towards a better gun than the Walther, but with people like him, the right place and time (to him) is more important than having perfect weapons. He knew he would catch everyone by surprise, he knew it was a gun free zone, etc and so he did not need 2 great guns, or an AK or any other better group of weapons. Unfortunately, he knew he would kill innocent people anyways.

It was a total tragedy and the idea that gun free zones make everyone safe makes me sick.

Yung.gunr · October 21, 2012, 09:26 PM

Not sure which is more strange, his handgun choice or the questions regarding it...

Winchester_73 · October 21, 2012, 11:54 PM

Good point yung gunr.....I looked at it differently at first.

labhound · October 22, 2012, 12:02 AM

Strange question, thread probably needs to go away!

ScottRiqui · October 22, 2012, 12:06 AM

I'm just curious, that's all.

From a research standpoint, you have a single shooter, wielding two weapons that are significantly different, but not so different as to make comparisons between them worthless, as would be the case if he had, say, an AR-15 and a P22. You also have a large number of fairly-similar victims shot, all but two of whom were shot under similar circumstances, in a single almost-uninterrupted spree.

With so many other variables held constant, I'm just wondering if any of the published reports compared the number of injuries/fatalities from the two different weapons.

Coach Z · October 22, 2012, 12:34 AM

While certainly a very sensitive subject I agree that if we can briefly look past the tragedy and analyze the data clinically it would be a very good real world caliber vs. shot placement example.

I'm truly not trying to stir anyone up and I apologize in advance to anyone who takes offense to this.

my $.02

tipoc · October 22, 2012, 01:30 AM

Quote:

While certainly a very sensitive subject I agree that if we can briefly look past the tragedy and analyze the data clinically it would be a very good real world caliber vs. shot placement example.

Why not toss in the results of the Colorado shootings as well?

Actually it would tell you very little that was useful unless you had a degree of detail that cannot be obtained (neither the families nor the police would allow it and some they do not have and cannot have). It would fuel some morbid and grotesque discussions though and titillate some. Best to drop it and close this thread.

tipoc

Art Eatman · October 22, 2012, 07:30 AM

For those who are serious about such information, the best source IMO would be the coroner's report.

Here? Just speculation.

October 21, 2012, 07:13 PM	#1
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	9mm vs. .22lr in the Virginia Tech Shooting? In the VT shooting, Cho used a 9mm Glock and Walther P22, which I think is a strange combination of pistols to use for his purposes, to say the least. Of the 49 killed/injured in the attack, did any of the publicly-available reports after the shooting break down the number of killed/injured by caliber?

October 21, 2012, 07:52 PM	#2
Winchester_73 Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2008 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 2,863	I think its pretty obvious given that he had high cap 9mm magazines and the power difference between the two, that the 9mm glock was more lethal. IIRC he used both at once, so it would be hard to tell which one killed who. I don't remember any reports breaking the deaths down by the caliber. Regarding it being an odd choice of backup arm, I think he didn't have much choice. It was apparent by the profile of the shooter that he didn't have much about life figured out, and that he wasn't very successful. In turn, he probably did not have much money or a good job. So then he did not have many guns, and likely only owned those two. If he had several to pick from, and chose that P22, which aside from cal is a lower quality gun, then you would have a point. However, there is no info to support that he had other choices. He could have saved money towards a better gun than the Walther, but with people like him, the right place and time (to him) is more important than having perfect weapons. He knew he would catch everyone by surprise, he knew it was a gun free zone, etc and so he did not need 2 great guns, or an AK or any other better group of weapons. Unfortunately, he knew he would kill innocent people anyways. It was a total tragedy and the idea that gun free zones make everyone safe makes me sick. __________________ Winchester 73, the TFL user that won the west

October 21, 2012, 11:54 PM	#4
Winchester_73 Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2008 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 2,863	Good point yung gunr.....I looked at it differently at first. __________________ Winchester 73, the TFL user that won the west

October 22, 2012, 12:06 AM	#6
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	I'm just curious, that's all. From a research standpoint, you have a single shooter, wielding two weapons that are significantly different, but not so different as to make comparisons between them worthless, as would be the case if he had, say, an AR-15 and a P22. You also have a large number of fairly-similar victims shot, all but two of whom were shot under similar circumstances, in a single almost-uninterrupted spree. With so many other variables held constant, I'm just wondering if any of the published reports compared the number of injuries/fatalities from the two different weapons. Last edited by ScottRiqui; October 22, 2012 at 12:20 AM.

October 22, 2012, 12:34 AM	#7
Coach Z Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2011 Location: RI Posts: 795	While certainly a very sensitive subject I agree that if we can briefly look past the tragedy and analyze the data clinically it would be a very good real world caliber vs. shot placement example. I'm truly not trying to stir anyone up and I apologize in advance to anyone who takes offense to this. my $.02 __________________ Love my guns

October 21, 2012, 09:26 PM	#3
Yung.gunr Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2010 Location: Phoenix area Posts: 1,442	Not sure which is more strange, his handgun choice or the questions regarding it...

October 22, 2012, 12:02 AM	#5
labhound Senior Member Join Date: August 24, 2010 Posts: 363	Strange question, thread probably needs to go away!

October 22, 2012, 07:30 AM	#9
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	For those who are serious about such information, the best source IMO would be the coroner's report. Here? Just speculation.