Families Skeptical of Va. Tech Panel

Jun 12, 05:00 AM

Current Headlines: By Kevin Johnson

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Relatives of Virginia Tech University shooting victims challenged the credibility of a state panel investigating the massacre on Monday, demanding that a family representative be appointed to join the eight-member committee.

Speaking for 13 of the 32 victims' families, an emotional Peter Read, whose daughter was killed in the April 16 rampage, also called for the immediate release of student gunman Seung Hui Cho's mental health records and for a separate federal commission to review the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history.

Cho, who killed himself after the mass shooting, had been referred for treatment after being declared emotionally unstable in 2005. He never followed through on a continuing treatment order issued by a local judge. Privacy laws prevent the release of any treatment records.

"We are of one mind that we must, and will, be represented by membership in the work of this panel," Read told the committee during a public hearing at George Mason University.

Kevin Hall, spokesman for Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, said there was no immediate plan to expand the investigating committee. Hall said all eight members were appointed for their "special expertise" to help determine what went wrong and how to prevent a future tragedy.

Without family representation and with limited access to Cho's medical records, Holly Sherman, whose daughter was killed in the attack, said the panel could reach a conclusion "that may not be accurate."

The families also have called into question a special $7 million university fund, the Hokie Spirit Fund, created in part to honor the 27 students and five faculty members killed in the assault.

"We expect that a university which takes the names and images of 32 victims for vast fundraising purposes will, at the very least, consult with the families on how this money is raised and how it is being disbursed," Read said on behalf of the 13 families.

President Bush on Wednesday will receive a federal report he ordered on the Virginia Tech shootings. Bush had asked his Cabinet to talk to mental health and education experts to recommend ways to avoid a repeat of the slayings. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.