The family of Cho Seung-hui, the man who killed 32 people during a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University, says "he has made the world weep."
In a written statement released late Friday, Sun-Kyung Cho, the gunman's sister, says her family is heartbroken over the tragedy, and apologized to the families of her brother's victims. She says the family never knew he was capable of such actions, which she described as "unspeakable."
Sun-Kyung Cho says her family feels "helpless, hopeless and lost." Her brother, who she referred to by his traditional Korean name of Seung-Hui Cho, killed himself Monday after committing the worst shooting massacre in U.S. history.
Earlier Friday, people across the United States observed a day of mourning for the victims.
Virginia observed an official statewide day of mourning, while church bells tolled from coast to coast. Memorial services and funerals were planned as far as away as Israel, where Liviu Libreascu, 76, was buried. Librescu, a Holocaust survivor and engineering professor at Virginia Tech, died blocking the door of his classroom as the gunman approached, giving his students time to jump out the window and escape.
President Bush wore a necktie on Friday with the school's colors, orange and maroon. He ordered officials at the departments at Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services to speak with mental health care experts, educators and others to determine how to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
