This was a tragedy that could have been much worse.
The suspect, had a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic rifle, a Smith & Wesson Model 39 pistol, a box of Winchester .223 ammunition, two Glock 9-millimeter magazines, and a special trigger designed to increase the rate of fire.
Students are not permitted to have weapons on University of Virginia property.
On Oct. 26, after the suspect “repeatedly refused to cooperate” with the investigation, student affairs sent him an email warning him that his failure to report his prior weapons conviction would be referred to the Student Judicial Council. That referral was never made.
It is becoming clearer that the Threat Assessment process did not work. We need to take this process very seriously in the country since it is apparent from what we know of this shooting and many priors that an effective Threat Assessment Process may have prevented some terrible incidents from occurring.