WoW linked to Virginia Tech suicide

If you haven’t heard yet, another student from Virginia Tech died recently, and once again discussions began to rear their ugly heads at gaming. World of Warcraft was the game pinned to the wall this time around. Though other disputes rose later as details were unveiled, people are looking back once again to the tragic shooting back in April 2007.

Daniel Kim, a senior at Virginia Tech, was found dead in the parking lot of a Target store in Christiansburg, VA. Preliminary investigation immediately determined that the 21-year old died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Upon further investigation, it was found that Kim was an avid World of Warcraft gamer, thus linking another tragic death to gaming.

While official reports do peg that Kim spent hours online on Blizzard Entertainment’s cash cow MMORPG, the fact that players he befriended online were aware and duly concerned of Kim’s waning emotional health also did not go unnoticed.

Apparently, emails from his WoW pals were sent to Virginia Tech in hopes that the administration would resolve Kim’s emotional issues before things got out of hand.

Shaun Pribush, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, explicitly stated that they knew Kim had purchased a US$ 200 pistol and had tried to commit suicide several times before. It was noted that the such attempts failed before, and Pribush remained in contact with university officials to ensure Kim’s safety.

Unfortunately, Virginia Tech’s Care Team, the ones in charge of monitoring student welfare, apparently could not prevent the death of another student. Though Kim was found and questioned before he committed suicide, the young male replied that he was okay. The police and the Care Team did not press further.

While several third-parties have begun to question the manner that the case was handled – and how it ended so tragically despite ample time and warning – there were a few parties that were allegedly linking Kim’s death to gaming.

Additional information we’ve scrounged for did not explicitly name World of Warcraft as the reason for the Kim’s suicidal tendencies. In fact, it has been speculated by many experts commenting on the recent incident to be the effect of low self-esteem. Further insight into the case eventually revealed that Kim may have been emotionally distraught from a case of identity crisis.

William Kim, Daniel’s father, revealed that his son had a haircut one evening after coming home to Reston, Virginia. Apparently, the haircut was said to have disappointed Daniel. William said it made him look too much like Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter of the April 2007 killings at the same university. “He said ‘I look just the same, they can’t tell the difference,'” William Kim said.

Months after the shootings, William noted that his son left home donning a cap and sunglasses to disguise his looks. And disguises seemed to be the young male’s forte, for his father and even his sister, Jeannette Kim, couldn’t tell if anything else was wrong. More details on this as we come across them.

We extend our deepest condolences to Daniel Kim’s family and friends. This is truly a tragic loss – to loved ones, to classmates, and to fellow gamers alike.