By Philip Rucker and Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 23, 2007

An initial autopsy of the Virginia Tech gunman found no brain function abnormalities that could explain the rampage that left 32 people dead at the Blacksburg university, a state medical examiner said yesterday.

Brain tissue has been retained for additional microscopic examination, but the body of Seung Hui Cho has been cleared for release to his family, said William Massello, an assistant state medical examiner.

"As to whether I found any other abnormalities in the brain, the answer is not on gross pathology examination," he said. "There will be microscopic examinations, but I do not anticipate finding anything."

Massello said autopsies of Cho's 32 victims revealed that he fired "more than 100" bullets into them.

"Some were hit once; some were hit several times, more than once. We had two, three, four, maybe even as high as six." Massello, one of four state officials who conducted the autopsies, said in a telephone interview.

The autopsies show that many victims suffered so-called defensive wounds, Massello said, meaning the victims were trying to protect themselves when killed.

"A lot of times, the bullet will go through the leg or arm before it actually enters the head, and that's an indication that the person was trying to block the bullet and had their hand or leg up in a defensive nature," Massello said.

Cho fired an as-yet undetermined number of shots in addition to the estimated 100 that struck those killed. About 30 people were injured, some from gunshot wounds and others while trying to flee.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Saturday that Cho purchased two empty cartridge clips March 22 from the Internet auction site eBay. The clips were designed for one of the two types of guns Cho used, the news service reported.

EBay spokeswoman Hani Durzy said that the purchase of the two clips from an Idaho seller were legal and that the company has cooperated with authorities, according to AP.

Cho, 23, used the handle "blazers5505" to buy the clips. He also used the Web site to sell tickets to Virginia Tech football games and books from a Contemporary Horror class on the eBay-affiliated Web site Half.com.

All postings related to the shooter had been removed as of yesterday afternoon.

In a condition update of one of the shooting victims, the parents of Justin Klein, 20, of Catonsville, Md., said in a statement: "His medical condition continues to improve, and he is expected to be released from the hospital shortly." Their statement did not say where he is hospitalized.

A junior majoring in engineering science and mechanics, Klein suffered three gunshot wounds, two to his right leg and one to his left elbow, according to the family's statement.

Klein is a dean's list student and an officer of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. A lifelong resident of Catonsville, he is a 2004 graduate of Catonsville High School, where he belonged to the honor and math societies. He is an Eagle Scout and a member of Catonsville United Methodist Church.

His parents, Ross and Diane Klein, and brother, Ryan, released a joint statement saying, "Justin's courage and strength have been an inspiration to his family, friends and fellow Hokies. Justin and his family have been overwhelmed with expressions of concern, love and support."

And in Alexandria yesterday, 32 mothers whose children attend the same preschool dressed in black and lay side by side in front of City Hall to honor the victims of the shootings. Each woman draped a thick ribbon of orange and maroon -- Virginia Tech's colors -- around her neck.

Several of the women said they were so troubled by the shootings that they felt they had to do something, anything to raise awareness about Virginia's gun control laws.

"It takes longer for me to get my car washed than it takes to get a gun" in Virginia, said Abigail Spangler, an Alexandria mother of three who organized the event. "There's just something wrong about that."

Staff writer Lori Aratani and staff researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.