Virginia Tech panel calls for change after rampage

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) Virginia Tech university should increase counseling for troubled students and monitor those who may turn violent, according to a school review released today, months after the deadliest shooting rampage in modern US history.

The school should also install locks in classrooms and consider adding surveillance cameras, according to three reports ordered by the school after student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and himself on April 16.

The reports also said the school should expand its emergency-notification system. The school set up a system in July that can send emergency text messages to cell phones.

School authorities have faced criticism for not locking down campus after Cho shot his first two victims in a dormitory. Two hours later, he turned up on the other side of campus to kill 30 others.

School President Charles Steger, in prepared remarks released with the reports, said it was not possible to completely secure such a large campus, which is home to about 25,000 full-time students.

The reports did not examine Cho's motivations for carrying out the massacre.

They also did not examine how he was able to buy the two weapons used in his rampage at an off-campus gun shop, despite being investigated for stalking and being treated for mental illness.

Instead, the reports focused on how authorities can better identify and treat other troubled students.

The reports called for more counselors at the school's mental-health center and more consistent interpretation of student privacy laws.

A separate investigation established by Virginia Gov.

Timothy Kaine is expected to release its own report next week.

REUTERS CS BST0231