Relatives of Indonesian student killed in Va.Tech shooting criticise US gun laws

Описание: (20 Apr 2007)
1. Wide of relatives gathered in family house of Indonesian student Partahi Lumbantoruan, who was killed in Virginia Tech shooting
2. Family photos and flowers on table next to photo of Partahi Lumbantoruan
3. Grieving relatives
4. Wide of Lumbantoruan's father, Tohom Lumbantoruan, speaking to journalists
5. SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian) Tohom Lumbantoruan, Father of Virginia Tech Shooting Victim:
"We demand a chronological explanation about the distribution of guns in the United States, about how freely an ordinary citizen could carry a gun on to campus and kill dozens of people, including our son who was the source of all our hope in God's name."
6. STILL photo of Partahi Lumbantoruan
7. SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian) Laelani, Aunt of Virginia Tech Shooting Victim:
"We regretted that in such an advanced nation a student could bring a gun on to campus without anybody else noticing. We questioned the safety (of living) there."
8. Family of victim hugging guests at family house
STORYLINE:
Relatives of an Indonesian student killed in the Virginia Tech shooting criticised the liberal gun control laws in the United States on Friday.
Partahi Lumbantoruan, who was 34, had been studying civil engineering at Virginia Tech for three years.
He died two semesters short of achieving his doctorate.
His father, Tohom Lumbantoruan, demanded to know on Friday how a student at the university was able to carry a gun onto campus and murder 32 students and staff.
"We demand a chronological explanation about the distribution of guns in the United States, about how freely an ordinary citizen could carry a gun on to campus and kill dozens of people, including our son who was the source of all our hope in God's name," said Tohom Lumbantoruan, a 66-year old retired army colonel.
His sentiments were echoed by Lumbantoruan's aunt, Laelani, who questioned how, in "such an advanced nation" as the United States, a student could carry a gun onto campus without anyone else noticing.
South Korean student Cho Seung-Hui killed Lumbantoruan and 31 others at the sprawling US campus on Monday before turning the gun on himself, sparking fresh criticism worldwide about the country's liberal gun laws.
The massacre occurred almost eight years to the day after a rampage at Columbine High School in the US state of Colorado left 15 dead, including the two student gunmen.
A private funeral ceremony were held for Lumbantoruan in Blacksburg on Thursday,
His family hoped the body would be returned to Jakarta soon so he could be buried alongside his birth mother, who dies when he was three.
Lumbantoruan was among 16 Indonesian students at Virginia Tech, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

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