The second-year Penn Law student who allegedly fired nearly 15 shots into his neighbors' apartment door last Wednesday was arraigned and held without bail Friday on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, burglary and other related offenses, Lt. John Walker of the Philadelphia Police Department said.
Joseph Cho, 31, suspected that his downstairs neighbors at 4339 Pine St. - two male Drexel University undergraduates - were spies and shot the lock off their door in an attempt to harm them, police officials said.
The two Drexel students were not injured in the incident.
Cho has been temporarily suspended from Penn Law's J.D. program, Dean Michael Fitts said in a meeting with Penn Law students and staff members Thursday. The Law School's Committee on Student Conduct and Responsibility will make a final decision on disciplinary action for Cho sometime in the near future, he said.
At the meeting, Law School officials said that they did not believe Cho had committed prior physical acts against anyone else, but that he had made ethnic slurs prior to the shooting.
In a September 2005 incident, Cho told a group of German students that he didn't like Germans, law school officials said. Cho later apologized and said it was wrong of him to have made the remark.
Pat Brennan, director of special services, said the University is making attempts to ensure that Cho receives support, likely involving psychological help, University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said.
Gary Clinton, Penn Law dean for student affairs, said Law School officials would need to "discuss how to get this guy not only legal help but also emotional support for whatever else is going on."
Doyle said the University is primarily focused on the concerns of Penn students and staff but is also interested in Cho's well being.
In an e-mail to the Penn Law community, Fitts called the incident "unprecedented," and other officials expressed similar sentiments.
"To my knowledge, we've never had anything like this happen at the Law School," Brennan said in an interview.
Drexel University officials did not return repeated requests for comment.
Penn Law students generally described Cho as quiet - a characteristic they found strange, considering the emphasis on participation in law schools.
"I didn't pay attention to him," said third-year Law student Jonathan Zhou, who took a commercial-credit class with Cho this semester. "He didn't answer questions, didn't react to the class."
Matt Mills, a third-year Law student who was assigned to meet with Cho during Cho's Law School orientation in 2005, said Cho was "really quiet," "a little stand-off-ish" and "intense."
He added that he did not know Cho well - he only saw him occasionally following first-year orientation - but that he was surprised by the shooting.
Clinton said he had met Cho several times and described him as "very hardworking and very focused."
"It's a shock, and it's a very sad thing," he added.
A resident of the apartment who requested anonymity because the case is ongoing said he did not know Cho well but was surprised and worried by the shooting.
"It's a very disturbing thing," he said. "It was pretty unexpected. The guys downstairs are really fine people."
Penn Law and Division of Public Safety officials said they were not aware of any other Penn students who live in the building.
Cho faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday at 8 a.m.
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