Virginia killer sent package to NBC News

The man identified by police as the Virginia Tech shooter sent a package containing images, Quicktime videos and documents to NBC News on the day of the massacre, it has emerged.

"NBC received a communication from Cho Seung-Hui, the man identified by police as the Virginia Tech shooter, via the US Mail this morning and immediately turned it over to the authorities," the network said in a short statement released on Wednesday night. "The package included images, videos and writings, and appears to have been mailed between the two shootings. We are cooperating fully with the authorities."

Brian Williams, anchor of NBC's Nightly News programme, called the package a "multimedia manifesto" and said that NBC's copy was being reviewed in conjunction with law enforcement and the network's standards department.

Police have commended NBC for handling the package "with dignity" and ensuring that the originals were turned over immediately to America's Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a statement, police said that the package "may be a very new, critical component of this investigation."