Six killed in shootings at NIU
The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. during a geology class in a large lecture classroom in Cole Hall, authorities said. The gunman, who CNN has identified as Steven Kazmierczak, entered through a back door and came through a curtain behind the stage before opening fire on the students.
"The assailant began firing into the assembled class from the stage," NIU President John G. Peters said at a news conference Thursday evening.
"Eyewitness accounts describe a very brief rapid-fire assault that ended with the gunman taking his own life."
Four of the victims who were killed were female, and one was male, Peters said. They were all undergraduate students. The wounded included 15 undergraduate students and one graduate student who was acting as a teacher's assistant, Peters said.
According to The Washington Post, four of the deceased have been identified as Catalina Garcia, 20; Julianna Gehant, 32; Ryanne Mace, 19; and Daniel Parmenter, 20.
Four, including the gunman, died at the scene, and three died later in a hospital, Peters said.
The gunman was a sociology graduate student who was enrolled in classes at NIU last spring but was not currently enrolled there, Peters said.
Authorities were not releasing his identity Thursday night but said they were not aware of any criminal history or violence in his past.
The gunman was found dead on the stage of the lecture hall, NIU Police Chief Donald Grady said. The shooter had a shotgun, a Glock pistol and one other small-caliber handgun, with ammunition still left in both handguns, Grady said. He said gun magazines were found "all over the floor."
"We believe there was only one shooter," Grady said. The shooting was "over in a matter of minutes," he said.
Peters said the motive for the "senseless tragedy" was unknown, but authorities had "no reason to believe" it was related to threats found on a bathroom wall on campus in December. The threats made reference to the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech.
Classes will be canceled at least through Friday, Peters said. Students can go to any residence hall for counseling.
"We're advising them to remain calm, to seek counseling and support services," Peters said. He said the lecture hall remained an active crime scene Thursday night, with Illinois State Police, FBI and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all assisting DeKalb County authorities.
"We will be urgently tracing the firearms and learning the history of the weapons," said ATF Special Agent Thomas Ahern. He said agents will run the weapons through a national tracing center to "learn where they came from and how the shooter came to possess them."
Sophomore Geoff Alberti told his parents he was in the geology class when the gunman entered the auditorium-style classroom through an emergency exit. The gunman did not say anything before opening fire on the class, he told his parents.
"He said at least 20 rounds were fired," said his mother, Marilyn.
In December, the university was placed under a security alert through the end of the semester after police found threats on a bathroom wall that included a racial slur and references to the Virginia Tech shootings.
Two separate messages were found by a student on a restroom wall in the Grant Towers D complex that read that "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester, university officials said at the time.
NIU officials increased campus security and notified everyone on campus about the threats by e-mail, voice mail and fliers.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a state of emergency to help provide resources to deal with the shooting. The declaration provides assistance from state police forensic and emergency teams as well as human resource workers to help in crisis counseling.
"The State of Illinois will provide whatever support and assistance is necessary to university staff and students," Blagojevich said in a statement.
The Virginia Tech administration responded to the shootings by sending condolences to NIU.
In a statement sent to all Virginia Tech students, Tech president Charles Steger said, "This horrific news will certainly bring to mind the hurt, pain, and trauma we experienced less than a year ago. I have sent my condolences and offer of assistance to the president of NIU. Our university community was bolstered and comforted by the outpouring of support from campuses around the nation and the world. I am sure that expressions of support from the Virginia Tech community will mean much to that now suffering campus community."
Steger also encouraged Tech students to reach out to one another and seek counseling if necessary.
"I am convinced that our university community coped because of our care and concern for every member of the extended Hokie Family. I ask you to look out for your each other and seek help through university services if necessary," Steger said.
According to Christopher Flynn, director of Cooke Counseling Center, Tech doubled its counseling staff last night and extended its hours. Flynn said that the staff may work through the weekend.
Flynn also said that they would be mailing information they had gathered after April 16 to NIU in order to aid the NIU counseling staff.
"We had been taking steps to making sure we were prepared for the one-year anniversary of April 16 for the university, but unfortunately this has brought it up sooner," Flynn said.
Virginia Tech students were both surprised and saddened by the shootings, which struck an all-too-familiar chord for many.
"It's sad, it really is. It's weird seeing it from our perspective now," said Victoria Pryor, a senior in biochemistry. It's just crazy seeing it from the other end."
Story by Jason Meisner, Jeremy Gorner and Tina Shah from the Chicago Tribune. Tech reporting by CT News Staff.
