The Medical Examiner's office in DeKalb, Illinois revised the death toll in the NIU shooting this morning to five plus the shooter, for a total of six deaths. Previously the report had been seven deaths.
DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller released the identities of four of the victims: Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville; and Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meridan.
Friday morning, the gunman was identified as
27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak. He lived in a community near the university in DeKalb, Illinois. He won the Dean's Award for Sociology while he was a student at NIU. He was vice-president of the NIU Academic Criminal Justice Association in 2005, and he also
contributed to an article on self-injury in prisons.
Kazmierczak did not have a permit to carry a weapon. At a briefing this morning, police said Kazmierczak had been on "medication" and recently had stopped taking it and had been acting
irradicly. Police did not say what medication he had used or why it had been prescribed.See
this photo collection of the shooting aftermath from The Chicago TribuneMSNBC reported:
NIU was shut down for a day in December after graffiti were scrawled on a restroom wall warning of a shooting on campus. A spokesman said the warning, which was discovered Dec. 10, made reference to massacre of 33 people last year at Virginia Tech University, but he said it could not be immediately determined whether the threat was related to Thursday’s shootings.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time that an unknown person posted the graffiti in the Grant Towers D complex residence hall. It included a racial slur and the notation, “What time? The VA tech shooters messed up w/ having only one shooter.”
The school newspaper,
The Northern Star, says the shooter was carrying a shotgun. There have been varying reports of injuries. CNN says Fox Chicago says three or four victims were shot and that the gunman had both a shotgun and a pistol.
WLS-TVWLS RadioWGN TVWBBM RadioWBBM TVWMAQ TVChicagoLand TelevisionThe Sun-TimesThe Chicago TribuneThe Daily HeraldSee live news coverage from Fox Chicago TV.
Here is a chronology from the school's campus security site:
4:31 p.m.
All NIU students are asked to call their parents as soon as possible.
4:24 p.m.
Campus police reiterate that an immediate danger has passed. Students should return to their residence halls and stay there. All classes are cancelled and all NIU campuses are closed for tonight and tomorrow (2/15/08).
4:14 p.m.
Campus police report that the immediate danger has passed. The gunman is no longer a threat. The DeKalb campus is closed tomorrow. All NIU classes are cancelled and campuses are closed for tonight and tomorrow. Students can go to any residence hall for counseling.
4:10 p.m.
Campus police report that the scene is secure. Only essential personnel should remain on campus.
The following hotlines are available for students & parents.
- 815-753-1573
- 815-753-6143
- 815-753-1574
- 815-753-1575
- 815-753-9564
- 815-753-6257
Counseling is also available on campus for students at the Neptune Dining Hall, Campus Life Building 100 and the Psychological Services Center in the Psychology/Computer Science Building. Students may go to any residence hall for counseling.
3:50 p.m.
It has been confirmed that there has been a shooting on campus and several people have been taken away by ambulance. All NIU campuses are closed and classes are cancelled for tonight and tomorrow (2/15/08) on the DeKalb campus. People are urged not to come to campus. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
3:40 p.m.
All classes on the DeKalb campus are cancelled for tonight. All NIU campuses are closed and all classes are cancelled for tonight and tomorrow (2/15/08).
3:20 p.m.
There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity.
School Facts:
Location
- DeKalb, Ill., is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and 45 minutes southeast of Rockford.
- Main campus in DeKalb (population 40,000) spans 755 acres.
- NIU also operates outreach centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford and Oregon, Ill.
Programs of Study
- seven degree-granting colleges
- 55 undergraduate majors
- 75 graduate programs, including 10 Ph.D. programs, doctoral degrees in education and the Juris Doctorate
Student to Faculty Ratio
Students
- 91 percent from Illinois
- 46 percent men, 54 percent women
- 26 percent ethnic minorities
- 862 international students from 88 nations
Faculty
