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September 6, 2008 12:06:39 AM CDT

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College Shooter Kills 5, Self

Posted Feb 14, 08 6:06 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – A gunman opened fire in a packed lecture hall at Northern Illinois University today, killing five students before fatally shooting himself, the Chicago Tribune reports. Another 16 people were wounded. Witnesses say the gunman, clad in black, entered the lecture hall without speaking and opened fire. He had a shotgun and two handguns. Police identified him only as a former grad student with no apparent criminal history.

"We were sitting in the fourth row and the guy came in from behind where the professor was speaking," a witness told NBC5 Chicago. "He had a black beany, like a long black trench coat, and a shotgun, and he just walked in and just started shooting at people randomly." One victim was a graduate student, and the rest were undergraduates.

Sources: Chicago Tribune, NBC5 Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times

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In this photo provided by the student-run Northern Star newspaper, rescue workers carry an unidentified victim from the scene of a shooting at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,...   (Associated Press)
Graphic shows map of Illinois. A gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, authorities said. (AP Graphic)   (Associated Press)
In this photo provided by the student-run Northern Star newspaper, rescue workers carry an unidentified victim from the scene of a shooting at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,...   (Associated Press)
In this photo provided by the student-run Northern Star newspaper, rescue workers carry an unidentified victim from the scene of a shooting at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,...   (Associated Press)
In this photo provided by the student-run Northern Star newspaper, a Dekalb Ill., a police officer stands at the scene of a shooting at a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.,...   (Associated Press)
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college  • shooting  • Illinois  • school shooting  • Northern Illinois University  • DeKalb


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