NIU Shooting

Stories

19 Stories

July 2008
- Mental Illness Drove NIU Killer to Suicide Tries
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jul 10, 08 2:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The shooter who left 5 dead and 15 injured at Northern Illinois University in February had tried to kill himself four times, an investigative effort by Esquire finds. “I want to die. Life sucks,” Steve Kazmierczak told a nurse after attempting to overdose on prescription medication while in high school in suburban Chicago. More »
April 2008
- NIU Shooter Saw Himself as Sensitive Victim
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 21, 08 12:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Steven Kazmierczak didn’t leave a note before his deadly February shooting spree at Northern Illinois University, nor clues to his motivations on his computer or cell phone. But in essays for graduate-school applications, the Chicago Tribune reports, the future killer writes extensively about his life and his mental problems—including a stint in a group home. More »
March 2008
- Va. Tech, NIU Gun Dealer: Arm Students
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 5, 08 1:29 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Eric Thompson sold guns to both the Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech shooters, but he’s not apologizing for it. “I’m a businessman,” he tells the Los Angeles Times . “It’s a product.” But Thompson thinks he knows how to stop such violence: allow students to carry guns. “We know it’s going to happen again. It’s time to hit it head on.” More »
February 2008
- Students Aren't Signing Up for Text Alert Systems
  
  Associated Press | Feb 28, 08 6:15 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Campus shootings keep making headlines, and schools are increasingly adopting text message alert systems as a response—but students aren't jumping on the bandwagon, the AP reports. Experts chalk up low enrollment rates to students' sense of invincibility, unwillingness to reveal personal information and the cost of receiving texts. "It will take time to earn their trust," said one spokesman. More »
- Questions Linger as NIU Classes Resume
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 25, 08 9:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - As Northern Illinois University resumes classes today, the prevailing feeling is uncertainty. One professor will leave it up to her class whether to stick to the syllabus or talk about the Valentine's Day shooting that left five students dead. Others question whether the semester's grading standards should change and wonder what will become of the scene of the tragedy, reports the Chicago Tribune. More »
- Police Can't Find Motive in NIU Shooting
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 20, 08 8:53 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The student who killed five at Northern Illinois University last week took pains to stump investigators ahead of time, police say. Steven Kazmierczak pulled his computer’s hard drive and his phone’s SIM card; he also revealed little in a package to his former girlfriend. "The one thing I want to know is motive," NIU Police Chief Donald Grady said today. But he couldn't "even begin to assume a motive yet." More »
- Lover Airs NIU Shooter's Letter
  
  CNN | Feb 18, 08 6:48 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The girlfriend of the gunman who murdered five students at Northern Illinois University Thursday talked to him every day last week, including the night before the shooting spree, and detected nothing amiss. "He wasn't erratic. He wasn't delusional. He was Steve; he was normal," Jessica Baty, 28, told CNN. Steven Kazmierczak, who killed himself after the carnage, sent her parting gifts and a love letter that read: "You've done so much for me, and I truly do love you. Don't forget about me!" More »
- NIU Shooting Victims Profiled
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 16, 08 2:08 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - An Army Corps of Engineers vet who wanted to be a first grade teacher. A violinist who knit for fun. A rugby player and frat man who worked for the student newspaper. The Chicago Tribune profiles the five students gunned down in their oceanography class Thursday at North Illinois University, while police are still searching for the killer's motive. All of the victims—four of them women—had Illinois hometowns. More »
- Police Piece Together Shooter's Trail
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 16, 08 10:43 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Before his shooting rampage at NIU, Steven Kazmierczak spent two days in a motel, taking cold medicine and drinking Red Bull, the Chicago Tribune reports. He left behind no note, only a sealed duffel bag filled with gun ammo. Kazmierczak, who had stopped taking medication for anxiety, also sent his ex-girlfriend packages loaded with gun accessories. He instructed her not to open them until Valentine’s Day. More »
- Same Gun Dealer Supplied NIU and Va. Tech Killers
  
  Associated Press | Feb 16, 08 5:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An online gun dealer who helped arm the Virginia Tech shooter also sold accessories to the killer in Thursday's Northern Illinois University rampage, the AP reports. "I'm still blown away by the coincidences," said Eric Thompson, whose company, TGSCOM, is based in Green Bay. He called a federal agency yesterday when he realized he had sold two magazines and a holster to Illinois shooter Stephen Kazmierczak. More »
- Gunman Was Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 15, 08 5:54 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Northern Illinois University profs and students who knew Stephen Kazmierczak said today they were stunned by his transformation into a killer: “I knew him as a warm, sensitive, very bright student,” one professor said in disbelief. "I have had him in my home." A mentor told the Chicago Tribune , "He was the most gentle, even guy." A fellow student said he was "probably the best student in the class." More »
- States Weigh Allowing Guns on Campuses
  
  USA Today | Feb 15, 08 5:23 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Twelve states are considering bills that would allow people to carry guns at public universities, USA Today reports, a response to last year's Virginia Tech massacre. "The only way to stop a person with a gun is another person with a gun," says a University of Cincinnati sophomore who has a license but is barred from having a weapon on campus. More »
- Web Connects Mourning NIU Students
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 15, 08 1:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - With cellphone lines on much of the campus jammed, Northern Illinois University students turned to the Internet to let friends and loved ones know they had survived yesterday’s shooting and to console each other, the Chicago Tribune reports. Most logged on to Facebook, where 10,000 joined a prayer group, while others updated status messages to proclaim themselves unharmed. More »
- NIU Gunman Had Stopped Taking Meds
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 15, 08 10:38 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The gunman who killed five and wounded 15 in a Northern Illinois University lecture hall yesterday was identified this morning as Steven Kazmierczak, an ex-NIU grad student who had won top sociology department honors, the Chicago Tribune reports. "There were no red flags," said the campus police chief. But police said this morning he had recently stopped taking regular medication and had been behaving erratically. More »
- 6th Student Dies in NIU Shooting
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 15, 08 5:29 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A sixth victim of the gunman who opened fire in an Illinois college classroom yesterday has died and at least four more remain in critical condition. The assailant, a former grad student at Northern Illinois University, entered through a door to the right of the lecture stage and silently started shooting. He fired a shotgun at the more than 100 students in Geology 104, then shot and wounded the instructor with a handgun, and then shot himself. More »
- 7 Dead in NIU Shooting; 4 Identified
  
  RedEye | Feb 15, 08
  
  A seventh person has died in the shooting, according to DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller. In addition, he 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.
- Scene of the NIU Shooting
  
  ABC News | Feb 15, 08
  
  3 p.m.: Officers respond to a call of shots fired on campus, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. 3:07 p.m.: Campus is locked down, according to NIU President John G. Peters. 3:20 p.m.: A message appears on the NIU Web site that reads: "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."
- College Shooter Kills 5, Self
  
  Chicago Tribune | Feb 14, 08 6:06 PM CST
  
  (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. More »
- NIU Shooting Timeline
  
  http://wgntv.trb.com

News Sections

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Stories

Mental Illness Drove NIU Killer to Suicide Tries

NIU Shooter Saw Himself as Sensitive Victim

Va. Tech, NIU Gun Dealer: Arm Students

Students Aren't Signing Up for Text Alert Systems

Questions Linger as NIU Classes Resume

Police Can't Find Motive in NIU Shooting

Lover Airs NIU Shooter's Letter

NIU Shooting Victims Profiled

Police Piece Together Shooter's Trail

Same Gun Dealer Supplied NIU and Va. Tech Killers

Gunman Was Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'

States Weigh Allowing Guns on Campuses

Web Connects Mourning NIU Students

NIU Gunman Had Stopped Taking Meds

6th Student Dies in NIU Shooting

7 Dead in NIU Shooting; 4 Identified

Scene of the NIU Shooting

College Shooter Kills 5, Self

NIU Shooting Timeline