Northern Illinois University shooting
Encyclopedia
The Northern Illinois University shooting was a school shooting that took place on February 14, 2008, during which Steven Kazmierczak shot multiple people on the campus of Northern Illinois University
in DeKalb
, Illinois
, United States, killing five and injuring twenty-one, before committing suicide.
The incident happened at the campus's Cole Hall at approximately 3:05 p.m. local time. The school placed the campus on lockdown; students and teachers were advised to head to a secure location, take cover, and avoid the scene and all buildings in the vicinity of the area. Six people died in the incident, including the perpetrator, making it the fourth-deadliest university shooting in United States history, after the Virginia Tech massacre
, the University of Texas Clock Tower shooting
, and the California State University, Fullerton massacre
.
After the incident, the university administration cancelled all classes for the rest of the week as well as the following week.
At approximately 3:05 p.m. CST, Steven Kazmierczak entered a large auditorium-style lecture hall
in Cole Hall (Auditorium 101) with approximately 120 students, where an oceanography
class was in session. Kazmierczak was wearing dark brown boots with laces, jeans, a black t-shirt with the word "Terrorist" written across the chest imposed over an image of an assault rifle, a coat, a black knit hat, and a black utility belt with two magazine holsters, a holster for a handgun, three handguns (a 9mm Glock
, a 9mm Sig Sauer, and a .380 Hi-Point), eight loaded magazines, and a knife. He also carried in a Remington 870
shotgun
concealed in a guitar case. Once he donned the weapons, he approached the auditorium. Kazmierczak entered the auditorium from the vestibule, using a door at the extreme southwest corner of the room, which led directly to the stage in front of the classroom; it was there he stood and fired into the crowd of students. He opened the door with such extreme force that many witnesses described him as "kicking the door in".
Kazmierczak walked a short distance across the stage and fired into the crowd of students with the shotgun. He then shot at the instructor, who was standing on the east side of the stage, going over a test that was held during the previous class meeting. The instructor tried to run out the exit at the southeast corner of the room, but that door was locked. The instructor proceeded towards the east end of the classroom out the main exits, in which the students were trying to exit. Some students who were not able to immediately escape hid under or in between the seats. When Kazmericzak paused to reload after firing three rounds, some students shouted "He's reloading" and began to escape. Others continued to hide or were too shocked to react.
Once he expended all available shotgun rounds (six rounds), Kazmericzak fired on the room's remaining occupants with the 9mm Glock pistol, firing a total of approximately 50 rounds. He was reported to have walked up and down the west aisle and directly in front of or on the stage, firing at people as he went. 55 unexpended rounds of ammunition were recovered from the scene, including two fully loaded magazines containing rounds for a .380 semi-automatic pistol.
A total of 25 people were shot, six of whom died (including the perpetrator, who shot himself before police arrived). One witness reported that at least 30 shots were fired by the gunman; police later collected 48 shell casings and 6 shotgun shells.
At the time of the shootings, Kazmierczak was a graduate student in the school of social work
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
; he was also a former NIU Sociology graduate student. NIU Police Chief Donald Grady described him as "an outstanding student" who reportedly stopped taking medication recently and became "somewhat erratic".
call of an active shooter was reported at 3:06 p.m. Seven seconds later, NIU police officers were notified by the dispatcher. At 3:06:33, NIU police officers Ayala and Zimberoff responded and told dispatchers that they were in the area. Officers Ayala and Zimberoff were driving northbound on Normal Road near Swen Parson Hall, when they encountered students running east from the Martin Luther King Commons area. One student shouted, "He's shooting over there", pointing west towards the MLK Commons area. Officer Hodder was also driving in the area and encountered the same frenzy. The officers proceeded in their vehicles west down the sidewalk until it became unsafe to do so due to the number of students, and then ran towards the scene. On the west side of the King Commons, they encountered Chief Grady, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Henert, who had raced from the Police Station. Also racing to Cole Hall from the Police Station were Sergeant Ellington and Officer Wright. Sergeant Holland was on patrol just south of the area along Lincoln Highway when he heard the call come in, and approached the area. In the MLK Commons, Chief Grady advised the officers to immediately begin attending to victims and identify witnesses and direct them to a room in Holmes Student Center, where they could be interviewed. Some of the officers began attending to injured students that were running from the scene.
While Lieutenant Henert established perimeters around Cole Hall, Lieutenant Mitchell and Chief Grady entered the building, where they met with Sergeant Holland, Sergeant Ellington, and Officer Wright. Sergeant Ellington, who was the first officer to arrive on the scene, evacuated the adjacent auditorium, and met with the other officers in the front walkway. Sergeant Holland was instructed to remain in the hallway to ensure no one came in to the auditorum and that the shooter did not come out. Chief Grady, Lieutenant Mitchell, Sergeant Ellington, and Officer Wright entered the south auditorium, where the shooting had taken place, in diamond formation with Chief Grady in the lead. Inside the auditorium, they discovered a motionless body on the stage, surrounded by guns, with a pool of blood coming from the head, along with victims with varying injuries lying on the floor or propped up against the seats. A quick visual check of the room revealed no immediate threats, and Chief Grady and Lieutenant Mitchell began attending to victims, while Sergeant Ellington and Officer Wright confirmed that the shooter was dead. At 3:11:42 (five minutes after the first 911 call), Sergeant Ellington reported to the dispatcher that the "Shooter's down. Shotgun's secure. We need an ambulance and the coroner at Cole Hall."
At the same time that officers arrived at Cole Hall, Sergeant Rodman, who had left a meeting at the Holmes Student Center, arrived at the west entrance of that building to find a shooting victim who had been shot in the back and the head along with another victim that had blood on their face that was pleading for the officer to help their injured friend. Sergeant Rodman immediately began attending to the victim.
By 3:11 p.m., a DeKalb Fire Department ambulance was the first to arrive on the scene and was staged in a nearby parking lot. The parking lots near the Field House acted as a staging area for ambulances and fire trucks that arrived from throughout the region. At 3:13 p.m., Sergeant Ellington advised that there were at least two deaths. Officers encountered several problems, including a piercing fire alarm that had been pulled, as well as very high radio traffic and static that made it hard to hear radio calls come in. In addition, due to conflicting reports (including the presence of a shooter at Founders Memorial Library) and the multitude of injured victims at various buildings around campus, officers needed to check multiple sites to rule out the possibility of multiple shooters and multiple shooting sites. Injured victims began appearing at Neptune Hall (just north of Cole Hall) and at DuSable Hall (west of Cole). At 3:21 p.m., as personnel arrived from the DeKalb Fire Department, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, DeKalb Police Department, and Sycamore Police Department, officers advised that the scene and perimeter of Cole Hall were secure, and that it was safe for emergency personnel to proceed to the shooting site and to the sites of the injured victims. At 3:34 p.m., after a sweep of Founders Library was conducted and officers determined from sweeps as well as testimony from victims and witnesses that Neptune and DuSable were not shooting sites, the area was again declared safe. Police officers established a reception area for law enforcement personnel at Wirtz Hall and an investigative command center at Holmes Student Center. By 4:00 pm CST, school officials announced that there was no further danger and that counselors
would be made available in all residence halls.
, were killed in the incident:
Catalina Garcia, Juliana Gehant, Ryanne Mace, and shooter Steven Kazmierczak were declared dead on the scene at Cole Hall, while Daniel Parmenter was pronounced dead shortly after arrival to Kishwaukee Hospital at 4:00 p.m. Gayle Dubowski was flown to the nearest trauma center, St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival there at 4:14 p.m.
16 of the injured victims were transported to DeKalb's Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Of the 16, one of the wounded was transferred by helicopter to Rockford
's Saint Anthony Medical Center
, three to Downers Grove's
Good Samaritan Hospital
, and one to Rockford Memorial Hospital.
On February 15, an additional victim sought treatment at Kishwaukee Hospital, bringing the total of hospitalized injured victims to 17. On February 15, seven of the victims were in critical condition, one in good condition, one in stable, and eight discharged, according to Kishwaukee Community Hospital.
Like those killed, all who were injured were from Illinois. Some of the injured include:
The perpetrator of the Northern Illinois University shooting was 27-year-old Steven Phillip Kazmierczak, a former student of NIU. He was born in Elk Grove Village, Illinois
on August 26, 1980 to Gail and Robert Kazmierczak. He graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1998, during which he was treated temporarily for mental illness at the Elk Grove Village Thresholds-Mary Hill House psychiatric center
, for being "unruly" at home, according to his parents. He later went on to study sociology
at Northern Illinois University
(NIU). Though his family moved to Florida
in 2004, Kazmierczak continued his education in Illinois. He enlisted in the United States Army
in September 2001, and was discharged before completing basic training
in February 2002 for lying on his application about his mental illness. His mother died in Lakeland, Florida in September 2006 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(also known as Lou Gehrig
’s disease).Social Security Death Index maintained by Ancestry.Com. Retrieved February 15, 2008.Gunman previously honored by school, February 15, 2008, Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 15, 2008. At the time of Steven's death, his father was living in a retirement community in Lakeland.
Kazmierczak graduated from NIU in 2006 where he received the Dean's award
in 2006 and was considered a stand-out, well-regarded student. Campus police describe him as a "fairly normal" and "unstressed person." Faculty, students, and staff "revered" him and there was no indication of any trouble. NIU President John G. Peters said that he had "a very good academic record, no record of trouble." Kazmierczak was Vice-President of the NIU chapter of the American Correctional Association
; he had also written about the U.S. correctional system, specifically prisons.
In 2006, Kazmierczak, along with two other graduate students and under the lead authorship of a sociology
professor, co-authored an academic paper entitled, "Self-injury in Correctional Settings: 'Pathology' of Prisons or of Prisoners?"; it was published in the academic journal
Criminology & Public Policy.
He was enrolled at NIU in the spring of 2007, where he took two courses in Arabic and a course called ""Politics of the Middle East". His research paper was on the subject of Hamas
and its social service projects. He left to begin graduate work in the School of Social Work
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC), where he intended to study mental health
issues. He was enrolled part-time at UIUC during the fall of 2007 and worked from September 24 through October 10 at the Rockville Correctional Facility for Women
near the Illinois
-Indiana
border. His reasons for leaving were unclear; he simply, "did not come back to work," according to Doug Garrison of the Indiana Department of Correction. By early 2008, he was again enrolled full time at UIUC.
He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during this shooting event. ABC News
reports that his behavior seemed to become more erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and that it is believed he stopped taking medication beforehand. His girlfriend, Jessica Baty, confirmed that Kazmierczak was taking Xanax (anti-anxiety
), Ambien (sleep aid
), and Prozac (antidepressant
), all of which were prescribed to him by a psychiatrist
. She said that he stopped taking Prozac about three weeks prior to the February 14 shooting. She also said that, during their two-year courtship, she had never seen him display violent tendencies and she expressed bewilderment over the cause of the rampage. "He was anything but a monster," Baty said. "He was probably the nicest, most caring person ever." Since the shooting, authorities have intercepted a number of packages he sent to her, which included such items as a gun holster and ammunition, a textbook on serial killers for her class, the book The Antichrist
by Friedrich Nietzsche
, and a final note written for her, signed with his given name
and family name
. The shooting was baffling to those who knew him, as he appeared outgoing and never appeared to have social problems. This has also confused investigators, who have not found a suicide note
. Some of Kazmierczak's former NIU roommates described him as a quiet man who usually stayed to himself. They stated that, while fairly normal, they did not see him spend much time with other students.
Kazmierczak described himself as a sensitive person in his personal statement for UIUC graduate school. He also felt victimized during his adolescent years. He expressed interest in helping people with mental problems, and wanted to work with people "in need of direction." Although initial reports said there were no signs, he was considered troubled. A story published by Esquire
stated that he allegedly had a history of mental illness and attempted suicides, was bullied in high school, and had shown an interest in previous school shootings, particularly those that occurred at Columbine High School
and Virginia Tech
.
According to a report published by the United States Fire Administration
, Kazmierczak is believed to have studied Cho's actions and used a similar MO
.
The university's official website reported the possibility of a gunman on campus at 3:20, within 20 minutes of the shooting. The website then warned students, "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." By 3:40 p.m., all NIU classes were canceled for the remainder of the day and the campus was closed by NIU officials as part of a new security plan devised after the Virginia Tech shooting 10 months earlier. Students were asked to contact their parents as soon as possible. All NIU Huskie
sporting events, home and away, through Sunday were canceled. Most students left campus for the weekend. A spokesman for the ATF
stated that agents were dispatched to the scene to assist and to help trace the weapons used. The FBI
also sent agents to assist. According to police, Steven Kazmierczak removed the hard drive from his laptop computer and a computer chip from his cell phone and did not leave a note that could help explain why he chose a geology class on Valentine's Day to open fire. Investigators were expected to spend at least three more weeks until releasing a report on the incident.
Approximately 2,000 gathered on campus on the evening of Friday, February 15, for a candlelight vigil
to commemorate the victims; among other public figures, Jesse Jackson
and Robert W. Pritchard
spoke. In the days after the shooting, the Lutheran Campus Ministry held nightly candlelight vigils. All classes and athletic events were canceled through February 24, 2008. Faculty and staff returned to work on Tuesday, February 19, and for the remainder of that week received special information and training to help students upon their return to classes the following week. On February 21, exactly a week after the shooting happened, five minutes of silence were observed from 3:06-3:11 pm CST, accompanied by the tolling of bells throughout the community, at a special ceremony attended by thousands in memory of the victims which was held at the MLK Commons. Moments of silence were also held elsewhere throughout the DeKalb community. There was a special memorial service held in the NIU Convocation Center
on February 24, the day before classes resumed, in honor of the victims that initiated a set of activities and services aimed at community recovery. Due to the loss of one week of instructional time in the middle of the semester, an extra week was added in May.
United States President
George W. Bush
, Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich
, U.S. Senators
Barack Obama
and Dick Durbin, and U.S. Congressman
Donald Manzullo
offered their personal condolences to NIU President John Peters and the University community in wake of the tragedy, as did many local communities and school districts, and a plethora of universities across the United States. The Chicago Blackhawks
NHL
franchise wore NIU Huskies decals on their helmets during their game on Sunday, February 17, 2008, versus the Colorado Avalanche
. A moment of silence was also observed before the national anthem at the game, and the team wore the same decal during its next two games at the St. Louis Blues and at home against the Minnesota Wild
. The Chicago Wolves of the AHL held an NIU night during which there was a moment of silence and NIU students were given the opportunity to participate during in game promotions. During spring training
, Chicago White Sox
manager Ozzie Guillén
and general manager Ken Williams sported NIU caps in tribute to the victims. For their 2008 season
, the Chicago Cubs
flew an NIU flag over the grandstands in the out field. Virginia Tech had a tribute with students wearing shirts saying "Hokies for Huskies". Students wore these shirts during their basketball game against Georgia Tech on February 23, 2008. Jon Bon Jovi
offered his condolonces in a Billboard magazine
article, after his band Bon Jovi
was forced to cancel rehearsals slated to begin on February 14, 2008 at the NIU Convocation Center
in preparation for the North American leg of the Lost Highway Tour
.
On February 25, 2008 then-Governor Rod Blagojevich
and University President John G. Peters
proposed the demolition of the current Cole Hall. The proposal came as a response to the "bad" memories of the students who have to attend classes in the building. The proposal would tear down Cole Hall, leave the Cole Hall site as a memorial site, and erect a new building called "Memorial Hall" nearby, at a cost of approximately $40 million.
However, due to mixed emotions on the decision, President Peters sent out a message to all NIU students via their student email accounts, soliciting comments from students and the extended NIU family. In addition, a committee was established to help reach a consensus on the future of Cole Hall.
On May 8, 2008 it was announced that Cole Hall would be remodeled inside and out pending $7.7 million in state funding. This decision was made based on conversations between Dr. Peters and members of the campus community as well as the results of an online survey taken by students and faculty. The lecture hall where the shooting happened will be no longer be used as classroom space and another lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus.
On August 27, 2009, the NIU Board of Trustees approved a $9.5 million budget on the Cole Hall renovation project, approximately $8 million of which will come from the aforementioned state funding, and the rest from student fees. The East auditorium, which was the scene of the incident, will no longer be used for classes, and a replacement lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus. On January 27, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
came to the NIU campus to release the funds for the renovation of Cole Hall.
On January 14, 2011, the reconstruction at Cole Hall officially commenced. The remodeling is expected to be complete in Fall 2011.
was found on a restroom wall warning of a possible shooting. A university spokesman said that the warning, which was discovered December 10, made reference to the Virginia Tech massacre
, in which 32 people were killed, but it could not be immediately determined whether the threat was related to the shootings on February 14, 2008. The Chicago Sun-Times
reported at that time that an unknown person posted the graffiti in the Grant Towers D residence hall, which included a racial slur and the notation "What time? The VA tech shooters messed up w/ having only one shooter." However, NIU President John Peters stated that he did not believe that the December incident is connected to the February 14 shootings.
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
in DeKalb
DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States, killing five and injuring twenty-one, before committing suicide.
The incident happened at the campus's Cole Hall at approximately 3:05 p.m. local time. The school placed the campus on lockdown; students and teachers were advised to head to a secure location, take cover, and avoid the scene and all buildings in the vicinity of the area. Six people died in the incident, including the perpetrator, making it the fourth-deadliest university shooting in United States history, after the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, the University of Texas Clock Tower shooting
Charles Whitman
Charles Joseph Whitman was a student at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Marine who killed 16 people and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage on and around the university's campus on August 1, 1966....
, and the California State University, Fullerton massacre
California State University, Fullerton massacre
The California State University, Fullerton massacre was an incident of mass murder that occurred on Monday, July 12, 1976, at California State University, Fullerton, in Fullerton, California, United States....
.
After the incident, the university administration cancelled all classes for the rest of the week as well as the following week.
Shooting
Lecture hall
A lecture hall is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity from one to four dozen, the capacity of lecture halls is typically measured in the hundreds...
in Cole Hall (Auditorium 101) with approximately 120 students, where an oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
class was in session. Kazmierczak was wearing dark brown boots with laces, jeans, a black t-shirt with the word "Terrorist" written across the chest imposed over an image of an assault rifle, a coat, a black knit hat, and a black utility belt with two magazine holsters, a holster for a handgun, three handguns (a 9mm Glock
Glock
Glock Ges.m.b.H. is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, named after its founder, Gaston Glock...
, a 9mm Sig Sauer, and a .380 Hi-Point), eight loaded magazines, and a knife. He also carried in a Remington 870
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
concealed in a guitar case. Once he donned the weapons, he approached the auditorium. Kazmierczak entered the auditorium from the vestibule, using a door at the extreme southwest corner of the room, which led directly to the stage in front of the classroom; it was there he stood and fired into the crowd of students. He opened the door with such extreme force that many witnesses described him as "kicking the door in".
Kazmierczak walked a short distance across the stage and fired into the crowd of students with the shotgun. He then shot at the instructor, who was standing on the east side of the stage, going over a test that was held during the previous class meeting. The instructor tried to run out the exit at the southeast corner of the room, but that door was locked. The instructor proceeded towards the east end of the classroom out the main exits, in which the students were trying to exit. Some students who were not able to immediately escape hid under or in between the seats. When Kazmericzak paused to reload after firing three rounds, some students shouted "He's reloading" and began to escape. Others continued to hide or were too shocked to react.
Once he expended all available shotgun rounds (six rounds), Kazmericzak fired on the room's remaining occupants with the 9mm Glock pistol, firing a total of approximately 50 rounds. He was reported to have walked up and down the west aisle and directly in front of or on the stage, firing at people as he went. 55 unexpended rounds of ammunition were recovered from the scene, including two fully loaded magazines containing rounds for a .380 semi-automatic pistol.
A total of 25 people were shot, six of whom died (including the perpetrator, who shot himself before police arrived). One witness reported that at least 30 shots were fired by the gunman; police later collected 48 shell casings and 6 shotgun shells.
At the time of the shootings, Kazmierczak was a graduate student in the school of social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
; he was also a former NIU Sociology graduate student. NIU Police Chief Donald Grady described him as "an outstanding student" who reportedly stopped taking medication recently and became "somewhat erratic".
Emergency response
The first 9-1-19-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
call of an active shooter was reported at 3:06 p.m. Seven seconds later, NIU police officers were notified by the dispatcher. At 3:06:33, NIU police officers Ayala and Zimberoff responded and told dispatchers that they were in the area. Officers Ayala and Zimberoff were driving northbound on Normal Road near Swen Parson Hall, when they encountered students running east from the Martin Luther King Commons area. One student shouted, "He's shooting over there", pointing west towards the MLK Commons area. Officer Hodder was also driving in the area and encountered the same frenzy. The officers proceeded in their vehicles west down the sidewalk until it became unsafe to do so due to the number of students, and then ran towards the scene. On the west side of the King Commons, they encountered Chief Grady, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Henert, who had raced from the Police Station. Also racing to Cole Hall from the Police Station were Sergeant Ellington and Officer Wright. Sergeant Holland was on patrol just south of the area along Lincoln Highway when he heard the call come in, and approached the area. In the MLK Commons, Chief Grady advised the officers to immediately begin attending to victims and identify witnesses and direct them to a room in Holmes Student Center, where they could be interviewed. Some of the officers began attending to injured students that were running from the scene.
While Lieutenant Henert established perimeters around Cole Hall, Lieutenant Mitchell and Chief Grady entered the building, where they met with Sergeant Holland, Sergeant Ellington, and Officer Wright. Sergeant Ellington, who was the first officer to arrive on the scene, evacuated the adjacent auditorium, and met with the other officers in the front walkway. Sergeant Holland was instructed to remain in the hallway to ensure no one came in to the auditorum and that the shooter did not come out. Chief Grady, Lieutenant Mitchell, Sergeant Ellington, and Officer Wright entered the south auditorium, where the shooting had taken place, in diamond formation with Chief Grady in the lead. Inside the auditorium, they discovered a motionless body on the stage, surrounded by guns, with a pool of blood coming from the head, along with victims with varying injuries lying on the floor or propped up against the seats. A quick visual check of the room revealed no immediate threats, and Chief Grady and Lieutenant Mitchell began attending to victims, while Sergeant Ellington and Officer Wright confirmed that the shooter was dead. At 3:11:42 (five minutes after the first 911 call), Sergeant Ellington reported to the dispatcher that the "Shooter's down. Shotgun's secure. We need an ambulance and the coroner at Cole Hall."
At the same time that officers arrived at Cole Hall, Sergeant Rodman, who had left a meeting at the Holmes Student Center, arrived at the west entrance of that building to find a shooting victim who had been shot in the back and the head along with another victim that had blood on their face that was pleading for the officer to help their injured friend. Sergeant Rodman immediately began attending to the victim.
By 3:11 p.m., a DeKalb Fire Department ambulance was the first to arrive on the scene and was staged in a nearby parking lot. The parking lots near the Field House acted as a staging area for ambulances and fire trucks that arrived from throughout the region. At 3:13 p.m., Sergeant Ellington advised that there were at least two deaths. Officers encountered several problems, including a piercing fire alarm that had been pulled, as well as very high radio traffic and static that made it hard to hear radio calls come in. In addition, due to conflicting reports (including the presence of a shooter at Founders Memorial Library) and the multitude of injured victims at various buildings around campus, officers needed to check multiple sites to rule out the possibility of multiple shooters and multiple shooting sites. Injured victims began appearing at Neptune Hall (just north of Cole Hall) and at DuSable Hall (west of Cole). At 3:21 p.m., as personnel arrived from the DeKalb Fire Department, DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, DeKalb Police Department, and Sycamore Police Department, officers advised that the scene and perimeter of Cole Hall were secure, and that it was safe for emergency personnel to proceed to the shooting site and to the sites of the injured victims. At 3:34 p.m., after a sweep of Founders Library was conducted and officers determined from sweeps as well as testimony from victims and witnesses that Neptune and DuSable were not shooting sites, the area was again declared safe. Police officers established a reception area for law enforcement personnel at Wirtz Hall and an investigative command center at Holmes Student Center. By 4:00 pm CST, school officials announced that there was no further danger and that counselors
Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed professional counselor is a licensure for mental health professionals. The exact title varies by state, but the other most frequently used title is licensed mental health counselor . Several U.S. states, including Illinois, Maine, and Tennessee, have implemented a two-tier system whereby...
would be made available in all residence halls.
Deceased
A total of six people, all residents of IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, were killed in the incident:
| Name | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Catalina Garcia | 20 | Cicero Cicero, Illinois Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator.... |
| Julianna Gehant | 32 | Mendota Mendota, Illinois Mendota is a city located in north-central Illinois in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The city has 7,272 residents, and is the fifth largest city in LaSalle County, though recent estimates have shown that the population has decreased to 6,995 residents. It is part of the... |
| Ryanne Mace | 19 | Carpentersville Carpentersville, Illinois Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 30,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Carpentersville is located at .... |
| Daniel Parmenter | 20 | Elmhurst Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. The population is 46,013 as of the 2008 US Census population estimate.-History:... |
| Gayle Dubowski | 20 | Carol Stream Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after the developer's daughter, Carol Stream had a population of 40,438 as of the 2000 U.S. census.- History :... |
| Steven Kazmierczak (perpetrator) | 27 | Champaign Champaign, Illinois Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of... |
Catalina Garcia, Juliana Gehant, Ryanne Mace, and shooter Steven Kazmierczak were declared dead on the scene at Cole Hall, while Daniel Parmenter was pronounced dead shortly after arrival to Kishwaukee Hospital at 4:00 p.m. Gayle Dubowski was flown to the nearest trauma center, St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival there at 4:14 p.m.
Injured
A total of 21 people survived the incident with injuries. 17 sustained gunshot or buckshot wounds, while three injured their knee or back escaping the scene; one injury was undetermined. Of the injured, three remained in Cole Hall, five had fled to Neptune Hall or its parking lots, one to DuSable Hall, two to the Holmes Student Center Bookstore, two to the Holmes Student Center's Sandburg Auditorium, three to the Health Services Building, and five returned home to seek treatment.16 of the injured victims were transported to DeKalb's Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Of the 16, one of the wounded was transferred by helicopter to Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
's Saint Anthony Medical Center
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center is a hospital located located in Rockford, Illinois. The medical center is part of the OSF HealthCare System.-History:...
, three to Downers Grove's
Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in Downers Grove and Lisle Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 48,724 at the 2000 census, with an official estimated population of 49,250 in 2008.-History:...
Good Samaritan Hospital
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital is a hospital located in Downers Grove, Illinois. The medical center is part of Advocate Health Care.-History:...
, and one to Rockford Memorial Hospital.
On February 15, an additional victim sought treatment at Kishwaukee Hospital, bringing the total of hospitalized injured victims to 17. On February 15, seven of the victims were in critical condition, one in good condition, one in stable, and eight discharged, according to Kishwaukee Community Hospital.
Like those killed, all who were injured were from Illinois. Some of the injured include:
| Name | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Amanda Benoit | 20 | Kankakee Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County... |
| Nicole Berns | DeKalb DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War.... |
|
| Troy Chamberlain | 19 | Sycamore Sycamore, Illinois Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a commercial district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 17,519 at the 2010 census, up from 12,020 at the 2000 census.-Early settlement:... |
| Lauren Debrauwere | 19 | Lake Barrington Lake Barrington, Illinois Lake Barrington is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,757 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lake Barrington is located at .... |
| Samantha Dehner | 20 | Carol Stream Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after the developer's daughter, Carol Stream had a population of 40,438 as of the 2000 U.S. census.- History :... |
| J.D. Donohue | 19 | Rolling Meadows Rolling Meadows, Illinois Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,607 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rolling Meadows is located at .... |
| Ryne Erickson | 20 | Des Plaines Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport... |
| Brian Karpes | 27 | Rolling Meadows |
| Patrick Korellis | 22 | Lindenhurst Lindenhurst, Illinois Lindenhurst is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,539 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 14,403 as of 2005... |
| Jeff Malina | Glenview Glenview, Illinois There are at least two locations in Illinois called Glenview:*Glenview, Cook County, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago*Glenview, St. Clair County, Illinois, an eastern suburb of St. Louis... |
|
| Harold Ng | 21 | Mundelein Mundelein, Illinois Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 31,064.-History:The community now known as Mundelein has been inhabited since at least 1650, when the Potowatami Indians were known to have been trading with French fur traders.... |
| Joseph Peterson (instructor) | 26 | DeKalb |
| Unnum Rahman | 19 | Plainfield Plainfield, Illinois Plainfield is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2007 special census, the population is 37,334.The Village includes land in Plainfield and Wheatland townships. Part of Plainfield is located in Kendall County... |
| Maria Ruiz-Santana | 19 | Elgin Elgin, Illinois Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois... |
| Jerry Santoni | 22 | Frankfort Frankfort, Illinois Frankfort is a village in Will and Cook Counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,782 at the 2010 census. According to Forbes.com, in 2007 the village ranked as the 36th fastest growing suburb in the United States. - Previous spelling :... |
| Jeremy Walker | 20 | Caledonia Caledonia, Illinois Caledonia is a village in Winnebago County and Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area... |
| Sherman Yau | 20 | Naperville Naperville, Illinois Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,... |
Perpetrator
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
on August 26, 1980 to Gail and Robert Kazmierczak. He graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1998, during which he was treated temporarily for mental illness at the Elk Grove Village Thresholds-Mary Hill House psychiatric center
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, for being "unruly" at home, according to his parents. He later went on to study sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
(NIU). Though his family moved to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 2004, Kazmierczak continued his education in Illinois. He enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in September 2001, and was discharged before completing basic training
Basic Training
Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...
in February 2002 for lying on his application about his mental illness. His mother died in Lakeland, Florida in September 2006 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(also known as Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
’s disease).Social Security Death Index maintained by Ancestry.Com. Retrieved February 15, 2008.Gunman previously honored by school, February 15, 2008, Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 15, 2008. At the time of Steven's death, his father was living in a retirement community in Lakeland.
Kazmierczak graduated from NIU in 2006 where he received the Dean's award
Dean's List
A Dean's List is a category of students in a college or university who achieve high grades during their stay in an academic term or academic year. In secondary schools, or high schools, the term Consistent Honor List or Honor Roll is more common, but Dean's List and Consistent Honor List are...
in 2006 and was considered a stand-out, well-regarded student. Campus police describe him as a "fairly normal" and "unstressed person." Faculty, students, and staff "revered" him and there was no indication of any trouble. NIU President John G. Peters said that he had "a very good academic record, no record of trouble." Kazmierczak was Vice-President of the NIU chapter of the American Correctional Association
American Correctional Association
The American Correctional Association , formerly known as the American Prison Association, is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants...
; he had also written about the U.S. correctional system, specifically prisons.
In 2006, Kazmierczak, along with two other graduate students and under the lead authorship of a sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
professor, co-authored an academic paper entitled, "Self-injury in Correctional Settings: 'Pathology' of Prisons or of Prisoners?"; it was published in the academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
Criminology & Public Policy.
He was enrolled at NIU in the spring of 2007, where he took two courses in Arabic and a course called ""Politics of the Middle East". His research paper was on the subject of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and its social service projects. He left to begin graduate work in the School of Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
(UIUC), where he intended to study mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
issues. He was enrolled part-time at UIUC during the fall of 2007 and worked from September 24 through October 10 at the Rockville Correctional Facility for Women
Rockville Correctional Facility for Women
Rockville Correctional Facility is a state prison located one mile northwest of Rockville, Indiana. It is the largest state prison for women in Indiana with approximately 1,200 women. Although it is classified as a medium-security prison, it has inmates of all security levels.-History:The...
near the Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
border. His reasons for leaving were unclear; he simply, "did not come back to work," according to Doug Garrison of the Indiana Department of Correction. By early 2008, he was again enrolled full time at UIUC.
He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during this shooting event. ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
reports that his behavior seemed to become more erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and that it is believed he stopped taking medication beforehand. His girlfriend, Jessica Baty, confirmed that Kazmierczak was taking Xanax (anti-anxiety
Anxiolytic
An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...
), Ambien (sleep aid
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
), and Prozac (antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
), all of which were prescribed to him by a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. She said that he stopped taking Prozac about three weeks prior to the February 14 shooting. She also said that, during their two-year courtship, she had never seen him display violent tendencies and she expressed bewilderment over the cause of the rampage. "He was anything but a monster," Baty said. "He was probably the nicest, most caring person ever." Since the shooting, authorities have intercepted a number of packages he sent to her, which included such items as a gun holster and ammunition, a textbook on serial killers for her class, the book The Antichrist
The Antichrist (book)
The Antichrist is a book by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, originally published in 1895. Although it was written in 1888, its controversial content made Franz Overbeck and Heinrich Köselitz delay its publication, along with Ecce Homo...
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, and a final note written for her, signed with his given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
and family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
. The shooting was baffling to those who knew him, as he appeared outgoing and never appeared to have social problems. This has also confused investigators, who have not found a suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
. Some of Kazmierczak's former NIU roommates described him as a quiet man who usually stayed to himself. They stated that, while fairly normal, they did not see him spend much time with other students.
Kazmierczak described himself as a sensitive person in his personal statement for UIUC graduate school. He also felt victimized during his adolescent years. He expressed interest in helping people with mental problems, and wanted to work with people "in need of direction." Although initial reports said there were no signs, he was considered troubled. A story published by Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
stated that he allegedly had a history of mental illness and attempted suicides, was bullied in high school, and had shown an interest in previous school shootings, particularly those that occurred at Columbine High School
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
and Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
.
According to a report published by the United States Fire Administration
United States Fire Administration
The United States Fire Administration is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.-History:...
, Kazmierczak is believed to have studied Cho's actions and used a similar MO
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
.
Reaction
Northern Illinois Huskies
The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University. The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Mid-American Conference...
sporting events, home and away, through Sunday were canceled. Most students left campus for the weekend. A spokesman for the ATF
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
stated that agents were dispatched to the scene to assist and to help trace the weapons used. The FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
also sent agents to assist. According to police, Steven Kazmierczak removed the hard drive from his laptop computer and a computer chip from his cell phone and did not leave a note that could help explain why he chose a geology class on Valentine's Day to open fire. Investigators were expected to spend at least three more weeks until releasing a report on the incident.
Vigils and memorial services
Candlelight vigil
A candlelight vigil is an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset. Such events are typically held either to protest the suffering of some marginalized group of people, or in memory of lives lost to some disease, disaster, massacre or other tragedy. In the latter case, the...
to commemorate the victims; among other public figures, Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
and Robert W. Pritchard
Robert W. Pritchard
Robert W. Pritchard is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 70th district since 2003. He represents the residents of DeKalb County and portions of Ogle and LaSalle counties. Pritchard has been serving in the Illinois House since 2003.Pritchard was born...
spoke. In the days after the shooting, the Lutheran Campus Ministry held nightly candlelight vigils. All classes and athletic events were canceled through February 24, 2008. Faculty and staff returned to work on Tuesday, February 19, and for the remainder of that week received special information and training to help students upon their return to classes the following week. On February 21, exactly a week after the shooting happened, five minutes of silence were observed from 3:06-3:11 pm CST, accompanied by the tolling of bells throughout the community, at a special ceremony attended by thousands in memory of the victims which was held at the MLK Commons. Moments of silence were also held elsewhere throughout the DeKalb community. There was a special memorial service held in the NIU Convocation Center
Convocation Center (Northern Illinois University)
Northern Illinois University's Convocation Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, at 1525 W Lincoln Hwy, in DeKalb, Illinois, 60115-2854, USA. The arena opened in 2002. The Convocation Center is home to both the Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball and women's basketball teams,...
on February 24, the day before classes resumed, in honor of the victims that initiated a set of activities and services aimed at community recovery. Due to the loss of one week of instructional time in the middle of the semester, an extra week was added in May.
Condolences and tributes
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Illinois Governor
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
, U.S. Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Dick Durbin, and U.S. Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Donald Manzullo
Donald A. Manzullo
Donald A. Manzullo is the U.S. Representative for . Since January 2011, he has served as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. He is a member of the Republican Party and was first elected in 1992....
offered their personal condolences to NIU President John Peters and the University community in wake of the tragedy, as did many local communities and school districts, and a plethora of universities across the United States. The Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
franchise wore NIU Huskies decals on their helmets during their game on Sunday, February 17, 2008, versus the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
. A moment of silence was also observed before the national anthem at the game, and the team wore the same decal during its next two games at the St. Louis Blues and at home against the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
. The Chicago Wolves of the AHL held an NIU night during which there was a moment of silence and NIU students were given the opportunity to participate during in game promotions. During spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
manager Ozzie Guillén
Ozzie Guillén
Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins. He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 before asking for his release at the end of the 2011 season....
and general manager Ken Williams sported NIU caps in tribute to the victims. For their 2008 season
2008 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 2008 season was the 136th season for the Chicago Cubs. It is considered one of their most impressive regular seasons in the entire history of the franchise. Despite 97 regular season wins—the most since 1945—they failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs, losing 3-0...
, the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
flew an NIU flag over the grandstands in the out field. Virginia Tech had a tribute with students wearing shirts saying "Hokies for Huskies". Students wore these shirts during their basketball game against Georgia Tech on February 23, 2008. Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
offered his condolonces in a Billboard magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
article, after his band Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
was forced to cancel rehearsals slated to begin on February 14, 2008 at the NIU Convocation Center
Convocation Center (Northern Illinois University)
Northern Illinois University's Convocation Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, at 1525 W Lincoln Hwy, in DeKalb, Illinois, 60115-2854, USA. The arena opened in 2002. The Convocation Center is home to both the Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball and women's basketball teams,...
in preparation for the North American leg of the Lost Highway Tour
Lost Highway Tour
The Lost Highway Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi, that took place from October 2007 to July 2008 in support of their tenth studio album Lost Highway...
.
Future of Cole Hall
Since February 14, 2008, Cole Hall has remained closed to the public. Classes that were held in the building's two large auditoriums were relocated.On February 25, 2008 then-Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
and University President John G. Peters
John G. Peters
John G. Peters is the current president of Northern Illinois University . He is NIU's eleventh chief executive officer, and oversees a comprehensive university with seven colleges and nearly 25,000 students engaged in 120 areas of study....
proposed the demolition of the current Cole Hall. The proposal came as a response to the "bad" memories of the students who have to attend classes in the building. The proposal would tear down Cole Hall, leave the Cole Hall site as a memorial site, and erect a new building called "Memorial Hall" nearby, at a cost of approximately $40 million.
However, due to mixed emotions on the decision, President Peters sent out a message to all NIU students via their student email accounts, soliciting comments from students and the extended NIU family. In addition, a committee was established to help reach a consensus on the future of Cole Hall.
On May 8, 2008 it was announced that Cole Hall would be remodeled inside and out pending $7.7 million in state funding. This decision was made based on conversations between Dr. Peters and members of the campus community as well as the results of an online survey taken by students and faculty. The lecture hall where the shooting happened will be no longer be used as classroom space and another lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus.
On August 27, 2009, the NIU Board of Trustees approved a $9.5 million budget on the Cole Hall renovation project, approximately $8 million of which will come from the aforementioned state funding, and the rest from student fees. The East auditorium, which was the scene of the incident, will no longer be used for classes, and a replacement lecture hall will be built elsewhere on campus. On January 27, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
came to the NIU campus to release the funds for the renovation of Cole Hall.
On January 14, 2011, the reconstruction at Cole Hall officially commenced. The remodeling is expected to be complete in Fall 2011.
Memorial garden and sculpture
On October 2, 2009, a metal sculpture designed by artist Bruce Neimi entitled "Remembered" was unveiled at Northern Illinois University. The sculpture is part of a garden built in remembrance of the victims of the NIU shooting, located directly across from Cole Hall. The memorial area also features five red granite walls erected in a half-circle pattern which read "Forward Together Forward Together Forward." The phrase "Forward Together Forward", borrowed from the university's fight song, became a motto and theme used in the healing of the NIU community after the shooting. Each wall features the name of one of the students who died in the shooting. A walking path with benches is also included. The memorial is flanked by trees and shrubbery. The memorial was funded entirely by private donations.Earlier incident and possible threats
The campus was shut down on December 10, 2007, the first day during exam week, after graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
was found on a restroom wall warning of a possible shooting. A university spokesman said that the warning, which was discovered December 10, made reference to the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, in which 32 people were killed, but it could not be immediately determined whether the threat was related to the shootings on February 14, 2008. The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
reported at that time that an unknown person posted the graffiti in the Grant Towers D residence hall, which included a racial slur and the notation "What time? The VA tech shooters messed up w/ having only one shooter." However, NIU President John Peters stated that he did not believe that the December incident is connected to the February 14 shootings.
See also
External links
- Northern Star, NIU's campus newspaper with ongoing coverage of shooting
- Northwest Heralds "Tragedy on Campus", with a repository for stories, video, audio, timeline, and photographs in the aftermath of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) shootings
- Daily Chronicles "Campus Loss", with a repository for stories, video, audio, timeline, and photographs in the aftermath of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) shootings
- NIU Remembers, NIU students, friends, family and the public mourn on this dedicated forum