2008 Year in Review

Gunman Named

11 a.m., Friday, February 15: Sources are saying that the NIU gunman has been identified as Steven Kazmierczak, a 27-year-old former NIU sociology student. He was presently attending the University of Illinois.

A Guestbook for Northern Illinois Uiniversity Shooting Victims has been set up.

Names of the five students who lost their lives are: Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Westchester; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville; Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meriden; and sophomore Gayle Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream.

Update: As of 11:30 p.m., Thursday, February 14, it has been confirmed that the killer and five others have been pronounced dead and 16 injured from the shooting. No names have been released.

The following hotlines have been set up for students and parents: 815-753-1573; 815-753-6143; 815-753-1574; 815-753-1575; 815-753-9564; 815-753-6257.

Just after 3 p.m., this afternoon, February 14, 2008, a shooting was reported from Northern Illinois University. At thecity1.com we know there are students from Morrison who are attending NIU.

First, We pray that every and anyone from Morrison and the vicinity is safe. It has been reported as of 5:23 p.m. there are two dead. One of them being the gunman, and at LEAST 15 injured.

From YAHOO: A gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, injuring as many as 15 people before he was killed, authorities said. DeKalb Police Lt. Gary Spangler told the student newspaper the Northern Star that the gunman was dead. It was not immediately clear how he died.

The University issued a statement on its Web site about an hour after the 3 p.m. shooting that "the immediate danger has passed. The gunman is no longer a threat."

Kishwaukee Community Hospital spokeswoman Theresa Komitas told WLS-TV in Chicago it received 17 victims all with wounds from the shooting or flying debris, including three with serious injuries. She said she knew of no deaths at the hospital.

George Gaynor, a senior geography student, who was in Cole Hall when the shooting happened, told the student newspaper that the shooter was "a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on."

He described the scene immediately following the incident as terrifying and chaotic.

"Some girl got hit in the eye, a guy got hit in the leg," Gaynor said outside just minutes after the shooting occurred. "It was like five minutes before class ended too." Witnesses said the young man carried a shotgun and a pistol. Student Edward Robinson told WLS that the gunman appeared to target students in one part of the lecture hall. "It was almost like he knew who he wanted to shoot," Robinson said. "He knew who and where he wanted to be firing at."

All classes were canceled Thursday night and the 25,000-student campus was closed on Friday. Students were urged to call their parents "as soon as possible" and were offered counseling at any residence hall, according to the school Web site.

Dominique Broxton, 22, a student from Oak Park, told the Chicago Tribune she could see two wounded students from her dorm room.

"The ambulance took away two students on the ground right outside my dorm," she said. "I don't know them. They looked bloody."

She said she saw a lot of confusion. "Students were running. People really didn't know what was going on. There is an intercom system inside the dorm. Someone came on and stated that someone had been caught. They said they caught the shooter and that we should remain calm and stay in our rooms. I am in my room now."

The school was closed for one day during final exam week in December after campus police found threats, including racial slurs and references to shootings earlier in the year at Virginia Tech University, scrawled on a bathroom wall in a dormitory. Police determined after an investigation that there was no imminent threat and the campus was reopened. The city1.com ask for any students or parents on students who are attending Northern Illinois University to let us know that your child, student or you yourself are safe and OK. It you saw anything or were close to what has happened this day that is supposed to be a day of love.

Please email dzuidema@thecity1.com. Editors Note: My heart is sinking right now. There are so many students from Morrison who attend NIU.

Our hearts and prayers are with you all.

Hotline numbers: 815-753-1573; 815-753-1585; 815-753-6257

by Dawn Zuidema, theCity1.com
February 15, 2008