Gunman kills at least six at NIU

The university cancelled all classes Thursday and Friday.

By Michelle Hagopian

Published Feb. 15, 2008

A gunman shot at least 22 people and killed at least five of them Thursday at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., authorities said. The gunman then shot and killed himself.

The shooter, plus four females and one male, are dead.

At approximately 3:20 p.m., the university reported a gunman on campus. Within minutes, all NIU classes were cancelled Thursday and Friday.

“All students were informed to return to their residence halls or return home and call their parents,” campus police spokeswoman Pat Erickson said.

The gunman used a shotgun and two handguns to wound 16 people and kill six more including himself when he opened fire in a Cole Hall ocean science lecture class shortly after 3 p.m.

At 4:15 p.m., campus police reported the scene was secure and the danger had passed, the NIU Web site stated.

Victims were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb.

The NIU Web site stated a press conference was held at 5:30 p.m. in the Altgeld Hall auditorium.

Erickson said the gunman is dead because of a self-inflicted wound.

The victims’ names have not been released.

The university set up various hotlines for students and parents to call, and provided counseling services at every residence hall on the NIU campus, the university’s Web site stated.

Jessica Izzo, an NIU student, was 100 feet from Cole Hall when the shooting began.

“My apartment is close to the building, and I was actually in the same auditorium three hours earlier for a class,” Izzo said.

She said two of her friends were in the class when the gunman opened fire. One of them was shot. The other managed to escape during the shooting.

“The gunman got up on the stage of the auditorium and started shooting down at people,” Izzo said.

The shooting occurred near the end of the class period. The class instructor was also shot, but the rest of the victims were students, Izzo said.

She said police determined the gunman was not a student at NIU.

NIU is using the campus Web site as the main mode of communication to its students and the public, Erickson said.

MU has a mass-alert system for emergencies on campus.

“MU’s alert system sends text messages to students within minutes of an emergency,” Missouri Students Association President Jim Kelley said.

He said only 10 to 15 percent of MU students have enrolled in the alert system.

“We had a meeting last week with Dr. (Cathy) Scroggs (vice president of student affairs) to discuss ways to increase the percentage of students enrolled,” Kelley said.

He said the system’s problem was largely demographic.

“We attempt to enroll students in the system through Summer Welcome, which helps to increase the percentage of students who receive alerts,” Kelley said.

The MU mass-alert system is not specific to school shootings. Any emergency on campus, such as a natural disaster, can produce a text message.

“There is no standard language for the text message alert,” Kelley said. “Each message is tailored to each individual incident on campus.”

More details will be posted on the Kishwaukee Community Hospital and NIU Web sites as they become available.