2008 Woodie Awards
Illinois shooting affects local students
Nathan St. Clair
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News
On the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. five people were killed and sixteen more were seriously injured in a tragic and unexplainable shooting on Feb. 14.
Steven Kazmierczak, acting alone, entered a geology class lecture hall and opened fire on the students and professor.
The shooting happened at approximately 3:06 p.m. Central Standard Time.
According to The Associated Press, campus police arrived on the scene of the crime two minutes after the first shot was fired. The rampage had come to an end before the campus police could apprehend Kazmierczak.
Kazmierczak entered the room with four firearms, one shot gun and three pistols.
He stood on a stage at the front of the classroom and started shooting his shotgun from the hip towards the middle of the classroom where most students were seated.
After firing several rounds from the shotgun he went up the center aisle firing several rounds from his pistols. Then Kazmierczak circled the room and went back to the stage at the front of the classroom and shot himself.
The authorities are still not certain what caused 27-year-old Kazmierczak to attack the students of NIU.
Kazmierczak received his undergraduate degree from NIU and was pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois-Urbana at the Champaign campus.
Professors and students have reported that Kazmierczak was an excellent, quiet student but not a loner or an outcast. He was very friendly and had many friends.
According to his professors, family and friends, Kazmierczak did not fit the typical killer profile, which is one reason they are so baffled by his actions.
The only thing in Kazmierczak's past to indicate any sort of unstable behavior was a stint at a mental health hospital in 2001. He had been on medication since he was in high school and had allegedly stopped taking the medication two weeks before the NIU shooting, according to The Associated Press.
The authorities are unsure if Kazmierczak's actions and lack of medication can be linked, but they believe that his behavior might have become erratic after ceasing to medicate himself.
Steven Kazmierczak, acting alone, entered a geology class lecture hall and opened fire on the students and professor.
The shooting happened at approximately 3:06 p.m. Central Standard Time.
According to The Associated Press, campus police arrived on the scene of the crime two minutes after the first shot was fired. The rampage had come to an end before the campus police could apprehend Kazmierczak.
Kazmierczak entered the room with four firearms, one shot gun and three pistols.
He stood on a stage at the front of the classroom and started shooting his shotgun from the hip towards the middle of the classroom where most students were seated.
After firing several rounds from the shotgun he went up the center aisle firing several rounds from his pistols. Then Kazmierczak circled the room and went back to the stage at the front of the classroom and shot himself.
The authorities are still not certain what caused 27-year-old Kazmierczak to attack the students of NIU.
Kazmierczak received his undergraduate degree from NIU and was pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois-Urbana at the Champaign campus.
Professors and students have reported that Kazmierczak was an excellent, quiet student but not a loner or an outcast. He was very friendly and had many friends.
According to his professors, family and friends, Kazmierczak did not fit the typical killer profile, which is one reason they are so baffled by his actions.
The only thing in Kazmierczak's past to indicate any sort of unstable behavior was a stint at a mental health hospital in 2001. He had been on medication since he was in high school and had allegedly stopped taking the medication two weeks before the NIU shooting, according to The Associated Press.
The authorities are unsure if Kazmierczak's actions and lack of medication can be linked, but they believe that his behavior might have become erratic after ceasing to medicate himself.
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