Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Cubs Combat Casino
PHOTOS: Peaches And Amanda Blank At Metro
The Return of The Chicagoist Reader Meet-Up
County Sales Tax Rollback Vetoed - Here We Go Again
At least two people were shot during a geology class at Northern Illinois University this afternoon. As of 3:50, NIU had posted this on its website:
Its has been confirmed that there has been a shooting on campus and several people have been taken away by ambulance. All classses are cancelled on the DeKalb campus. People are urged not to come to campus. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
More info to come.... [NIU's Northern Star, Trib, S-T, WBBM, CBS]
Update, 4:50: NIU is asking all students to call their parents. Four people have been brought to the hospital with "head wounds," according to the Trib. According to witnesses, the gunman was carrying a pistol and a shot gun, and reports currently say that the shooter is dead.
Update, 5:16:: From NIU: "Police are confirming that the shooter is dead by a self-inflicted gunshot." There's a press conference scheduled for 5:30.
5:55 Watching the press conference. NIU police were on the scene in less than 2 minutes, but no one knows yet what the motive was. There aren't any security cameras in the lecture hall.
6:00 There was only one gunman, and he had a shotgun and two handguns. One was a Glock, and the other was a small-caliber handgun, but the police haven't found the smaller gun yet. The police officer doing the briefing says the assailant had ammunition left, but won't say how much ammo the gunman brought with him into the classroom.
6:10 Conference over. More details TBA.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Reports are that he used a shotgun. If so, it's likely there are fewer fatalities than with some sort of automatic rifle. Shotguns aren't very lethal at distance, and this was a "large lecture hall."
Still, unconfirmed reports say 2 dead.
Zoinks ... my girlfriend just last week quit her job as a textbook sales rep and NIU was one of her schools ... scary ...
It's terrible when it happens at any school, but it really hurts when it's your own alma mater. I hope and pray that all the victims recover.
Just talked to someone that said at least 5 dead, on still hanging by a prayer. One of those dead includes shooter.
Just waiting for the right-wingers around the country to start proclaiming this awful event could have been prevented if only all the students and all the teachers and staff had been armed and ready to shoot back. This happens with every college shooting.
As though everyone packing heat is something we should strive for ...
My thoughts to those suffering through this.
Matilda
I bet something like this would never happen if guns were illegal.
Fed up: I would never be idiotic enough to advance that idea, but thanks for dangling the bait in any case.
Fed Up, how many college shootings have there been in Britain in the past few years?
Just waiting for the libs to get on the bandwagon about firearm bans etc...
Ooops, wait
"Just waiting for the right-wingers around the country to start proclaiming this awful event could have been prevented if only all the students and all the teachers and staff had been armed and ready to shoot back. This happens with every college shooting." - Matilda
Not even a day out and you start exploiting tragedy for political gain, opportunistic snakes.
Matilda, weren't you the one professing your great love affair and knowledge of history?!?! You of ALL people should therefore know that such talk is complete bullshit and this shit happens no matter what.
Just waiting for the libs to get on the bandwagon about firearm bans etc...
Ooops, wait
"Just waiting for the right-wingers around the country to start proclaiming this awful event could have been prevented if only all the students and all the teachers and staff had been armed and ready to shoot back. This happens with every college shooting." - Matilda
Not even a day out and you start exploiting tragedy for political gain, opportunistic snakes.
Matilda, weren't you the one professing your great love affair and knowledge of history?!?! You of ALL people should therefore know that such talk is complete bullshit and this shit happens no matter what.
Pardon me, Mepps?
How exactly is making a observation exploitations?
Sorry, but I haven't had enough drugs yet today to understand your rant.
Anon,
there was a school shooting in 1997 in britian and one in 2007 in finland. Its not the lack of gun laws thats the problem (Il has some of the toughest.)
Im not a NRA gun nut and I dont think we all should be walking around with sidearms but the piece of shit shooter is the problem not the gun. If he didnt have a gun a couple of hours on the internet and a few more at a hardware store and he would have had a real nice car bomb.
Uh, Fed up, compare the number of school shooting over there with the number over here. I wonder if your facts might point you in a different direction.
I am neither a gun nut nor a gun-control nut--in fact, I have mixed ideas on this matter--but I think gun violence in the USA far oustrips gun violence in other countries, so I think you are barking up the wrong tree on this one.
Lets see- Fedup actually has stats to back up his argument and discussion, Matilda just says 'your wrong because the stats back me up because I say so', but actually provides zero stats.
Matilda; if its so clear to you, provide reliable data (other than 'I say so') on all of your points. I'm sure directly correlating gun laws in the US with increased school shootings in comparison to gun laws and decreased school shooting in opposing contries, while taking into account culture, society, values, and other such institutions on such factors will be EASY for Matilda.
Matilda we also have a much larger population. China has very little gun violence maybe a set of laws like that would make you happy. while were banning guns we could ban religion and having more than one child. How much freedom are you willing to give up to the goverment. guns are bad so lets ban them they hurt people, Do you think we should ban abortions they dont turn out so well for the fetus. Should we ban alcohol and cigs there bad and kill people or we could ban schools that would really cut down on the school shootings.
Mepps: Look it up. Just because I don't have the stats right in front of me at this moment does not mean I have a point. You can research. I don't need to hold your hand. This blog is not my master's thesis.
By the way, Fed brought up two school shootings. Two. That does not seem like a strong case. Does it to you, Mepps? If so, why?
Yes, Fed, we have a much larger population.
Please spare me the China crap. Did at any point did I call for stricter gun laws? Did you miss the point where I said I have mixed feelings about gun control and gun rights?
Yeah, I think we should ban everything and be like China. That is exactly what I am saying. You must be reading my mind.
HA!
Matilda; what part of "if its so clear to you, provide reliable data (other than 'I say so') on all of your points." didn't you understand?!
What, you have time to jack around on Chicagoist, but no time to actually solidify your argument with the actual stats you cite in this supposed point of yours?? Yes, you can have points without stats, but when you point to stats in your argument to bolster that very argument, you sure better be prepared to know or have the actual stats- else its as good as made up BS.
Essentially you are saying 'well...it makes sense to me that... so and so country...lower crime, no guns...therefore...american guns are always used to shoot up schools...'
nice....