NIU Observes Anniversary Of Shootings
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 14, 2009 7:00PM
It's been one year since a peaceful Valentine's Day on the campus of Northern Illinois University was shattered just after 3 p.m. by gunfire. Former student Stephen Kazmierczak opened fire on a class in a lecture hall in Cole Hall, ultimately injuring 21 and killing five; Kazmierczak then took his own life, bringing the death toll to six. It was the fourth deadliest university shooting in United States history and occurred less than a year after the Virginia Tech massacre. At a press conference the next day, NIU President Dr. John Peters said, "We will get through this together as a community." Classes were canceled and wouldn't resume until February 25th.
To mark the anniversary, NIU has scheduled events to take place throughout the day. This morning, the school held a memorial ceremony at which each victim was remembered. A private luncheon is being held for the families of the victims and guests, and later this afternoon, President John Peters and the victims' families will lay wreaths at a memorial near Cole Hall. A candlelight vigil and reception will be held this evening. Said Peters of a new memorial garden being developed, "I get emotional about it. It will be a place to reflect."
Meanwhile, as the anniversary is marked, critics are turning their attention to NIU Police Chief Donald Grady (pictured), who has yet to file his final report on the shooting. For his part, Grady would rather Kazmierczak not be remembered at all. Said Grady:
"Why give the guy the notoriety he sought? That might only encourage someone else with mental issues to try and do the same thing one day...You want to know who the suspect is? You know that. He's dead. You want to know how many guns he had? You know that. You want to know how many victims there were? You know that. What else do you need to know?"
While some family members want the details of their loved ones final moments, others are willing to leave it be, thanking Grady and his staff for their swift action that probably saved many lives. Still, there is a lack of urgency that some find disturbing and differs greatly from the investigation following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech. According to the AP:
Grady said he still has thousands of investigative papers to read, and even holds out hope that a hard drive apparently discarded from Kazmierczak's laptop before the attack might turn up. But with no additional suspects or indication of accomplices, he said, "this case just isn't as high a priority anymore." ...Grady notes that even the Virginia State Police, which has led the Virginia Tech investigation, has not released all documents or a final report.
In the wake of the shooting, as the healing began, focus turned to the shooter, Kazmierczak, a former graduate student who suffered from mental illness. The profile on him that ran in Esquire was one of the best pieces we read related to him. Disturbing details emerged, including the care Kazmierczak took to throw police off his trail. The shooting even served to reopen the debate on gun control.
Another emotional aspect of the incident was what to do with Cole Hall. Gov. Blagojevich originally called for the building to be torn down, a decision that was met with great backlash from the NIU community. Eventually, the university settled on renovating the building.
The five students who died in the shooting were:
- Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero
- Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meriden
- Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville
- Gayle Dubowski, 20, of Carol Stream
- Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Elmhurst