Published on Thursday, February 14, 2008

Profile of the shooter

By ALAN EDRINN

The gunman at the Cole Hall shooting has been identified as a student, but not an NIU student.

One student fatality who is not the gunman is confirmed, according to the Kishwaukee Hospital Web site.

Eighteen victims arrived at Kishwaukee Hospital; six of those victims are listed in critical condition. Two were flown to Saint Anthony Hospital in Rockford, three were flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and one was flown to Rockford Memorial Hospital.

Eight victims have been discharged as of 12:45 a.m. Tuesday.

The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the auditorium’s stage. The gunman was carrying a shotgun and two handguns, said NIU Police Chief Donald Grady at a news conference Thursday.

The incident involved only one gunman, said NIU President John Peters.

The shooter fired the shotgun and the handguns, Grady said.

One witness said students took cover behind chairs and started crawling out of the classroom.

When the shooter stopped to reload, students began to run.

One hundred sixty-two students are registered in the class, said Peters, but he did not know how many were in attendance. Peters identified the class as Geology 104, which was scheduled to end at 3:15.

University Police responded to the emergency call and were at the scene in fewer than two minutes, Grady said. The shooting was over “very fast” and no shots were fired by police, Grady said.

In response, NIU set up counseling areas and called in additional counselors, Peters said.

There is no established connection between the Dec. 10 threats and the shooter, Grady said. NIU has received no credible threats since Dec 10, Grady said.

All university classes and activities have been canceled for Friday. NIU has not yet determined when classes will reopen, Peters said.