Thursday, February 14, 2008

Man Kills 5 at NIU

Man kills 5, self at Northern Illinois

By CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

A former student dressed in black opened fire with a shotgun and two handguns from the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, killing five students and injuring 16 others before committing suicide, authorities said.

The gunman fatally shot four women and a man in a "brief, rapid-fire assault" that sent terrified students running for cover, university President John Peters said. Four died at the scene, including the gunman, and the other two died at a hospital, he said.

Witnesses in the geology class said "someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.

Lauren Carr said she was sitting in the third row of the lecture hall around 3 p.m. when she saw the shooter walk through a door on the right-hand side of the stage, pointing a gun straight ahead.

"I personally Army-crawled halfway up the aisle," said Carr, a 20-year-old sophomore. "I said I could get up and run or I could die here."

She said a student in front of her was bleeding, "but he just kept running."

"I heard this girl scream, 'Run, he's reloading the gun.'"



More


Horribly tragic. And as a student these events always make you wonder if it could happen to your school, and if you'd know what to do. I was in High School when Columbine happened and we thought about it then. As I go into teaching it really makes me stop and think. Its not anything I ever would have thought of before Columbine, but it seems to be happening in schools with greater frequency.

6 comments:

Derek Elwell said...

Now we can just sit back and watch as all the activists on both sides step over the bodies of the dead to place their national ambitions over and above mourning a national tragedy.

God bless America!

catholicandgop said...

Any posturing at this point is completely asinine.

Athanasis Contra Mundum said...

How close is NIU to Kenosha?

catholicandgop said...

I mapped it out. De Kalb is about 110 miles away from Kenosha. And where I am in Illinois is about 60 miles east of De Kalb.

I know one girl who goes to NIU, and she's ok.

Anonymous said...

Greater and greater frequency indeed. It's becoming an annual event.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... in that case, you will be needing a set of "voter aids" as well. ;)

http://www.thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=1726

About Me

My photo
Catholic and politically conservative, I graduated with a BA in History (concentration in American) and Political Science. I'm between two parishes; one in Wisconsin that is fairly traditional, and one in Illinois that is fairly liberal. I teach CCD. I work in the food service industry, which basically means I'm working in fast food until I find a better job. I'd like to work for the church somehow. Right now I'm working on getting my teaching certification, although I'm unsure thats the correct path for me. This blog is as random as I am. I hope you enjoy.