A man dressed in black and armed with a shotgun and two handguns opened fire at a Northern Illinois University (NIU) lecture hall Thursday, wounding 22 and killing five before committing suicide, as of press time.
The gunman, a former graduate student at NIU in spring of 2007, entered the lecture hall around five minutes before class ended, just after 3 p.m. central time. He was described as “a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on.â€Â
A spokesman for the hospital where most of the wounded were taken said that most of the wounded were shot in the head.
Fresno State students were just learning of the news Thursday evening. Limited information was available regarding the shooting, but students were still concerned.
Sophomore Alexandra Revis said that the news made her slightly paranoid, but she wasn̢۪t looking over her shoulder.
“It’s a bit nerve-racking,â€Â Revis said. “It started with Columbine and then you have these people that are all alone and do these things. You wonder if — I know it’s bad to say — but if they’re looking for 15 minutes of fame.â€Â
The shooting gave senior chemistry major Mike Holmes an image in his head.
“I’m not sure if it’s similar to Virginia Tech, but I can picture it in my class,â€Â Holmes said.
The shooting reminded students of the car chase and shooting through Fresno State on Barstow Avenue in late August in 2006.
“I think that awareness is the best word for it,â€Â Revis said. “That’s what it makes me feel. Especially with that shooting last year on Barstow, it makes you more alert.â€Â
Fresno State has been working to improve campus communication since the August shooting, said Dr. Paul Oliaro, Vice President of Student Affairs, in an Associated Students, Inc. meeting Thursday.
“We feel we are prepared,â€Â Oliaro said. “We’re keeping monitors out and antennas up [for troubled students].â€Â
The day of the shooting had noticeable significance.
“I’m just realizing that this was on Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if that has any significance,â€Â Holmes said. “Columbine was on April 20. I don’t know if these days are meaningful or what.â€Â
It was the fourth school shooting within a week.
On Feb. 8, two students were killed at Louisiana Technical College before the shooter committed suicide. In Tennessee, a 17-year-old high school student critically wounded another student during class Monday, and the 15-year-old victim of a shooting at a middle school in Oxnard, Calif. on Tuesday was declared brain dead.
“It’s a trend; I’m not sure what the motivation is, but these people don’t understand the suffering,â€Â Revis said. “I don’t know what makes them go out and cause harm before they kill themselves.â€Â
Officials say that they will “urgently trace the history of the weapons.â€Â Students in the geology class at NIU said that the shooting lasted less than two minutes.
Revis and Holmes questioned the state of mind of school shooters.
“These people are just 20-year-old kids,â€Â Revis said. “I’m just in college, it’s already intense, leave me alone.â€Â