Rampage at Northern Illinois University leaves 6 dead

Six people are dead after a gunman opened fire on a classroom at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. He shot 21 people before shooting himself.

On its Web site, NIU confirmed five fatalities, not including the shooter. Kishwaukee Community Hospital, located about 10 minutes away from the campus, said it admitted 18 people who were victims of the attack.

NIU said police found the gunman dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although the University hasn't released the identity of the shooter, President John Peters said in a press conference that he was enrolled in Spring 2007 as a graduate student in sociology.

The shooter, who Peters said was dressed in dark clothing, opened fire on a classroom in Cole Hall around 3 p.m central time. He used a shotgun and two handguns, shooting at students and the professor before he turned one of the weapons on himself. NIU campus police believe one of those handguns remains a the scene. Authorities have not discovered a motive.

NIU said four of the unidentified victims were female and one was male. On its Web site, Kishwaukee Hospital said six critical patients were airlifted to three different area hospitals. three remain in the hospital and eight have been discharged.

According to a CNN report, a hospital spokesperson said most of the victims were shot in the head.

Peters said campus police arrived on the scene within minutes of the report and campus was locked down at 3:07 p.m central time. The University issued an "all-campus alert" at 3:20 p.m., Peters said, and officials contacted students about the threat using the Web, e-mail, voicemail, a crisis hotline and an alarm system.

The University is shut down Friday while NIU campus police continues its investigation, which Peters said may take some time.
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"We have many, many assets on campus," Peters said. "We anticipate them being on campus for a while."

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich declared a state of emergency because of the shootings, opening his office's disaster relief fund, according to a press release. That will help local emergency personnel pay for the response to the shooting.

The University is located 55 miles west of Chicago and has an enrollment of about 25,000 students.

In December, the NIU campus closed down after graffiti was discovered in a campus residence hall bathroom, according to a letter from Peters posted on the University's Web site. Peters said the message contained a "credible threat against the NIU community," and Reuters reported that the graffiti threat included a reference to the Virginia Tech shootings in April. NIU opened after a day under heightened security and students resumed exams, the Reuters article said.

In the press conference Thursday night, Peters said he didn't believe the threats in December were related to the shootings. He also said the University examined its security procedures as well.

"Security was completely reviewed," Peters said. "The aftermath is that we've had a dialogue about being in these new situations."

There are six phone hot lines available at NIU for students and parents, the numbers for which were posted on the campus alert Web page at 4:10 p.m. central time. NIU is also offering Counseling services in the campus residence halls.