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Officials at Northern Illinois University today identified the gunman who killed five people and wounded 16 others before killing himself yesterday. He is Stephen Kazmierczak.
The university says he behaved erratically in recent days and had bought weapons that he smuggled on to campus.
NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from DeKalb, Illinois.
CHERYL CORLEY: A year ago, anyone would've called 27-year-old Stephen Kazmierczak a model student, a graduate who was continuing his studies in sociology with a keen interest in social justice and criminal law.
Before he transferred to the University of Illinois, he had published a study on prison policy. Officials here in DeKalb say Kazmierczak was revered by the faculty and staff he worked, but university president John Peters describe quite a different person when he was speaking about the gunman who returned to his old school and gone on a shooting rampage.
Mr. JOHN PETERS (President, Northern Illinois University): We were dealing with a disturbed individual, who intended to do harm on this campus.
CORLEY: Kazmierczak had no police record, and Northern Illinois University's police, Donald Grady, says investigators still have no idea why he went on a shooting spree. Kazmierczak killed himself but left no note. Chief Grady says they've been talking to people who were close to him.
Mr. DONALD GRADY (Chief of Police, Northern Illinois University): And apparently, he had been taking medications. He had stopped taking those medications and he had become somewhat erratic in the last couple of weeks.
CORLEY: When he burst through a door and entered the Cole building lecture hall, Kazmierczak had four guns with him. Chief Grady says two of them - a pump-action Remington shotgun and a Glock 9 mm handgun were purchased legally less than a week ago down in Champaign, Illinois, where the gunman was currently going to school. Kazmierczak also had a valid firearm owner's identification card, which is required for Illinois residence to own firearms.
Chief Grady says people didn't notice Kazmierczak before the shooting.
Mr. GRADY: He was seen outside of the building, but they didn't necessarily see any weapons. He carried the shotgun in a guitar case. He had a coat on over top of the belt that carried the weapons and the ammunition that he had, so no one would have seen that.
CORLEY: Investigators recovered 48 shells and six shotgun shells, as terrified students were running and crawling for the exits. Chief Grady says the gunman paused once to reload his shotgun. In addition to the five students who died, 16 others were injured. Dr. Roger Maillefer was the emergency room surgeon on call at Kishwaukee Community Hospital, where many of the victims were first taken.
Dr. ROGER MAILLEFER (General Surgeon, Kishwaukee Community Hospital): As you can imagine in a classroom full of students that were trying to leave as buckshot was being fired at them, there were a variety of injuries from the front and from the back. These are little pellets. They look like little BBs. And although on the surface, they look very small and insignificant, they can travel to places where they're not supposed to be.
(Soundbite of choir singing)
CORLEY: There have been numerous prayer vigils today and yesterday for those remaining on the NIU campus, as the people here try to come to terms with the horror that has ripped DeKalb. As soon as the all clear was given late yesterday afternoon, many students headed home to get away from the tragedy. Others called for their parents to come pick them up. But Raymond Perkins, a senior from Chicago says he wants to stay here to support his friends.
Mr. RAYMOND PERKINS (Student, Northern Illinois University): On my floor, yeah, like, you live around these people every day. You see them all day every day. You spend 24/7 with each other and you can't help but get close. And so just to make them feel better, I decided that I'm going to stay if they're going to stay.
CORLEY: Zach Mazure(ph), a junior, who was walking outside of Cole Hall when the shooting occurred says he honestly hasn't decided if he'll stick around.
Mr. ZACH MAZURE (Student, Northern Illinois University): After seeing these people completely scared out of their minds for their lives, sprinting out of the building and hearing gun shots, like, the last thing I want to do is suck it up and go back to school on Monday.
CORLEY: NIU's president says decisions about when to reopen the school will come later. He says, first, this community must try to begin to heal.
Cheryl Corley, NPR News, DeKalb. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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