Campus Gunman Killed Himself, Police Say

Campus Gunman Killed Himself, Police Say

A gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, injuring as many as 17 people before he killed himself, authorities said.

DeKalb Police Lt. Gary Spangler told the student newspaper the Northern Star that the gunman was dead.

A statement posted on the university's Web site at 5:12 p.m. CST confirmed that the gunman had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The university had previously issued a statement on its Web site about an hour after the 3 p.m. CST shooting that "the immediate danger has passed. The gunman is no longer a threat."

Joe Dant, a spokesman for Kishwaukee Community Hospital, said 17 victims with gunshot wounds had arrived at the hospital, reported WMAQ-TV in Chicago. Three were in critical condition with head wounds, and one of those had been transported to a higher-level care facility in Rockford, Ill.

Eight patients were in yellow, or stable, condition with "indirect gunshot wounds," Dant said. Six patients were in green, or good, condition.

The shooting took place in Cole Hall near the King Commons, a central gathering place on the 25,000-student campus, according to the university's Web site. The university is about 65 miles west of Chicago.

Paul Sundstrom said he was in geography class in the Cole Hall auditorium when the gunfire broke out, WMAQ reported.

"We were sitting in the fourth row and the guy came in from behind where the professor was speaking. He had a black beany, like a long black trench coat and a shtogun, and he just walked in and just started shooting at people randomly.," Sundstrom said. "I crawled out to the main aisle, then just got up and ran and turned around and saw him shooting."

Sundstrom said there were 150 to 200 students in the auditorium when the shooting started.

Tom Ahern, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the gunman used a 12-guage shotgun and a handgun. Ahern said agents did not know the make or models of the guns, but they would be analyzed on a high-priority basis.

Campus has been locked down, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. Students have reported police cars and ambulances on campus, with streets blocked off.

A sophomore told WBBM radio that he was sitting in geology class when a young white male took out a 12-gauge shotgun and started shooting in Cole Hall, WMAQ reported.

The student said he ran, but believes a professor may have been shot. That information has not been confirmed.

"We can't leave the dorm, we can't go outside, the doors are locked," a student named Jasmine told WMAQ at 3:55 p.m. CST.

"I was in class, and everything was normal. A student from a different class came in and said there had been a shooting and everyone had to get out of here," another student, named Noah, told WMAQ.

Noah said his professor had one student go to an administrative office and ask what was happening. The student returned and said that the shooting was confirmed, and that students should leave.

NIU confirmed the shooting in a posting on its Web site.

The university was urging people not to come to campus and all activities were cancelled at the campus for Thursday and Friday.