BREAKING: Shooting reported on NIU campus

Chicago Tribune ^ | 2/14/08 | Chicago Tribune

[JennysCool]

Police and fire officials were on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb Thursday afternoon after a report of a shooting near a dormitory. "There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus," an alert on the university's Web site said. "Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity." The possible shooting took place near Cole Hall, a DeKalb police officer said. There were reports of at least one injury.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=niu

Thanks to Ali Veritas for the ping to this post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974730/posts?page=88#88

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http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/801984,niugrad021908.article

“NIU grad recalls shooter as inquisitive, smart, nice”
February 20, 2008
BY RASMIEYH ABDELNABI

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “I met Steve Kazmierczak in an introductory political science class in 2002 as a freshman in college. He was inquisitive, smart, respectful and nice.”

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “We would also see each other on campus during the semesters we didn’t have any classes together and catch up.

Our topics of choice: foreign policy and the Middle East. He would especially enjoy practicing his Arabic on me. In 2004, NIU decided to offer a year’s worth of Arabic classes. Steve took both classes without hesitation, excited as could be.

“Assalamo Alikum,” he would say to me, which means “peace be with you” in Arabic. He would proceed to ask me how I was doing and what I was up to, all in Arabic with a thick accent and a huge, excited smile.

Sometimes I was his walking dictionary and he would ask me, “What does this word mean in English?” or “What is this word in Arabic?”

We would debate on issues, sometimes argue, but he would always back his arguments with facts. It was about logic and things adding up to him.

Once we took a course called “The Politics of the Middle East.” At the beginning of the course, our instructor informed us a research paper would be due by the end of the semester. Steve decided on Hamas, which is known mainly to the world as being a Palestinian terrorist group, which was the first thing that interested Steve about the group. But he also heard Hamas funded many social services, which also interested him. How could one group be put into two completely different categories, Steve would ask.

Unlike most of us, Steve started his research from day one, reading every book he could find on Hamas. He’d give me a status report when we saw each other in class. Steve said that his perception of Hamas changed with all the research he did.”

(Rasmieyh Abdelnabi is a former Northern Star reporter.)

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1973627/posts

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/20/shooter.girlfriend/index.html

pdated 3:37 p.m. EST, Wed February 20, 2008

“Girlfriend: Shooter was taking cocktail of 3 drugs”

SNIPPET: “Steven Kazmierczak had been taking Xanax, Ambien, Prozac, girlfriend says
Girlfriend: Psychiatrist prescribed all three medications
Boyfriend recently had become secretive about computer, Jessica Baty says”