Atlanta, GA 2/16/2008 12:32:26 AM
News / Education

Five Dead, Not Six, In Northern Illinois School Shooting

Six people died, including the gunman, in the school shooting at Northern Illinois University's Dekalb campus Thursday.

Contrary to prior reports, the gunman, who killed himself, killed five additional people, not six. 15 others were shot after Steve Kazmierczak opened fire in a classroom in Cole Hall Thursday afternoon. Kazmierczak, who was carrying a shotgun and three handguns, then fatally shot himself.

According to police, two of the guns were registered to his name, while they are uncertain about the other two.

The victims are Daniel Tarmenter, 20, of Westchester, IL; Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero, IL; Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville, IL; and Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meridian, IL.

The other two victims were pronounced dead outside of Dekalb County.

Several students were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, just 10 minutes away from campus.

Kazmierczak, 27, is a former NIU student who may have been enacting revenge over a failed relationship. Kazmierczak is featured on the school's website for receiving the Dean's Award in Sociology in 2006.

Kazmierczak, a native of Champaign-Urbana, IL, was last a student at Northern Illinois in the spring semester of 2007, but was currently a student at the University of Illinois. While at NIU, he was a Sociology major who was revered by friends and faculty at the school.

According to close friends, he was on medication, but had not taken it in a while and had been "somewhat erratic" over the last couple of weeks.

The medication he took has not been identified yet.

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