NEWS: SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

Friday, February 15, 2008

A man opened fire with a shotgun in a crowded lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, killing 6 and wounding at least 22 people before killing himself, authorities said.

Witnesses say a “skinny white guy with a stocking cap on” came out from behind a screen in front of the classroom carrying a shotgun and opened fire on an ocean science class of about 160 that was to have ended shortly.

A hospital spokeswoman told CNN most of the injuries are head and chest gunshot wounds.

The shooter, Steven Kazmierczak, was a graduate student at NIU in the spring of 2007, but was not currently enrolled there. A preliminary investigation has not uncovered a police record on the gunman, and records showed he had no contact with university police while a student there, NIU President John Peters said. He also mentioned that Kazmierczak had a good record as an undergraduate, receiving a degree in sociology at the school in 2006.

Lawrence King was shot twice Tuesday morning. (Photo: LA Times)

Earlier this week, Lawrence King, 15, a student at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, CA was shot in the head by a 14-year-old classmate.

Although authorities initially believed King was improving, the boy’s conditioned worsened early Wednesday and he was declared brain dead later that day.

Police say the classmate, whose identity was not disclosed because of his age, shot King at least twice during their first period English class.

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Gregory Totten said prosecutors would decide whether the case should remain in Juvenile Court after reviewing the police investigation. Under state law, prosecutors can ask the court to try the suspect as an adult, he said. “In all probability he will be charged in adult court,” Totten said.

A motive has not been determined, but students say King and his assailant had a falling out stemming from his sexual orientation. King sometimes wore feminine clothing and makeup and was gay, students said.

“He would come to school in high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and painted nails — the whole thing,” said Michael Sweeney, 13, an eighth-grader. “That was freaking the guys out.”

Students say that a day before the shooting, King and several boys had an altercation during lunch. If the assailant did target King because of his sexual orientation, the case could be considered a hate crime. Totten said a hate-crime enhancement is something prosecutors will consider as they move forward, “but the case is going to be reviewed as a murder involving the use of a firearm, and that crime carries a potential sentence of 50 years to life.”