2008 Woodie Awards
Illinois shooter doesn't fit 'typical' profile
Lindsey Pruitt
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
If there is such a thing as a typical mass murderer, the identified gunman at Northern Illinois University, 27-year-old Stephen Kazmierczak, did not fit the profile.
Kazmierczak was an "outstanding student, polite and industrious with what looked as a bright future in the criminal justice field," according to MSNBC.
The shooter had been a graduate student in sociology at Northern Illinois as recently as spring 2007, but he was not currently enrolled at the 25,000-student campus, said NIU President John Peters in USA Today.
The gunman had no record of police contact or an arrest record while attending the university, about 65 miles west of Chicago, Peters said.
Kazmierczak was enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said NIU spokeswoman Melanie Magara, according to the Associated Press.
Nothing about Kazmierczak's behavior at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where he was studying for his master's degree in social work, hinted at the crime he was about to commit, two professors who were there during the shooting said Friday.
"I saw nothing that caused me any alarm," said Jan Carter-Black, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and Kazmierczak's faculty advisor, according to USA Today.
"I think it is inevitable that you find yourself wishing that you could reverse the events, and so that is where I find myself," Carter-Black said in a conference call with reporters Friday.
Chris Larrison, also an assistant professor, agreed.
"When we do see students having problems, we're quick to engage, so it really truly is a shock to us," he said in a USA Today article.
Kazmierczak worked for Larrison for 45 days last fall doing data entry for a research project. He enrolled as a full-time student specializing in mental health, but he withdrew from Carter-Black's class on human behavior and the social environment to work at an area prison last fall, she said in USA Today.
Kazmierczak was an "outstanding student, polite and industrious with what looked as a bright future in the criminal justice field," according to MSNBC.
The shooter had been a graduate student in sociology at Northern Illinois as recently as spring 2007, but he was not currently enrolled at the 25,000-student campus, said NIU President John Peters in USA Today.
The gunman had no record of police contact or an arrest record while attending the university, about 65 miles west of Chicago, Peters said.
Kazmierczak was enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said NIU spokeswoman Melanie Magara, according to the Associated Press.
Nothing about Kazmierczak's behavior at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where he was studying for his master's degree in social work, hinted at the crime he was about to commit, two professors who were there during the shooting said Friday.
"I saw nothing that caused me any alarm," said Jan Carter-Black, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and Kazmierczak's faculty advisor, according to USA Today.
"I think it is inevitable that you find yourself wishing that you could reverse the events, and so that is where I find myself," Carter-Black said in a conference call with reporters Friday.
Chris Larrison, also an assistant professor, agreed.
"When we do see students having problems, we're quick to engage, so it really truly is a shock to us," he said in a USA Today article.
Kazmierczak worked for Larrison for 45 days last fall doing data entry for a research project. He enrolled as a full-time student specializing in mental health, but he withdrew from Carter-Black's class on human behavior and the social environment to work at an area prison last fall, she said in USA Today.
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Concerned NIU Parent
Concerned NIU Parent
posted 2/19/08 @ 9:55 PM CST
What I would like to know is how long had he been talking antidepressants and had he ever taken them before. About 12 years ago my regular doctor put me on Zoloft and as an undiagnost bipolar it was like throwing gas on a fire. (Continued…)
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