NIU Shooter Described As "Gentle, Quiet"

Steven Kazmierczak Struggled With Mental Illness; Duffel Bag Of Ammo Found In Hotel Room

(CBS/AP)  Steven Kazmierczak checked into a hotel near campus three days before carrying out his deadly shooting spree at Northern Illinois University, paying cash and signing his name only as "Steven" on a slip of paper, according to the hotel manager.

Kazmierczak was last seen at the Travelodge - where he smoked cigarettes and downed energy drinks and cold medicine - on Tuesday, hotel manager Jay Patel said.

The Chicago Tribune reported that authorities found a duffel back that Kazmierczak had left in the room, the zippers glued shut. A bomb squad was called, but investigators found ammunition inside the bag, the newspaper reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Kazmierczak also left behind a laptop computer, which was seized by investigators, Patel told The Associated Press on Saturday.

"It's scary," said Patel, adding that he called police when he found the laptop and clothes, but "nobody's in the room."

The discoveries added to the puzzles surrounding Kazmierczak, a 27-year-old graduate student some called quiet, dependable and fun-loving who returned to his alma mater on Valentine's Day, leaving five people dead before turning a gun on himself.

A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said Kazmierczak was placed there after high school by his parents. She said he used to cut himself, and had resisted taking his medications.

He also had a short-lived stint as a prison guard that ended abruptly when he didn't show up for work. He was in the Army for about six months in 2001-02, but he told a friend he'd gotten a psychological discharge.

Exactly what set Kazmierczak off - and why he picked his former university and that particular lecture hall - remained a mystery.

On Thursday, Kazmierczak, armed with three handguns hidden in his coat and a shotgun hidden in a guitar case, stepped from behind a screen on the lecture hall's stage and opened fire on a geology class, reports CBS News affiliate WBBM-TV in Chicago.

He killed five students before committing suicide.

University Police Chief Donald Grady said Friday that Kazmierczak had become erratic in the past two weeks after he stopped taking his medication.

"We were dealing with a disturbed individual who intended to do harm on this campus," NIU President John Peters said, reports WBBM.

University Police Chief Donald Grady said Friday that Kazmierczak had become erratic in the past two weeks after he stopped taking his medication.

Kazmierczak spent more than a year at the Thresholds-Mary Hill House in the late 1990s, former house manager Louise Gbadamashi told The Associated Press. His parents placed him there after high school because he had become "unruly" at home, she said.

Gbadamashi said she couldn't remember any instances of him being violent.

"He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," she said. "That was part of the problem."

The attack was baffling to many of those who knew him.

"Steve was the most gentle, quiet guy in the world. ... He had a passion for helping people," said Jim Thomas, an emeritus professor of sociology and criminology at Northern Illinois who taught Kazmierczak, promoted him to a teacher's aide and became his friend.

Kazmierczak once told Thomas about getting a discharge from the Army.

"It was no major deal, a kind of incompatibility discharge - for a state of mind, not for any behavior," Thomas said. "He was concerned that that on his record might be a stigma."

Kazmierczak enlisted in September 2001, but was discharged in February 2002 for an "unspecified" reason, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said.

He worked from Sept. 24 to Oct. 9 as a corrections officer at the Rockville Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Rockville, Ind. His tenure there ended when "he just didn't show up one day," Indiana prisons spokesman Doug Garrison said.

On Friday, investigators interviewed Kazmierczak's father in Lakeland, Fla., and his former girlfriend in Champaign, the Chicago Tribune reported. Investigators provided no details about what they may have learned. According to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation, authorities were looking into whether Kazmierczak and the woman recently broke up.

A federal law enforcement official confirms to CBS NewsKazmierczak purchased four guns - two last week, two months ago -- at Tony’s Guns and Ammo in Champaign, Illinois.

He bought a Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun. He bought the two other handguns at the same shop - a Hi-Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a Sig Sauer on Aug. 6.

All four guns were bought legally from a federally licensed firearms dealer, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At least one criminal background check was performed - Kazmierczak had no criminal record.

Kazmierczak had a State Police-issued FOID, or firearms owners identification card, which is required in Illinois to own a gun, authorities said. Such cards are rarely issued to those with recent mental health problems.

NIU President John Peters said Kazmierczak compiled "a very good academic record, no record of trouble" at the 25,000-student campus in DeKalb. He won at least two awards and served as an officer in two student groups dedicated to promoting understanding of the criminal justice system.

Kazmierczak (pronounced kaz-MUR-chek) grew up in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village. He was a B student at Elk Grove High School, where school district spokeswoman Venetia Miles said he was active in band and took Japanese before graduating in 1998. He was also in the chess club.

Nobody answered the door Saturday morning at the Urbana home of Kazmierczak's sister, Susan. But sobs could be heard through the door of the Urbana home, where a statement was posted:

"Our heartfelt prayers and deepest sympathies are extended to the families, victims, and all other persons involved in the Northern Illinois University tragedy. We are both shocked and saddened. In addition to the loss of innocent lives, Steven was a member of our family. We are grieving his loss as well as the loss of life resulting in his actions."

At NIU, six white crosses were placed on a snow-covered hill around the center of campus, which was closed Friday. They included the names of four victims - Daniel Parmenter, Ryanne Mace, Julianna Gehant, Catalina Garcia. The two other crosses were blank, though officials have identified Kazmierczak's final victim as Gayle Dubowski.

By Friday night, dozens of candles flickered in packed snow at makeshift memorials around campus as hundreds of students, mostly wearing the school colors of red and black, packed a memorial service.

"It's kind of overwhelming. It feels strong, it feels like we're all in this together," said Carlee Siggeman, 18, a freshman from Genoa who attended the vigil with friends.

[billorights]

A few years ago, my formerly-anti-gun sister-in-law was home alone late one evening when an unknown %u201Csalesman%u201D knocked at her back door, insisting that she open the door, while trying to peer into her windows through the curtains. She knew the police could provide a quick armed response, but she also knew that I would absolutely provide an immediate armed response, so she called me. I was there within three minutes, by which time the %u201Csalesman%u201D had already left for parts unknown. Since that day, her anti-gun stance has changed almost 180-degrees. She still doesn%u2019t have an interest in owning a gun, which is fine with me, but she now understands that guns have a valuable place in polite society. And, when seconds count, you can%u2019t always count on the police to be where you need them.

[drbonkers]

* "Are you trying to prove that guns should be banned from the face of earth? I agree! Posted by schoollord at 05:12 PM : Feb 16, 2008 *
* When schoolord was asked, "What [gun]limit do you propose?", she replied: "Half a gun per gun owner!" Posted by schoollord at 04:10 PM : Feb 19, 2008 **
"My post at 1:06 has disappeared. I don''''t know what happened to it. I don''''t think anyone would have reported it because I don''''t think I swore or anything." Posted by erasmus6 at 02:59 PM : Feb 16, 2008 **
-------------------------------
* Per your request, schoolord, just two the many times you expressed gun-banning in this forum as well as others.
**It''s time for you to read the "Rules of Engagement", erasms. I have not reported you. CBS is not inactive in this type of thing.

[billorights]

Part 2

On Oct. 13, 2002, London''s Sunday Times reported that "Britain''s murder rate has risen to its highest level since records began 100 years ago"3

1. John van Kesteren, Pat Mayhew & Paul Nieuwbeerta, "Criminal Victimization in Seventeen Industrialized Countries: Key findings from the 2000 International Crime Victims Survey," the Hague, Ministry of Justice, WODC, Onderzoek en beleid, nr. 187, 2000.
2. A. Travis, "England and Wales Top Crime League," the Guardian, Feb. 23, 2001.
3. David Leppard & Rachel Dobson, "Murder rate soars to highest for a century," Sunday Times, Oct. 13, 2002.

[billorights]

FABLE XIII: Foreign countries such as England and Japan have much less crime than the U.S. because of their more severe gun laws.

Britain''s licensing of gun owners and registration of their guns made it possible for the government to demand forfeiture of registered pump and semi-automatic shotguns in 1988, after the murderous rampage by a deranged man in Hungerford. Licensed gun owners were told to turn in their handguns; the final deadline was Feb. 27, 1998.

Curbing violence was the promise; loss of liberty was the price. Per the International Crime Victims Survey carried out by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, England, Australia and Wales report the highest burglary and violent crime rates among the top 17 industrialized nations.1 As the Guardian put it, the study "shows England and Wales as the top of the world league with Australia as the countries where one is most likely to become a crime victim."2

continued in part 2

[billorights]

FABLE VI: Since firearm accidents are a large and growing problem, we need laws mandating how people store their firearms.

To the contrary, fatal firearm accidents in the United States have been decreasing dramatically from year to year, decade to decade.1 Today they''re at an all-time low among the entire population and among children in particular, and account for only 1% of fatal accidents. More common are fatal accidents involving, or due to, motor vehicles, falls, fires, poisoning, drowning, choking on ingested objects and mistakes during medical care.2 Since 1930, the U.S. population has more than doubled, the number of privately owned firearms has quintupled, and the annual number of fatal firearm accidents has declined by 74%.3 Among children, fatal firearm accidents have declined 84% since 1975.4

1. National Safety Council, Accident Facts: 2001 Edition, pp. 40-41.
2. National Center for Health Statistics.
3. Population: Bureau of the Census; firearms: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; accidents, National Center for Health Statistics.
4. National Center for Health Statistics.

[billorights]

FABLE I: A gun in the home makes the home less safe.

Survey research by award-winning Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck, has shown that firearms are used for protection as many as 2.5 million times annually.5

It should come as no surprise that Kleck''s findings are reflexively dismissed by "gun control" groups, but a leading anti-gun criminologist was honest enough to acknowledge their validity. "I am as strong a gun-control advocate as can be found among the criminologists in this country," wrote the late Marvin E. Wolfgang. "I would eliminate all guns from the civilian population and maybe even from the police. . . . What troubles me is the article by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. The reason I am troubled is that they have provided an almost clear-cut case of methodologically sound research in support of something I have theoretically opposed for years, namely, the use of a gun in defense against a criminal perpetrator. . . . I do not like their conclusions that having a gun can be useful, but I cannot fault their methodology."6

5. Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, "Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense With a Gun," The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1995, p. 164.

6. Marvin E. Wolfgang, "Tribute to a View I Have Opposed," The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1995, pp. 188-192.

[billorights]

Nice try, I-skipped-most-of-Schoollord, but your illogic still does not fly, or pass the smell test.

You posted the challenge to show any message in which you had written that you favor banning guns. I did just that. Now you''re back-pedaling, again?

Your so-called "facts" are a joke, and you run from the truth like a cockroach scurrying away from the light.

And now, just for fun, you''re adding "limiting the number of guns a person could own and waiting periods" as a means to ending so-called gun violence? What is the exact limit you propose? What is your Constitutional basis for imposing this limit? What is the waiting period you propose? What is the purpose of the waiting period? Will it be long enough to complete an instant background check? Can you provide ANY example that illustrates that either of these ideas will accomplish anything? I''ll easily answer that for you. NO!!

There are millions of gun owners across the USA. We ARE the USA. For the vast majority of us, our guns will NEVER be used in a crime of any kind, nor will they ever fall into the hands of criminals. Your moronic attempts to lump law-abiding gun-owning Americans together with criminals is just plain stupid! Get a clue.

[billorights]

Please post any message in which I have said I favor banning guns!~ Posted by schoollord at 09:15 PM : Feb 18, 2008

Are you trying to prove that guns should be banned from the face of earth? I agree!~ "LOL" Posted by schoollord at 05:12 PM : Feb 16, 2008

[drbonkers]

"***? Can''''t you even read what YOU write?"
Posted by BillORights at 08:55 PM : Feb 18, 2008
------------
You noticed it too, huh? Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[drbonkers]

""pubic service message". Freudian slip? A subtle homage to Jane Fonda?
Posted by remrafdn at 08:27 PM : Feb 18, 2008
--------------------
oh I am so laughing at myself right now! When I make a blooper, I make a good one! I''m surprised it didn''t get "*****" by CBS. Do you think they''d make me apologize on TV? :) Ahhh yes. Thank you for pointing that out. Your comments are very perceptive toward our twin-bad-girls by the way -- hope you keep posting.

[billorights]

Schoollord says "That''s NOT my goal.(disarming American citizens) My goal is to reduce the prevalence of guns"

***? Can''t you even read what YOU write?

[billorights]

Schoollord (again) says "You are all obviously very unaware of the facts of gun violence...or you know but you are in denial. Either way GUNS and your claims SUCK!~"

I haven''t been keeping count, but I think that''s about strike-12 for you, Schoollord, and you haven''t made contact yet. Why don''t you go have seat on the bench, and maybe your team will get back to the bottom of the lineup after a few more innings.

[drbonkers]

"Why are we giving this didactic dipstick a soapbox?" remrafdn
---------
We need to give this woman a soapbox, because she is one of the anti-freedom rabble-rousers we have to keep track of. Since her own words convict her, let her keep posting.
-----------
Note:
This has been a pubic service message.
No posters were attacked during this message.

[billorights]

Schoollord says - So I post ROCK SOLID evidence against guns and that''''s the best you got to prove me wrong? "LOL" Gun NUTZ are not too bright!~

Your goal of disarming American citizens would have no affect on the behavior of criminals or the mentally ill, with the one exception that they may be emboldened with the knowledge that their intended victims have one less means of defense.

If you want to effectively reduce crime, start by enforcing the laws that we have, and keep criminals behind bars where they belong.

If you think that our Constitution provides you with too many rights, you are free to leave at any time. Why don''t you move to the absolute safety of a GUN FREE ZONE?

[billorights]

Schoollord - You should crack open the window in your FEMA trailer before the fumes completely overwhelm you. They have already compromised your ability to reason.

[drbonkers]

schulgott said: "To make matters worst, more than half of all privately owned guns in the US are kept unlocked. Most of the locked guns are poorly locked."
--------------
Another statistical fantasy. What, you or someone you are quoting were able to interview every private gun-owner? Could never happen, of course.

The idea that you so strongly believe in statistics tells something about you.

If you wonder what I mean, ask a Statistician.

[erasmus6]

"What is pitIful is when the kooks with keyboards cannot spell." posted by remrafdn

pitIful?


Geez, I would call it PITIFUL that you are more concerned over the odd mispelled word than the problem you are having with guns.

[erasmus6]

"An armed society is a paranoid society." posted by MyIDonCBS

I have been telling gunownerdan that he is paranoid, for months.:)

"A paranoid society soon finds an excuse to destroy itself."

Yup, it has already begun.

[michellem99-2009]

Seattle cops told us if a homeoer/renter shoots a crimmal in our home/apt. The cops will haul the one that shot the crimmel to jail. That means if a punk breaks in yer place ye can''t so much lay a paw on him/her. Ye can''t shot him/her. Ye be in jail in ye do. I was told this..We can''t bear arms for health reasons. So the cops are asres. We keep to our selves. The cops take 2 or more hours. FRI erasmus6 is Canadian.

[myidoncbs]

"Armed Citizens who are willing to defend themselves.....think about it!!"

This is 1 area where I agree with the police: more guns will lead to more murders, more suicides, + more fatal accidents. They won''t make us safer.

In this case, since the shooter was on stage in plain sight, after he wounded the teacher, if 1 person in the front row was paying attention, had pulled out a gun shot him, then he wouldn''t have been able to kill anyone else (IF that person was a way better shot than cops who only hit their target 20% of the time). However, when shots are fired in public, pandemonium typically ensues. If several, people had guns, then they would not all have been paying close attention, they would not all have been looking in the same direction, the result could easily be: lots of people shooting at each other!

The fact of the matter is: if you have a gun in your home, you are more likely to be killed by that gun, or to kill your wife, g/f, kids, etc., then you are to use it to defend yourself. All information to the contrary is bogus cr@p promulgated by the NRA.

We ALREADY have too many guns in this country. To reduce the killing, the gun-nuts need to realize that a gun is the appropriate "defensive tool" in only the rarest of circumstances, and that it is their worst enemy most of the time. Wake up soon or this country is doomed.

"An armed society is a paranoid society."
"A paranoid society soon finds an excuse to destroy itself."