Another School Shooting: The Aftermath

Song:

"Darkness," By: Twiztid

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Elk Grove man identified as gunman in NIU killings

By Joseph Ryan | Daily Herald Staff Contact

writerPublished: 2/15/2008 9:03 AM | Updated: 2/15/2008 9:32


Authorities today identified the gunman who killed 6 and wounded 15 at Northern Illinois University as Steven P. Kazmierczak, 27, formerly of Elk Grove Village, the Associated Press reported.

He was apparently a bright student with a clear interest in social justice and criminal law before he turned the gun on himself Thursday afternoon.

He was most recently registered as a graduate student pursuing a masters degree in sociology at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He apparently had transferred there after being enrolled for the same courses at NIU from at least 2006 up until the spring of 2007.

Just before he left NIU, Kazmierczak's 58-year-old mother died in the fall of 2006 after suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, a degenerative disease, according to obituaries from the time and ALS memorial Web sites.

But before leaving NIU, Kazmierczak was active in the sociology department. He co- author a published study on prison policy, entitled "Self-injury in Correctional Settings: 'Pathology' of Prisoners or of Prisons?"

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NIU press conference (Microsoft Explorer only) According to that paper, Kazmierczak had study interests in "corrections, political violence, and peace and social justice." At the time he was also said to be writing a paper about the role of religion in the early formation of U.S. prisons.

He also served as vice president of NIU's Academic Criminal Justice Association and was on the board of a college chapter of the American Corrections Association, which studied jailing policy and the justice system, according to related Web sites.

In 2006, the NIU sociology department gave Kazmierczak one of its highest honors, the Annual Dean's Award.

Kazmierczak graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1998. The high school yearbook lists him as enrolling in a special public service class and playing in the school band. He also made honor roll.

"You are just kind of surprised that you could every know someone involved in something like this," said Kathleen Klages of Harvard, who is a distant relative of Kazmierczak.

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[HootWoob]

Great video man...mad props...more people should see this.

[Urza216]

@HootWoob,

Thanks. :-)

[Agent1W]

@Urza216 I kinda figured that society would be like, "Do whatever you want, be free." Yeah, sure, they'll be consequences, but we won't stop you. But that's simply an observation.

[Urza216]

@Agent1W,

Your argument doesn't make any sense.

Support, apathy and opposition are three different things. Apathy is not the same thing as support.

[Urza216]

@weswsp01,

@rcaddict72,

If you have an argument against the points presented in my video, please express it. Thanks.

[Urza216]

@CarneyScrub,

Hell yeah, man. Whoop! Whoop! ;-)

[Urza216]

@LordProteus,

"Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn" -The Dark Knight (2008)

[MauiBeauty808]

your right on, unlike most, I cried for Clay...... who knows one day it could be any of us...... fired from our Job, benefits running out and.... ( I don't know about U, but pissed the F$&% off). and p.s...... were's the proof he killed himself ????? someone besides him could have the blood on their hands !!! QUESTION THE GOVERNMENT. WHAT A MESSED UP " REALITY"..... IF YOU THINK IT'S ALL REAL ....... R.I.P....

[CarneyScrub]

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Whoop Whoop bump that wicked shit

[rcaddict72]

@weswsp01 i think it may well be.

[tulawdog]

As long as there is mental illness, stuff like this will always happen. You can't prevent it. I have some clients who are the nicest guys in the world, but when they get off their meds (and they never stay on them for long)... anything goes. When you're out of touch with reality, anything can happen.