Remembering the NIU victims - All they wanted to do was learn!


DeKalb, Illinois has been my home since 1983.  Located approximately 60 miles west of Chicago, DeKalb is home to Northern Illinois University with its 25,000 student population. 

As many of you know, students of Northern Illinois University were attacked during class today.    The thump-thump-thump of the news helicopter rotors hovering over DeKalb will always be in my personal memory of this tragic day.  DeKalb and the entire NIU community are mourning the loss of life, working through pain of the experience and will be forever thankful for the well-trained response of area police and emergency medical personnel. 

Below is a brief overview* of this tragedy.  I will try to keep the blog up-to-date, but please do not rely on this post as the latest available information.  For latest updates, please go to: www.NIU.edu


Northern Illinois University (student pop. 25,000)

DeKalb, Illinois

 

St. Valentine's Day Massacre 02.14.08

 

16 non-fatal casualties (many serious shotgun and bullet wounds)

 

5 deceased victims (murdered) 

Daniel Parmenter, 20 (Westchester, IL)
Catalina Garcia, 20 (Cicero, IL)
Ryanne Mace, 19 (Carpentersville, IL)
Julianna Gehant, 32 (Meridan, IL)
Gayle Dubowski, 20 (Carol Stream, IL)

 1 dead shooter (cowardly suicide)

 

Emergency vehicles line up near Cole Hall on the Northern Illinois University campus, where a gunman opened fire

 

Sycamore Police Department officers respond on assist to NIU and DeKalb police departments during the shooting.

 

Students look after a victim of the shooting after carrying him from Cole Hall to nearby DuSable Hall on the NIU campus.

 

Fellow students attend to a victim shot in the leg while fleeing Cole Hall at NIU

 

Northern Illinois University students are tended to outside of Cole Hall on the NIU campus after a gunman opened fire.

 

Outside Cole Hall on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb after a Valentine's Day shooting in a lecture hall on the NIU camus

 

Emergency vehicle staging area outside Cole Hall after the shooting at Northern Illinois University.

 

Emergency medical personnel rush a shooting victim from the scene at Northern Illinois University

 

Rescue workers carry an unidentified victim from the scene of the shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on Valentine's Day

 

Northern Illinois University shooting victim being evacuated on 02.14.08

 

Students wait for information on the status of the shooting at Northern Illinois University.

 

DeKalb Police Sergeant Lisa Miller escorts an NIU student away from the shooting scene.

 

Aurora and Rockford Illinois police officers assist as patrol security in Neptune residence hall following the shooting at Northern Illinois University

 

Police outside Cole Hall on the NIU campus on Thursday, where a gunman opened fire, leaving multiple victims before killing himself.

 

Items left by emergency responders outside Cole Hall on the Northern Illinois University campus, where a gunman opened fire

 

A student grieves outside the scene of the Thursday afternoon shooting on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb

 

A team of medical personnel move an NIU shooting victim to a waiting helicopter for a medical evacuation

 

A team of medical personnel move a shooting victim to a waiting helicopter for a medical evacuation from DeKalb, Illinois' Kishwaukee Hospital

 

An FBI agent stands outside the Northern Illinois University building in DeKalb where a gunman shot and killed five people and himself

 

NIU.edu web site as of 2200hours on 02.14.08

 

NIU students gather at a midnight vigil following the shooting that resulted in 22 victims and 5 fatalities.

 

NIU students gather at a midnight vigil following the shooting that resulted in 22 victims and 5 fatalities.

 

NIU students gather at a midnight vigil following the shooting that resulted in 22 victims and 5 fatalities.

 

Northern Illinois University students pray Thursday night at Harvest Bible Chapel 

 

President Bush talks by phone in the the White House Oval Office with NIU President John Peters offering his condolences to the victims.

 

Northern Illinois University temporary memorial outside Cole Hall, the scene of a Valentine's Day shooting that claimed 5 student lives.

 

NIU Memorial for: Dan Parmenter, Ryanne Mace, Julianna Gehant, Catalina Garcia & Gayle Dubowski

 

~ Rest In Peace ~

Daniel Parmenter, 20 (Westchester, IL)
Ryanne Mace, 19 (Carpentersville, IL)
Julianna Gehant, 32 (Meridan, IL)
Catalina Garcia, 20 (Cicero, IL)
Gayle Dubowski, 20 (Carol Stream, IL)

Our prayers are with the victims, their families, their friends and their classmates.

 

In remembrance of all the victims of the Northern Illinois University shooting 02.14.08

Posted by Bill Clanton at 2/14/2008 11:35 PM
Categories: News from the U.S.
 

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  • 9/3/2008 7:02 PM Costa Rica Blogger wrote:
    Costa Rica Blogger is a "Real Life Adventure Blog containing honest, unbiased information" on Costa Rica.

    Toward this end I thought it only fair in sharing a recent on-line post by a California couple that just returned from their first (and possibly last) Costa Rica visit … followed by my direct response.

    Post 8/31/2008
    We just returned from a much anticipated visit to Costa Rica. Sadly; the experience left us never wanting to return.
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