Northern Illinois University To Hold Moment Of Silence On 11th Anniversary Of Campus Shooting
Chicago (CBS) -- On the 11th anniversary of the campus shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, the school will observe a moment of silence to remember the lives of five students who were killed on Feb. 14, 2008.
The bells outside Cole Hall will ring five times at 3:06 p.m. to commemorate the lives of Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Ryanne Mace, Daniel Parmenter and Gayle Dubowski.
Steven Kazmierczak, a former student, opened fire in the lecture hall, killing the five students and injuring more than a dozen before turning the gun on himself.
John G. Peters, who was the university's president at the time of the shooting, commented on a Facebook post for Thursday's event, "Today we are all Huskies. May we always remember the five precious students we lost that horrific day and all the others that were scarred by that horrific event. Forward, Together Forward."
Last year, CBS 2's Rob Johnson reported on the 10-year anniversary of the shooting.
Cole Hall has since been remodeled and now has three modern collaborative-learning areas and an anthropology museum. Right outside the building are granite markers memorializing the deceased and a tree honoring the survivors.
A scholarship endowment was set up to honor the five students who were killed. Since the fund was created, 55 students, including five in 2019, have been awarded a "Forward, Together Forward" scholarship.
The mass shooting at NIU is not the only one that happened on Valentine's Day.
On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman shot and killed 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.