For more than 10 years now I've reported on tragedy and triumph--both small and large.
The shooting at NIU, by gunman Stephen Kazmierczak, hits home.
I have several friends and family members who've been students at Northern.
My college mentor, Allen May, a former television reporter who now teaches journalism at NIU was on campus during the shooting.
I called him just seconds after the first reports.
As he rattled off what he had heard from campus officials and from his own students outside, his voice--for the first time since I've known him--was shaky. You could tell that this seasoned journalist was unsure for his safety and, perhaps more importantly, for the safety of his students.
Kazmierczak, the 27 year old former NIU student, didn't just take six lives during the horrible shootings at Cole Hall; he took away the sense of security that many feel while they're on a college campus.
Because Steve Kazmierczak killed himself, we may never know what his intentions were. This is a guy who was a student himself-- even teaching as a graduate student at NIU last year.
He barged into a lecture hall and opened fire. Daniel Parmenter, Catalina Garcia, Ryanne Mace, Juliana Gehant and Gayle Dubowski were shot and killed.
Does this point to another case of the mental health system dropping the ball, such as in the case of Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho?
Do we blame someone who may be mentally ill for carrying out such despicable acts?
As the investigation continues into what led up to the NIU shootings and the healing begins, I hope that leaders also take a look at how we can help those people,so sick, that they feel to end their lives--they must also take the lives of innocent people.
