WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderEvents Sunday to honor second anniversary of NIU campus shooting
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Five students were killed in the February 14, 2008 shooting at Cole Hall.
DEKALB (WREX) - The campus and community at NIU will hold two events Sunday to remember the tragic campus shootings from two years ago.
On Sunday, the university is having "A Day of Reflection". At 3:00 p.m. a presentation of the memorial wreaths will be held at Martin Luther King Commons. Then at 6:00 p.m. a candlelight vigil and reception will be held.
On February 14, 2008 former student Steve Kazmierczak entered a Cole Hall auditorium and fatally shot five students in a geology class before turning the gun on himself.
Catalina Garcia, Daniel Parmenter, Gayle Dubowski, Julianna Gehant and Ryanne Mace were all killed. A sculpture honoring those students was unveiled earlier this year at Cole Hall.
Last month NIU learned it would get $8 million from the state to help renovate Cole Hall. The hall hasn't been used since the shooting.
"We can never fully put this tragedy behind us but it is important to move forward," said Governor Quinn when the state funding was announced. "Renovating Cole Hall provides a vital step in helping the NIU community heal from the impact of this senseless shooting."
Kazmierczak, 27, was an NIU graduate who was enrolled as a grad student at the University of Illinois at the time of the shooting.
At the top left of this story you can watch clips of our coverage from the day of the shooting. Below is the list of victims from the shooting.
NIU Shooting Victims
Gayle Dubowski, 20 - Carol Stream - Read Bio
Catalina Garcia, 20 - Cicero - Read Bio
Julianna Gehant, 32 - Mendota - Read Bio
Ryanne Mace, 19 - Carpentersville - Read Bio
Daniel Parmenter, 20 - Westchester - Read Bio
Injured
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