Thirteen people injured in shooting at Northern Illinois University

Several people have been shot at Northern Illinois University, according to information heard Thursday afternoon over a police scanner and from eyewitness reports.

University Police posted a message on the school's Web site by 4:14 p.m. saying the gunman was “no longer a threat” and “the immediate danger has passed.” Northern Illinois University police say a gunman who opened fire inside a lecture hall, injuring several people. The Associated Press is reporting that the shooter is dead.

NIU sophomore Zach Seward, 20, was in Room 101 of Cole Hall when the shooting took place. About 90 students were in the class at the time, he said.

A white male in a black hat and black hoodie opened the side door on the stage in the lecture hall, then pulled a shotgun, pumped it and just started firing at people at about 3:05 p.m. Seward said it seemed there were no intended targets.

“I didn't hit it was real. It was just a normal day of lecture hall,” he said.

Seward said he ducked and ran out of the room, thinking that he thought he could get shot in the back.

“You see this kind of stuff on TV and you never think it would happen to you,” he said. “I don't think I could ever go into that classroom again.”

Seward said he later spoke with students who had stayed in the classroom. They told him the shooter later took out a pistol and continued shooting.

Shane Pope, 21, a junior studying in finance, said the shooter “came in the side stage door on the stage where the teacher was talking and unloaded with a shotgun right into the front row. Everybody put their heads down and ran out, and he just kept shooting. ... It was the scariest thing ever. It was right at 3:05 because I was thinking about cutting out of class early to go have a beer - I should have.”

Kishwaukee Community Hospital spokeswoman Sharon Emanuelson said that 13 people from the shooting had been treated at the hospital. Most had gunshot wounds to the head. At least one was airlifted to a hospital in Rockford, and two additional helicopters were waiting on site in case they were needed, Emanuelson said.

The hospital expects 15 to 20 people to come from the shooting, Emanuelson said. No fatalities had been reported by 5 p.m.

Phone lines in DeKalb reportedly were jammed by 4 p.m.

As of 3:45 p.m., two shooting victims were being tended to at nearby Neptune Hall, a student residence hall. Shortly before 4 p.m., another victim was pulled out of Cole Hall, according to eyewitness reports. The northern door to Cole Hall was smashed, according to eyewitness reports.

Police have established a perimeter around Cole Hall, and 15-20 emergency vehicles were in the area.

A Daily Chronicle photographer on the scene reported five people have going by on stretchers. Blood was apparent and obvious, the photographer said.

At least two people are reported down in DuSable Hall, and one person was shot in the head, according to eyewitness reports. It could not be confirmed if it was from a gunshot.

Emergency services personnel have been called in from throughout DeKalb and Kane counties to help with the situation.

A university spokeswoman said at 3:10 p.m. she had just heard about the shooting and could not immediately comment on the situation.

At 3:20 p.m., the university posted a campus alert on its Web site.

“There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus,” the alert read. “Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity.”

Shortly afterward, they posted an announcement that classes were canceled for Thursday night. Authorities reportedly secured the scene as of 3:25 p.m.

At 4:31 p.m., the Web site posted asked all NIU students are asked to call their parents as soon as possible. Classes have been canceled for Friday, according to the university.

Counseling is also available on campus for students at the Neptune Dining Hall, Campus Life Building 100 and the Psychological Services Center in the Psychology/Computer Science Building. Students may go to any residence hall for counseling.