Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL--Illinois politicians gave Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley what he wanted. They made it a felony crime for a law abiding citizen even those holding valid Firearm Owner Identification Cards to carry a handgun for simple self-protection. They’ve known for a long time that violent criminals and the mentally deranged never let gun laws or Gun Free Zones stop them from committing all manner of carnage. They also know it’s an extremely rare day when dangerous criminals have met any requirements to get gun permits even under the most permissive systems.
Illinois Politicians have made the entire state a Gun Free Zone, at least on paper. Again the result was to provide some whack-job the softest possible target to kill innocent victims and get himself or herself some major media face time. The politicians know these facts only too well and continue with their politics of victimization anyway.
The only motive I can see for the continued war on the law-abiding folk’s gun rights is the desire of politicians to enslave their constituents and eventually end those tiresome elections and term limits.
As of 5:43 P.M. NIU officials have provided the following information about the victims of the shooting:
18 victims were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb:
Eight victims are in stable condition
Six victims are in good condition
Four victims are in critical condition and two of those victims were transported to regional hospitals
Update: The latest from NIU:
Latest Information
8:55 p.m. CST, 2/14/08
NIU can confirm seven fatalities, including the gunman. Four of the dead were female and two, including the gunman, were male. In total, there were 22 injured or killed.
NIU can confirm that the shooter was an NIU graduate student in sociology in the Spring of 2007 but was not currently enrolled.
At a press conference held on NIU's campus Thursday evening, NIU President John Peters said, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. We thank the community for the outpouring of sympathy during this terrible time of tragedy."
Peters urged students to remain calm and seek counseling. "We've asked them to reach out to each other during this difficult time, and they've done that, and I'm proud of them."
The NIU Department of Public Safety is asking that any individuals who witnessed the Feb. 14 shooting, or who believe they have any information related to the shooting, call the University Tip Line at (815) 753-TIPS. Police will return calls as soon as possible.
The FBI is processing the crime scene and the investigation is being aided by the Illinois State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, the State Crisis Management Team, the City of DeKalb Police, City of Sycamore Police, DeKalb County Sheriff's Department, the Ben Gordon Center and the DeKalb, Sycamore and Cortland Fire Departments, as well as FEMA
Comments
I lawfully carried a gun since I was 19 years-old as I walked the halls of Loop Jr. College and later UCIC and would have used my training and firearm to end a similar assault. That's assuming I could have made a distraction or found an opening. I would not have allowed him to continue.
“Police were on the scene within a few minutes …” How often have we read that line after a shooting? Do you understand how many shots can be fired “within a few minutes”? Unless law enforcement were actually there in the classroom when this happened there is absolutely nothing - I repeat nothing - that law enforcement could do except stretch out that yellow tape after everyone is dead. Law enforcement, in this situation, is reactive, not proactive. Law enforcement clean up the scene and discover clues, not prevent the shooting from happening.
Gun free zones are attractive to criminals because no law abiding citizens will be able to stop them from taking hostages or killing. Criminals have great incentive to do their crimes within gun free zones. Gun free zones are the safest places for criminals. Gun free zones are the deadliest places for law-abiding citizens. Gun free zones increase gun crime. When well meaning but misguided individuals ban guns at one location or another they are recklessly and negligently putting your life at risk and are giving you a false sense of security.
What gun-control advocates fail to grasp is criminals, by definition, do not follow the law and therefore any attempt to keep them from carrying a gun into a given establishment will fail, often with tragic results.