6 dead, including shooter, and 16 injured as man opens fire on the campus of Northern Illinois University (MORE: ONE MORE VICTIM DIES, SHOOTER IDENTIFIED)

Via CBS2 Chicago:

DE KALB, Ill (CBS) ― A gunman opened fire on a geology class at Northern Illinois University Thursday afternoon, killing five people before taking his own life on stage as panicked students ran and ducked for cover.

NIU President John Peters said a total of 22 people were shot, including the gunman. Four people, including the gunman, died at the scene; two others died later at area hospitals.

All five of the gunman’s victims, four females and one male, were students.

Officials said the gunman opened fire in a lecture hall shortly after 3 p.m. and the campus was immediately placed on lockdown. Police were on the scene within a few minutes, but the gunman had already killed himself by the time they arrived.

The shooting happened at a geology lecture class in Cole Hall. Officials said the gunman emerged from behind a screen at the front of the lecture hall and opened fire with a shotgun.

Police said the gunman, armed with a shotgun and two handguns, shot the teacher, a graduate student instructor, and several students before killing himself onstage in front of the class.

Witnesses described the shooting as “a very brief rapid-fire assault that ended with the gunman taking his own life,” Peters said.

Clayton Cramer is an Idaho resident who rightly believes that students and faculty who have concealed weapon permits should have a right to bring their gun on campus as a form of protection in his own state, and quotes former Chicago police officer Paul Huebl as saying re: the NIU tragedy:

Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL–Illinois politicians gave 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.

Sad, but true.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families tonight.

Fri AM Update – 10:07 AM: The shooting has claimed another victim. The murderer has been identified as 27 y/o ex-student Steven Kazmierczak.