Police lack motive in NIU shooting

WONDER LAKE, Ill., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Investigators in the Northern Illinois University shooting suspect the gunman took steps to cover background evidence.

Steven Kazmierczak, 27, opened fire in a geology class last Thursday at the university, killing five students before turning a gun on himself.

Kazmierczak removed the hard drive from his laptop and the computer chip from his cell phone, police officials said in the Chicago Tribune Wednesday. Police officials say the lack of background evidence possible stored on those devices means they lack clues to the crime.

"We don't have anything to know or even begin to assume a motive yet," said Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady.

Grady told the Tribune they have hundreds of people they want to interview, with Kazmierczak's girlfriend, Jessica Baty, at the top of the list. Grady said Baty's statements in an interview with CNN contradict what she said to police.

She told police investigators Kazmierczak was acting strange when he stopped taking his anti-depressant medication. Baty told CNN, however, "he was normal," adding that although he had a history of mild psychological problems, "he wasn't delusional."

NIU officials said they will have a memorial service on Sunday that is open to the public.