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NIU report analyzes shooter's troubles

DEKALB, Ill., March 19 (UPI) -- A Northern Illinois University in-depth report on the February 2008 shooting at the school said the shooter may have felt betrayed by the Sociology Department.

The 322-page report said a psychological analysis of Steven Kazmierczak, who killed five people and injured 21 others Feb. 14, 2008, in Room 101 of Cole Hall before fatally shooting himself, indicates he came to view the Sociology Department as a surrogate family, the DeKalb (Ill.) Daily Chronicle reported Friday.

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Kazmierczak, who had a history of mental illness and suicide attempts, experienced further psychological problems after the death of his mother in 2006 and felt betrayed by the school when he believed the department was shifting its focus to reduce emphasis on criminology, the report said.

"By ending his life and the lives of other siblings (students) there, Kazmierczak would have come full circle," the report said. "It was where he had flourished. Now it would be the setting for his grotesque end."

The psychological analysis was conducted by an independent psychologist who was not named by school officials.

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