Shooter kills self on stage after targeting students in lecture hall

DEKALB, Ill. - A man armed with two handguns and a shotgun opened fire Thursday in a packed lecture hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University, reportedly killing four people and wounding at least 14 others before killing himself, authorities said.

The Associated Press quoted university Police Chief Donald Grady as saying five people were dead, including the gunman. The police department's spokesman, Pat Erickson, told NBC News he could not confirm the report.

A spokeswoman for Kishiwaukee Community Hospital said six of the victims were in critical condition.

Earlier, at a news conference, Grady said police had identified the gunman. He said the man was not a student at NIU but may have been a student at another school. He would not name the gunman, who shot and killed himself on the stage in Cole Hall, which doubles as an auditorium.

Grady said police knew of no motive for the shooting, which occurred about 4 p.m. ET at the campus in DeKalb, a city of 40,000 nestled in a rural area about 65 miles west of downtown Chicago. Its enrollment is more than 25,000.

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