NIU Shootings

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Family and friends of the victims are trying to come to terms with the sudden, shocking murder of five students on the campus of Northern Illinois University Thursday afternoon in DeKalb.

Twenty-five thousand students are enrolled at NIU, and 90 percent of them are from the Chicago area. People who knew the victims personally mourned Friday, along with people who just feel the deep pain from the shock of it all.

The victims have been identified as 32-year-old Julianna Gehant from Mendota, Ill.; 20-year-old Daniel Parmenter from Elmhurst; 19-year-old Ryanne Mace of Carpentersville; 20-year-old Gayle Dubowski from Carol Stream; and 20-year-old Catalina Garcia from Cicero.

Both Parmenter and Dubowski graduated high school just more than two years ago.Dubowski graduated from Glenbard North High School, and Parmenter graduated from York High School in Elmhurst.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports at their former high schools, flags fly at half staff. It seems as if the young NIU victims were there only yesterday.

"As far as I knew him his character was flawless," Parmenter's high school football coach Bill Leach said.

Parmenter stood well over 6 feet tall and played varsity football, but was also known for his soft side and sticking up for the underdog.

"He was kind of a gentle giant -- sensitive of other people's needs. He was a bigger kid but he didn't use that to his advantage," Leach said. "It seemed he was a real caring kid."

"He was a combination of being a strong student, a great football player, but also really somebody who looked out for other people," said York High School Principal Dianna Smith.

Parmenter's mother, Linda Greer, joined people gathered at an Elmhurst church Friday evening to pray for her son and the others killed in Thursday's shooting.

Greer even found it in her heart to pray for the gunman.

"I have no anger," she said. "In fact, I'm sorry his life has been lost too because every life that is lost is a tragedy."

Greer also said she has great hope for the world, despite the evil in it. She said all the stories she's heard in the media and from her son's friends about the things he did at NIU, like organizing bingo games at nursing homes, are a blessing after the fact.

On campus the university has sent counselors to the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity where Parmenter was on the executive board. At the Northern Star, NIU's student newspaper Parmenter was a sales representative, young reporters had the task of reporting on the death of one of their own.

And at just over 5 feet tall Dubowski's former teachers say she had a quiet way of lighting up the room.

"Gayle's super sweet -- just a sweetheart," said Glenbard North teacher Dedra DeBenedetti.

Dubowski was gifted with a beautiful voice, and excelled in the vocal programs at Glenbard North in Carol Stream. Her gentleness stands out to those whose lives she touched.

"She was kind to me she was kind to our class," said teacher Claudia Richards. "She was the kind when you saw your roster and saw her name you were like that's good we're gonna have a nice semester together."

As friends and loved ones grieve, counseling is being made available at the schools Parmenter and Dubowksi attended, where teachers and classmates -- like so others -- are coping with the tragedy.

"We had tears in our eyes I said it's a mistake it can't be true," Richards said.

"It still doesn't make sense," DeBenedetti said. "It's difficult to comprehend."

Their teachers remember Parmenter and Dubowski as the kind of students who were early to class and eager to participate. It's believed they were sitting near the front of Thursday's lecture hall, making them easy targets.

Garcia's family told CBS 2's Pamela Jones they are dedicated to keeping her memory alive and say her smile gave light and life to all who knew her.

A sophomore at NIU, Garcia was majoring in elementary education to become a teacher.

"Very much on a direct path and a great plan to achieving that," said her brother, Jaime Garcia.

He remembers hearing about the violence on campus and frantically calling to find her.

"I tried to get ahold of her and I was unable to do that," he said. "We knew, just because no phone calls, no nothing. So we knew by process of elimination that she was in there. We knew she was there. Her friends were there. We knew she was in the classroom."

Garcia graduated from J. Sterling Morton High School in Cicero in the spring of 2006, surrounded by friends scattered across the pages of her yearbook.

Her spirit lingers in the memories of those who taught her.

"She was just a bright, sweet, shy kid," said social studies teacher Chuck Stevens.

"She was a very friendly person, always had a beautiful smile on her face," said Advanced Placement English teacher Lilia Contreras.

And included among the students who walk these hallways and are mourning Garcia's death is a nephew who was notified of her death by a guidance counselor Friday, and went home early to gather with family.

"She was the last person I think that could have gotten killed," said Cristian Garcia. "It's amazing how...no. It's not amazing. It's horrible that a dumb person could cause so much pain."

He and other relatives spent time at the family's Cicero home struggling to deal with their loss.

"We're just trying to remember her not just today or next week but every day," Jaime Garcia said.

The Garcia family says they haven't been given many details about how Catalina Garcia died.

Grief counselors were available at her high school Friday and will be there on Tuesday as well.

The superintendent said the school just lost a teacher due to an illness, and were just coming to grips with that when Garcia was killed. The school sends thoughts and prayers to Garcia's parents, and her two surviving brothers and her sister.

CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports Mace was the youngest of the five NIU. Mace was an only child. Her parents say she wanted to be a counselor so that she could help people.

Gehant hoped to be an elementary school teacher. Just last Christmas she boasted to a friend about only have four semesters left before she could teach second-graders.

Tragically, Gehant's dream and those of her four classmates came to an end too soon.

CBS 2's Pamela Jones, Mai Martinez and Vince Gerasole contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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