NIU Shootings

NIU Investigators Still Working On Gunman's Motive

Steven Kazmierczak Killed 5 Students And Injured 16 Before Killing Himself In An NIU Lecture Hall Feb. 14

DE KALB, Ill. (CBS) ― It's the elusive question of "why" that still nags authorities investigating the NIU tragedy.

Police just briefed reporters late Wednesday afternoon to shed light on the issue of motive.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports at the news conference police Chief Don Grady was asked if Kazmierczak's girlfriend is considered a suspect in the case. The chief said no and that she has been cooperating with their investigation.

Investigators are analyzing more than 100 pieces of evidence and pour over transcripts from more than 120 different interviews, but six days after he murdered five people and injured 16 more, they are no closer to finding out why.

"We haven't at this point figured out anything," NIU Police Chief Don Grady said. "We have no links, nothing that leads us to believe directly what that motive may have been."

And police believe Kazmierczak may have been trying to hide his electronic footprints ahead of the massacre.

"We would normally expect to find the SIM card with the phone, and the hard drive with the computer, but they're not there so we can only surmise that there's a reason why."

The FBI has been brought in to search Kazmierczak's laptop and phone records.

"We don't have any sort of manifesto or anything along those lines," said Bill Monroe, of the FBI, "Does he have any communications out there that he shared, recently?"

On campus where students continue to write out condolence messages, more than 2,000 students and front line staffers were attending mandatory sessions ahead of Monday's planned resumption of classes.

Students like Marcus Stallings say Monday will be nerve-wracking.

"I'm kind of worried about it," he said. "I'll be very on edge about everybody that walks into the room."

Jessica Vines says she's gotten through the aftermath of the tragedy by leaning on classmates.

"There's been lots of hugging today now that we're together again," she said. "It's very important for us all to stick together."

Investigators wouldn't disclose what kinds of medications Kazmierczak had stopped taking before the shooting but CNN is reporting that his girlfriend says the 27-year-old had been on Xanax for anxiety, Prozac for depression and Ambien for insomnia.

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