Police Piece Together Shooter's Trail

Before his shooting rampage at NIU, Steven Kazmierczak spent two days in a motel, taking cold medicine and drinking Red Bull, the Chicago Tribune reports. He left behind no note, only a sealed duffel bag filled with gun ammo. Kazmierczak, who had stopped taking medication for anxiety, also sent his ex-girlfriend packages loaded with gun accessories. He instructed her not to open them until Valentine’s Day.

Acquaintances continued to struggle to square the Kazmierczak they knew—a gifted, gentle sociology student—with the one who killed 5 students. The AP reports that he spent a year in a psychiatric hospital in the '90s after becoming unruly at home, but medication seemed to conquer that behavior. Last month, Kazmierczak wrote to a mentor that “everything is going well” at his new school and that he planned to attend law school. (More Steven Kazmierczak stories.)