NIU marks the anniversary of shooting that left 5 students dead

Memorial at NIU in 2008
Northern Illinois University student Colleen Johnson has a moment of silence in front of a memorial to slain students constructed near Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University February 15, 2008 in DeKalb, Illinois. Photo credit (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Northern Illinois University planned to mark the deaths of five students killed 16 years ago by ringing bells in their honor at 3:06 p.m. – the exact time the campus shooting began.

Class was about to end on Feb. 14, 2008 when a former NIU student burst into a Cole Hall auditorium with multiple weapons and began firing. Five students were killed and nearly two dozen others wounded before the gunman died by suicide.

In the years since, the university remodeled and reopened the building.

Donations helped create a Memorial Garden outside Cole Hall scholarship awarded annually as a tribute to the five Huskies who died that day.

Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok

Featured Image Photo Credit: (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)