In response to the shooting incident at Northern Illinois University on Thursday (Feb. 14), Indiana State University President Lloyd W. Benjamin III has issued this statement:
Our thoughts and sympathies go out to our friends and colleagues at Northern Illinois University in the wake of this horrific tragedy. We send our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, to NIU President John Peters and to the entire Northern Illinois community.
We also extend our most heartfelt wishes for a full recovery to ISU alumnus Brian Karpes, who was injured in the shooting. Brian graduated from ISU in 2007 with bachelor of science degrees in aviation management and geology. He is currently in graduate school at Northern Illinois and was reportedly shot multiple times. At this time, we know that Brian has survived surgery for his injuries but remains in intensive care at St. Anthony Hospital in Rockford, Ill. Please keep Brian and his family in your thoughts.
This senseless act of violence reminds all of us of the need to continuously evaluate and assess our safety measures, emergency response systems and emergency notification procedures. Indiana State takes this responsibility very seriously. An overview of our current procedures is available on the Office of Public Safety website at: http://www1.indstate.edu/pubsafety/safetyatisu.html
As always our Student Counseling Center staff members are prepared to help students affected by this tragedy, especially those who have friends or relatives attending Northern Illinois.
As we keep the entire Northern Illinois University in our thoughts, I encourage my campus colleagues to also take time to discuss this event with students if they wish to do so.