March 3, 2011

Contact: Mackenna Beckman

For Immediate Release

Phone: (555) 867-5309

Email: mbeckma@ilstu.edu
Shooting at Illinois State University
NORMAL, Ill. - For most of us, being in the presence of a shooter is not a reoccurring
thought. Despite the abundance of recent school shootings, this does not weigh heavily
on our minds, especially in the classroom. On a day-to-day basis, students are thinking of
the next assignment, the next party or the next paycheck, not how to dodge the path of a
bullet.
Professor John McHales 150-student communication class at Illinois State University
had their entire lives put into jeopardy after what seemed to be a normal morning on
campus. The day turned into chaos within minutes during a situation that students have
yet to recover from.
At 2:35 p.m., McHale was finishing up his lecture when the class was disturbed by the
sound of shrills coming from nearby classrooms.
I was just lecturing as if it were any normal day. None of us expected what was
going to happen at all, McHale said. I knew something was not right once I heard a
ruckus outside of the classroom. Shortly after, we all heard students screaming. Thats
when she came into the classroom
After receiving a bad grade on a class assignment, Nikki Hampton came into
Schroeder Hall and fired 20 shots from the back of the classroom. Students took shelter
under their seats and began dialing 911 from their cell phones as they escaped the bullets
-- more --

that headed their way.

One student, Jon Greenstein, was worried about one person in particular. He felt that it
was his duty to keep McHale safe.
My first instinct when I heard the shots being fired was to protect Dr. McHale, said
Greenstein. I didnt want anything to happen to him!
Greenstein, along with many of the individuals in the classroom, felt that it was their
duty to provide protection to their fellow peers, including graduate teaching assistant,
Adam Kastor. He helped the classroom come together as Redbirds, and tried to put an
end to the violence.
With so many student lives at stake, I knew it was up to me to get the situation under
control, Kastor said. All of these thoughts were going through my head, but I decided
that the best option was to stop Nikki from causing anymore harm. I knew I needed to act
fast.
Kastor took it upon himself to make sure that he got the students out of harms way and
into safety before police could arrive and finish taking care of the situation. Right before
police arrived, Kastor tackled Hampton and was able to restrain her until the police
arrived.
Despite efforts, Andy Carpenter, Kayla Gibbs and Ben Fishman lost their lives in the
incident that will continue to shake up ISU and the rest of the nation.
Fellow student Jack Schmidt said, without Kastor, who knows how many more
students would not be able to see their parents one more time. It was an unexpected event
that we will be recovering from for a long time.
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