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Classifieds Crossword Sudoku Police blotter Around 60115 Letters Opinion Sports DeKalb Scene 10 09 09 04 02 08 08 10 06 THE TRUTH MUST BEAR ALL LIGHT H SINCE 1899 WWW.NORTHERNSTAR.INFO H FREE Kyla Gardner Managing Editor DeKALB | David Vann, author of Last Day on Earth, a portrait of Feb. 14, 2008 gun- man Stephen Kazmierczak, believes in the value of truth. In the aftermath of the NIU shoot- ing that left six dead and more than 20 injured, the media got the story wrong, Vann said. And an NIU Police report re- leased more than two years later didn’t get it right enough. So Vann, who said he at one point had nearly memorized a 1,500-page file about the shooting to which he had exclusive ac- cess, answered questions in front of about 50 members of the NIU and DeKalb com- munity Tuesday night at Barnes and Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road in DeKalb. ‘Of All People, Why...You?’ Several audience members wanted to know, “Why Vann?” Why did he write the story, and how did he gain access to infor- mation no one else could? “I find it interesting this guy from 2,000 miles away is writing this book,” said Jen- nifer Cooper, a recent graduate of NIU who was on campus Feb. 14, 2008. Vann said he pitched a story to Esquire about the access suburban youth have to guns, and instead was assigned a profile of Kazmierczak. Vann said because he wasn’t a report- er, he was able to talk to Kazmierczak’s friends and professors, who he came to re- alize “didn’t know anything” about Ka- zmierczak’s background. “The Steve that they knew didn’t match with what he did at the end,” Vann said. His reporting took him back to Elk Grove Village, Kazmierczak’s home town, where he found a very different picture of the straight-A NIU student in interviews with his junior high and high school friends: a troubled family background, a long history of mental health issues, an obsession with guns. Those insights, along with reading the books the Kazmierczak read and watching the movies he did, were what allowed him exclusive access to the 1,500-page file. “I was just curious about that report, be- cause of all people, why would you be able to see that before anyone else?” asked one NIU student. Vann shared his information with sev- eral agencies also investigating the case, and they allowed him to see the file, which contained police reports, mental health re- cords and emails from Kazmierczak. Vann said he was also compelled to expand his Esquire article into Last Day on Earth to give the NIU and DeKalb communities infor- mation he felt they weren’t receiving. “I think one thing that was very frus- trating for a lot of people here was that NIU police, Chief [Donald] Grady, didn’t release any information for a long time,” Vann said. A ‘Disappointing’ Report NIU police released a 300-page re- port in March 2010 that Vann said con- tained inaccuracies and omissions. THE VALUE OF TRUTH Author shares struggles of writing book on NIU’s Feb. 14, 2008 shooter WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011 Please see VANN | Page 03 Jerry Burnes | Northern Star Author David Vann speaks Tuesday night at Barnes and Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road in DeKalb. Vann took questions about his book, Last Day on Earth, which was released in October. The Northern Star is the daily campus newspaper serving Northern Illinois University and the surrounding community. Volume 112, Issue 55 Forecast TODAY » Morning showers, wind High: 51º Low: 28º Find us online For breaking news updates, visit WWW.NORTHERNSTAR.INFO Follow us on @NIUNorthernStar Find The Northern Star on THURSDAY » Partly cloudy High: 39º Low: 24º weather.com ( Courtesy of NIU Media Relations Huskies beat Bowling Green State 38-14 Page 11
