"In this large class he stood out. So I tried to use him as an unpaid assistant," Thomas said. "He stood out because he was hard-working, he was bright, he would come up and talk about ideas behind what I'd taught."
Thomas said he was left dumbfounded when the news of the gunman's identity trickled out around campus Thursday.
"When I heard yesterday that it was a student in corrections and social justice, former grad student, I thought, 'Oh, my God, that's Steve. That has to be Steve," he said. "It's nuts, nuts, totally nuts. He was the most gentle, even guy."
[...]
At the time, NIU colleagues were troubled because Kazmierczak failed two classes and received an incomplete in another course. Thomas, however, believed Kazmierczak failed the classes because he already had shifted his focus to U. of I.
[...]
After he left DeKalb, Kazmierczak worked briefly as a guard at an Indiana prison about 80 miles from Urbana-Champaign.
Doug Garrison, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Corrections, said Kazmierczak worked at the Rockville Correctional Facility in western Indiana Sept. 24 to Oct. 9, 2007. Then, he abruptly left.
"He just did not come back to work," Garrison said. "He called up one day and said he was not coming back."
[...]
While in Champaign, Kazmierczak lived with his former girlfriend on the city's west side, several miles from campus. Thomas said the couple was no longer romantically involved but had continued to share an apartment.
Authorities in DeKalb confirmed Friday that Kazmierczak had recently stopped taking medication. Thomas said Kazmierczak had confided in him that he had served in the military and received a discharge for psychological reasons.
