The following is a breakdown of the events of the shootings at Northern Illinois University as of 9 p.m. Thursday.

3:05 p.m. A white male in a black hat and hoodie enters room 101 in Cole Hall, pulls a shotgun and begins firing, according to an eyewitness. Two people are reported shot in information heard over a police scanner.

3:10 p.m. A university spokeswoman confirms she has heard about the shooting but cannot comment.

3:20 p.m. NIU posts an alert on its Web site saying there are reports of a shooting on campus.

3:45 p.m. Two shooting victims were being tended to at Neptune Hall, a student residence hall. Another victim was taken out of Cole Hall shortly before 4 p.m. Several people were taken to the hospital, according the university's Web site.

4:10 p.m. NIU Campus Police secure the scene of the shooting in Cole Hall.

4:14 p.m. Police report that the immediate danger is past and the gunman is no longer a threat. NIU announces the campus will be closed Friday.

4:31 p.m. All NIU students are asked by the university to call their parents.

5:12 p.m. Police confirm that the shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.

5:30 p.m. A news conference is held. The majority of the shooting victims were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb.

5:43 p.m. NIU officials confirm that 18 people were transported to Kishwaukee. Eight victims were in stable condition. Six were in good condition. Four victims were in critical condition, two of whom were transported to other regional hospitals.

6:20 p.m. Police confirmed to a reporter that five people were dead.

7:55 p.m. NIU President John G. Peters confirms that six people died and there were 16 others injured. One of the dead was the shooter. Four women and two men were killed. All the casualties were students, including the class' instructor, a graduate student. No identities were released. Officials were in the process of contacting families. Peters said the shooter was a former NIU student currently enrolled at another university in the region. The man had been enrolled as of spring 2007 as a sociology graduate student. All classes and events at NIU were canceled until further notice.