FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2009 file photo, Five crosses stand outside Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall marking the one year anniversary of a shooting in the NIU lecture hall that left five students dead in DeKalb, Ill. NIU will mark the tenth anniversary of the shooting with a memorial service Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. Bells will toll and wreaths will be placed at a memorial at 3:06 p.m. at the school's DeKalb campus. School officials say the university community will observe a moment of reflection. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
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DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Hundreds of people gathered at a memorial garden at Northern Illinois University to mark the tenth anniversary of a shooting that left five students dead.
The garden in DeKalb features memorial stones for victims Gayle Dubowski, Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Ryanne Mace and Daniel Parmenter. Seventeen others were injured in the gunfire on Feb. 14, 2008 before the shooter took his own life.
The victims' families and friends walked to the garden Wednesday, as the crowd stood silently watching. Those who led the group paused at each memorial stone before reaching their relative's name. They then laid the wreaths.
NIU head football coach Rod Carey stood with his assistant coach, Melvin Rice, before the ceremony began. Carey said he attended the remembrance to honor the five and their families. He added that he respected how the NIU community came together then and continues to do so 10 years later.
Victims families, along with current and formerNorthern Illinois University students and staff lead the line of people paying their respects during the remembrance for students killed during a shooting in 2008, near Cole Hall on the campus of NIU Feb.14, 2018 in Dekalb, Ill., The memorial in the Peaceful Reflection Garden on campus marks the 10 year anniversary of the shooting that claimed the lives of five students. (Mark Busch/Daily Chronicle via AP)
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Wreaths and crosses lay on memorial stones prior to the start of the Laying of the Memorial Wreaths ceremony for students killed during a shooting in 2008, near Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University Feb. 14, 2018 in Dekalb, Ill., The memorial in the Peaceful Reflection Garden on campus marks the 10 year anniversary of the shooting that claimed the lives of five students. (Mark Busch/Daily Chronicle via AP)
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Laurel Dubowski, mother of Gayle Dubowski who was killed during a shooting in 2008, Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Ill., lays flowers on memorial stones Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 in the Peaceful Reflection Garden on campus. The observance marks the 10 year anniversary of the shooting that claimed the lives of five students. (Mark Busch/Daily Chronicle via AP)
The Associated Press
Laurel Dubowski, mother of Gayle Dubowski who was killed during a shooting in 2008, Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Ill., lays flowers on memorial stones Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 in the Peaceful Reflection Garden on campus. The observance marks the 10 year anniversary of the shooting that claimed the lives of five students. (Mark Busch/Daily Chronicle via AP)
The Associated Press