Huskies for Hokies: NIU plans vigil to mark anniversary of Va. Tech shootings

DEKALB -- Northern Illinois University has announced plans for a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 people, including the gunman, dead.

The Illinois campus said it will have the "Huskies for Hokies" vigil Wednesday night. NIU President John Peters plans brief comments. NIU said it wants to show the same support that the Virginia Tech campus showed when a student opened fire in a DeKalb classroom Feb. 14, killing five students and himself.

NIU officials say Virginia Tech counselors and students traveled to Illinois after the deadly DeKalb shootings and more than 1,000 students at the Blacksburg, Va., campus had a candlelight vigil for NIU.