In a weird twist of fate just a week after LMU's emergency system failed, a shooting occurred yesterday at Northern Illinois University. Six people died, including the shooter.

A HackCollege reader from NIU Kellie wrote in a comment yesterday:

That is my school. I had just gotten off the bus to go to my apartment when it happened. My boyfriend called me saying there were shots fired and people were crying, panicking, and confused. Cops showed up to the scene in matter of minutes but the gunman was already dead by then. I have a math class in that exact same room on M/W/F and its surreal to think I was sitting there in that room yesterday learning about useless math. This world has turned into a sad sad place and I never thought something like this would happen to my campus…but I guess no one does. Please pray for the Huskies and the Huskies that were lost. Valentine’s Day will now be a somber day in NIU history. We are all Huskies!

It's a weird time to be a student. Two major school shootings in less than a one year period. Tragedy is inevitable, but why does it have to happen at schools? Why does if have to be so senseless?

We've been covering the failure of emergency notification systems, but the New York Times reports that the NIU's system worked well and was used quickly: "At 3:20 p.m. [about 15 minutes after the shooting], he said, the university posted an alert on its Web site, through its e-mail system and through another campus alarm system: 'There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity.'" Within an hour after the shooting, school officials posted a message that there was no longer a threat. We're glad that at least everyone at NIU was kept informed.

Our hearts are again with NIU during this week and into the future. As Kellie said, we're all Huskies.