Yesterday, a gunman stormed into a Binghamton, NY immigrant community center, taking employees and students hostage, ultimately killing 13. The gunman, believed to be Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Voong (or Jiverly Wong), killed himself in the bloodshed that also left dozens wounded at the American Civic Association.
The shooter had parked a car in front of the back door of the building, blocking the exit and prompting the Binghamton police to say, "It obviously was premeditated. He made sure nobody could escape." He entered through the front of the building, where citizenship classes were being held and starting firing. He shot two receptionists, killing one but wounding the other. However, the wounded receptionist played dead and was able to call police. In spite of a gunshot wound to the stomach, she stayed on the phone for 90 minutes, giving police information. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said, "She's a hero in her own right." Here's a rough timeline of events from the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Other students ran in fear to a boiler room and closets to hide from the shooter. The shooting started past 10 a.m. and police, state police and federal authorities were poised outside. Authorities only entered after not hearing shots and spent hours searching the building. The AP reports, "The man believed to have carried out the attack was found dead in an office with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a satchel containing ammunition slung around his neck, authorities said. Police found two handguns - a 9 mm and a .45-caliber - and a hunting knife." Both weapons were registered.
Voong immigrated from Vietnam at a young age and had taken classes at the American Civic Association. The Binghamton authorities have stressed that the investigation will be lengthy and have not officially identified the killer, but officials did say this morning that the killer was apparently angry about job prospects and his poor language skills. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told the Today Show that Voong felt people "degraded and disrespected "him over his poor English, while Mayor Matthew Ryan told Good Morning America that the gunman was upset about job loss and language.
The Binghamton Sun Press & Sun-Bulletin reports on the conflicting reports of Voong's job history—Rep. Maurice Hinchey said the shooter claimed to have worked at IBM, which IBM denied, while CNN says Voong "once worked as an engineer at Endicott Interconnect, a successor company to IBM in Endicott. He later worked at the Shop-Vac assembly plant in Binghamton before it closed in the fall, according to CNN." The Daily News spoke to a Shop-Vac co-worker about Voong; the co-worker Kevin Greene said he once wore a Yankees t-shirt, "I asked him if he liked the Yanks, [and] he said, 'No, I don't like that team. I don't like America. America sucks.'"
Greene added, "He went to target practice on Saturday. He said he had two guns, one in his glove compartment. He was always talking about his guns." However, neighbors saw another side, saying that he invited neighborhood children to eat fruit from his father's apple tree and berry bushes; one told WCBS 2, "He took care of business, took care of his family, and took care of his property." However, a boiler repairman told the News that Voong mentioned his wife and kids left him and that he seemed depressed.
The NY Times described the center, which is a member agency of the United Way, as offering "citizenship classes, immigration assistance, personal counseling, family reunification and interpreters." One victim was Roberta King, who apparently previously taught Voong English. Her friend, Priscilla Pease, who survived the attack, said, "She was a wonderful person. She's a mother of 10 children and just loved teaching international students."
