Today’s random shooting took place at the American Civic Association, which is an immigration center in Binghampton, N.Y. This story is still developing.
The Binghamton SWAT team is on the scene, along with a hostage negotiator. Four wounded people have been removed by stretcher from the building and there are 41 people left in the building. Twenty of those are said to be the gunman’s hostages and the remainder are said to be hiding in closets.
The American Civic Association is located at 232 Main St. in Binghamton. Friends and relatives have gathered at the scene awaiting word of their loved ones.
The alleged gunman is described as an Asian male, between 5-feet 8-inches and 6 feet tall, wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses. He is believed to be his 20’s.
The American Civic Association helps immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators. It also intervenes with emergencies, including fighting, hunger and homelessness, according to information from the association’s website.
Police locked down Binghampton High School and are using the building as their staging area. Homes and businesses have ben evacuated and at least 10 ambulances are on scene.
We will continue to update this post as more information is available.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragedy and we sincerely hope for a peaceful resolution to yet another senseless act of violence.
Update: 1:32 pm At least 13 people have been murdered and 26 are injured. The gunman is NOT in custody.
Update 2:17 pm The death toll has risen to 15. Police are saying that two gunmen may be involved in this massacre. The gunman/men used their vehicle to block the back door of the building, trapping people inside and entered through the front door… firing randomly.
Update 2:33 pm Police now believe one gunman is responsible. He has taken his own life. No word on the wounded or their conditions available at this time. A press conference is scheduled for 4:30 pm EST.
Update: 3:40 pm Jiverly Voong, 41, AKA Linh Phat Voong , AKA Jiverly Wong, has been identified as the man behind this massacre. He was from Johnson City, N.Y., a short distance from Binghampton. A motive is not yet know.
American Civic Association Shooting
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 am
I am getting afraid to leave the house ..what is this country coming to ..other countries don’t seem to have this degree of violence ..or is it just my ignorance….good thing I can have almost anything delivered to my house…liquor stores deliver right?
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:19 am
“Asian Male” is notorious PC code for Moslem. Is this another case of sudden jihad syndrome?
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am
“Asian Male” could mean anything from Muslim, to Japanese, to Indian. As Joanne said, it’s still early, dm60462, so let’s not call this anything other than a random shooting just yet.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:41 am
Lets hope the shooter doesnt have internet access and finds out about the 21 people hiding in closets he doesn’t know about? Maybe a little more discretion in what you post until after the cops wrap this up?
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:59 am
Mike I understand and accept your point. However, the liberal news stations are the ones running their mouths about where the people are hiding, as well as all the major newspapers. I doubt the shooter will take the time to look up my post.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Ignatius: EXACTLY !
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:01 am
Lydia : When you find a liquor store that delivers, clue me in will ya ! :-p
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
I’m hearing that two are in custody, and the do appear to be “Asian.”
It is not clear whether wounded are still inside – or FOX is reporting that one hospital says it is “swamped in triage.”
God bless who have survived to this point.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:17 am
Question: I your lead paragraph, you write that this was “Today’s random shooting.” How do you know? Or were you just not careful with your words?
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
Wow, I grew up about an hour north of Binghamton. This is a tragic situation.
Oh and JoAnne, shame on you for taking this opportunity for some more “liberal news” bashing. Get over it for Christ’s sake.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Bob- I’d say it all depends on how you defy random. If we’re going to have a different shooting in the news every damn day then yeah, they all become random.
And Rhayader, I agree- Joanne, please stop bashing liberals. Afterall, Im pretty sure conservative media is also covering this story, arent they?
I also agree with Lydia- while violence seems to be on an unpswing worldwide, doesnt it seem like America is haven’t the worst bout? Or is it simply because we hear more stories from our own country?
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Just wanted to add ‘curses for not spell checking my first post.’ I’ll own up to that last paragraph being a little fubared…
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
What a lousy place to come for “news”. You won’t get a clear understanding of anything if you ask a “right wing pundit”.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 am
@Cindy: Yeah, it might seem like that, but I don’t think that’s actually the case. Consider Mexico, for example, where over 5,000 people a year are being killed in prohibition-related warring.
Like you said, it probably has more to do with media coverage than anything.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
@P. O’Brien: Yeah I don’t think many of us come here for news as much as we do to argue opinions about said news.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Cindy- re: an upswing in violence in America. Have you been to Pakistan lately? The Mexican president is trying to get rid of the drug cartels and corruption and there’s practically a civil war going on there. There was a good bit of violence when the Roman Legions clashed with the Germanic Tribes of Northern Europe. The Mongols raised unholy hell throughout Asia and Europe. Oh, and you read our article about violence against Afghanistan women being legalized there? I think ppl in the other parts of the world would laugh at the idea that our lives are more violent than theirs? Without television, many of us would never experience much violent crime at all.
We have 24/7 news so we get instant information for our insatiable thirst for excitement. Who needs soap operas anymore?
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Beth is right. Here’s a shocking stat, folks.
Violence in America is actually declining, and has been since the late 60’s. The most violent period in American history (since accurate crime statistics were kept) was in the late 60’s and early 70’s. You can check fbi.gov for historical crime data.
The generation of gangta rap, hip hop, and shoot ‘em up games is actually much less violent than the “love generation.”
The difference is that you see and hear about violence a lot more than before. Forty years ago, a shooting in Binghamton probably would not have been known about in California. Now, everywhere you look, you hear about someone getting killed. There isn’t more of it. There’s just more news about it.
April 4th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
“Todays random shooting” is a good choice of words as I was thinking the same thing, well I guess there was the one in Pittsburg too, an assualt rifle. Our first shooter had permits for his guns. Our second didn’t I think as it was an ak-47. Our country is in deep trouble as more and more of these are popping up in a country of 300 million, and many are strangers now without the community ties and networks that formerly identified problem children. Apparently shooter number two’s friends knew he had these guns and thought it was cool and normal. Why should any 23 year old have an ak47? What, he comes home from the glass factory at night(unemployed for a period) and polishes his ak? while mom cooks up pirogies and cabbage in the kitchen for a hot meal? Puts a whole new twist on taxi-driver. These officers were utterly murdered in the line of duty as they were called for some type of disturbance. They didn’t single him out at a traffic stop or parking his car. Who is going to want to go to a family disturbance(the most dangerous thing one can do) in this day and age? Remember when the ban on assualt weopons expired and bush said he would renew it if congress passed another one, but no hurry? snooze.zzzzzzzz. That would be good domestic governing, but it didn’t happen.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
oh, the third shooting for the day, a father and 5 children were found shot to death in Washington, the children in a trailer park, appears domestic. Unbelievable. Are our people armed enough?
April 6th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
[...] we reported here, Jiverly Wong is the 42-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who went on a shooting rampage in the American [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
downright sad
June 21st, 2009 at 6:43 pm
What is wrong with the world today!?