Posted on 04/03/2009 3:06:49 PM PDT by neverdem
(Binghamton, N.Y. / ABC News) -- As many as 13 people have been shot dead and wounded dozens in a shooting rampage inside an upstate New York civic association building that caters to immigrants, according to federal and state authorities.
The gunman, Jiverly Voong, allegedly held dozens of people hostage for several hours before shooting himself to death, police said.
According to multiple state law enforcement officials, the gunman entered the one-story American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton about 10 a.m. today and began his shooting spree.
A senior law enforcement official told ABC News that 13 people were shot dead and 26 were wounded.
Officials said Voong entered the civic association armed with two heavy caliber automatic pistols -- a 9 mm and a .45 caliber handgun. He carried a bag filled with high capacity magazines, a survival knife and a flashlight, according to police.
Voong backed his car up to the rear door of the building to block any escape before he went to the front of the building and started to execute people, police said.
Voong, 41, also known as Linh Phat Voong, was from Johnson City, N.Y. He allegedly burst into the civic center wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses and promptly shot the receptionist dead and then killed two other people. He then headed for another room of the civic association and opened fire again.
When the carnage was over, Voong's body was found on first the floor with a hunting knife jammed into the waistband of his pants.
"He shot those people? No. No," said a woman who identified herself as Voong's sister, but would not give her name when reached by ABC News.com.
She said her brother went to take classes today at the civic association and that she had not heard from him since. She said she did not know that he was involved in the shooting.
"I'm going to pass out," she said and hung up the phone.
Police also contacted Voong's sister to say her brother was dead. She told police that Voong was attending language classes at the civic center. She said Voong is a U.S. citizen and has been in this country for 28 years.
Voong had recently been laid off from IBM in Johnson City, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat whose district includes Binghamton, told the Associated Press. The gunman opened fire on a citizenship class, he said.
"People were there in the process of being tested for their citizenship," Hinchey said. "It was in the middle of a test. He just went in and opened fire."
Several hours after the shooting began, hostages started exiting the building and police declared the gunman dead.
By 1:30 p.m., police began escorting people out of the building, but continued to treat the building as a crime scene where the shooter might still be lurking.
Eyewitness Account Eyewitness Nick Masucci, a community college student and Binghamton resident, said he watched as many as 20 people exit the building and get patted down by police.
"They look like immigrants, lots of different cultures coming out of there. Some people are getting patted down. The police are taking a lot of precautions, they're still taking cover," he said.
Several people were removed from the building on stretchers. Others left with their hands on their heads and were searched by police.
City councilman Martin Gerchman said he recently returned from the scene and said it looked like the building was "secure."
Earlier today police called Broome Community College to find someone who could speak fluent Vietnamese to "assist police with translation," said college spokesman Richard David.
Police, he said, did not indicated whether the translator, Professor Tuong Nguyen, was needed to speak with the shooter or with hostages, but believed the professor would be talking with the shooter.
Wilson Medical Center, the closest hospital to the site of the shootings, said three patients had been sent to its trauma center, one of them in critical condition.
One patient, according to a spokeswoman, had been brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
"We're on full alert anticipating we're going to get additional casualties," hospital spokeswoman Linda Miller said.
FBI Sent Hostage Negotiators People were told in nearby buildings to stay away from windows and Binghamton High School is under a lock-down as police are using the school as a staging area. The school is a block and a half away from the shooting site.
Ten ambulances were called to the scene and an FBI hostage rescue team is reportedly on the way.
"The FBI is providing assistance to the Binghamton Police Department," FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said. "FBI Albany has sent Hostage Negotiators, Evidence Response Team and Command Post assistance. This is a rapidly developing situation and we refer you to the Binghamton Police Department for any additional information."
The FBI and New York State Police sent hostage negotiators, evidence collection teams and investigators to support the efforts of the Binghamton police in securing the scene, collecting the evidence and guiding hostages and people who hid from the gunman to safety.
New York Gov. David Paterson said, "We are monitoring the situation and I have directed the State Police to assist the Binghamton Police Department in any way they can."
At the time of the shooting the civic association was holding citizenship classes.
Maybe he just realized the “hope” and “change” was not the change he was hoping for but the same crap he and his ancestors had wanted to get away from.
The official figure is 13 dead, 1 wounded. You could do that with 1 pistol without a miss.
Yes, maybe a pill took away the anxiety attached to doing murder!
Looking through all the stories, I find a consistent 14 killed (including the shooter). A day later, we still don't have a confirmed count of the number wounded or injured. It does appear that he would have needed extra mags...even if he never missed. He was also wearing body armor.
“Being “quoted” is really an eye opener.”
Ain’t it though? Many moons ago I started running my own small business at my home, the local newspaper was doing a lot of stories on “cottage industries” at the time and they called and did a telephone interview. When I read the story I couldn’t recognize my own business, they got my first name wrong and I mean not even in the ballpark, not even a similiar sound. They misspelled my last name even though I spelled it out twice for the guy. He “quoted” me in such a screwed up fashion that I couldn’t even figure out how he could have come up with what he claimed I said. A few weeks later a local TV station was doing the same thing and they wanted to come out and do film. I quickly made up an excuse and asked them not to call again.
Like I said before, Linh Phat Vong is Vietnamese. Linh is the surname according to my Vietnamese wife. Surname is first in many Far East languages, IIRC. Check Korean, Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung.
But as I’ve already said in a previous post responding to you, the police dept. of Binghamton says his real name is Wong. Voong is an alias surname. (They also mistakenly said he is of Vietnamese ethnicity.) Wong is Chinese, no doubt about it. It’s one of the most common Chinese surnames worldwide.
That was the name submitted to the government from a refugee processing center is all that I can surmise at this time.
Again, Voong is Hmong.
That could well be true. I would not be surprised that people from Laos lived in Vietnam. So did people from Cambodia and China.
Maybe you should look at these url’s:
When a subject could involve politics, Wikipedia is the last source that I use. The story said they went looking for someone who spoke Vietnamese. My tagline means I'm sorry sweetheart.
Why is it as soon as a Democrat get elected to the White House crazed gunmen go on rampages?
On Next Friday's 20/20, they are having what promises to be the most anti-gun episode ever. The title is, "If I only had a gun," and you can bet that ABC is going to try and make the point that a majority of people carrying guns would not use them in a situation like Birmingham.
Alert the troops. Massive Media Meltdown coming.
Have you heard of a motive? Check out serotonin syndrome, here, here and on the net. Go to reputable sources like PubMed.
I didn’t know that they had a name for it. Those strange plane passengers incidents seem to fall under this, too.
The dentist gives me a little pill to get me to my appointment. I don’t think I’d take the same pill and get on a plane - just in case.
A lot of kids are pressed to work in the Asian family restaurants or grocery stores you see everywhere. There are standouts who can work 60 hour weeks and still graduate valedictorian. However, not everyone's a standout.
He was not ethnically Vietnamese; he was Chinese.
Nothing will be said about his obvious insanity.
No, not anymore than any place Upstate...there are a ton of hunters around here who want Liberty and Justice!
This is a terrible tragedy.
We can count on all the usual politicians and lobby groups to use the dead to justify additional civilian disarmament.
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