Man opens fire in NY town, possible victims: report

Binghamton (NY) Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed on Saturday responsibility for an attack on a US immigration centre in New York state in which 13 people were killed.

"I accept resonsibility. They were my men. I gave them orders in reaction to US drone attacks," Mehsud told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.


Man opens fire in NY town, possible victims: report
Fri Apr 3, 2009 12:24pm ED

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man opened fire inside a building in the New York town of Binghamton, shooting as many as four people, local media reported, citing police scanners.

As many as 41 people were inside the building when a man entered and started shooting, WBNG television news reported on its website.

Some people escaped to a basement and more than a dozen were hiding in a closet, WBNG said, reporting that emergency dispatchers had been in contact with people inside.

Police closed down surrounding streets and locked down a high school, WBNG said.

Binghamton is about 150 miles northwest of New York City.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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A gunman may have killed 12 or 13 people and held as many as 40 people hostage at an upstate New York immigrant counselling centre this morning.

At about 10.30am, a gunman reportedly parked a vehicle at the rear of the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, New York, blocking the door. He entered the building and opened fire on people assembled for English classes, citizenship counselling and other services.

Police sources, speaking on background, said as many as 12 or 13 people had been killed, according to a reporter with WNBF radio, who described the gunman as being of Asian descent, and in his 20s. The reporter said as many as 40 people were held hostage.

Heavily armed local, county and state police were surrounding the building in Binghamton, a city of about 45,000 people, roughly three hours north of New York City. It is home to a large campus of the state University of New York.


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A gunman may have killed 12 or 13 people and held as many as 40 people hostage at an upstate New York immigrant counselling centre this morning. Four people were reportedly removed from the scene on hospital stretchers.

At about 10.30am local time, a gunman reportedly parked a vehicle at the rear of the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, New York, blocking the door. He entered the building and opened fire on people assembled for English classes, citizenship counselling and other services.

Police sources, speaking on background, said as many as 12 or 13 people had been killed, according to a reporter with WNBF radio, who described the gunman as being of Asian descent, and in his 20s. The reporter said as many as 40 people were held hostage.

Heavily armed local, county and state police were surrounding the building in Binghamton, a city of about 45,000 people, roughly three hours north of New York City. It is home to a large campus of the state University of New York.

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A gunman opened fire in an immigration centre in a sleepy American town killing as many as 13, according to reports tonight.

Another 41 people are still being held hostage inside the building, an immigration centre in Binghampton, New York state.

Witnesses described the gunman, who was said to be Asian and in his 20s, parking his car at the rear of the centre, walking inside and then firing indiscriminately.

It was around 10.30am local time and many dozens of people were attending the site for English classes as well as citizenship sessions.
Carnage: Emergency services remove a person on a stretcher from the scene

Carnage: Emergency services remove a person on a stretcher from the scene

'A number of people are dead,' Binghamton Police Captain Alex Minor told a local newspaper.

Around 36 people were reportedly cowering in a boiler room while 15 others had taken shelter in cupboards around the building.

There were reports that 20 had been released though the FBI were sending hostage negotiators to the scene.

At least four were carried out of the building on stretchers and taken to hospital. One was described as critical.

A spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton confirmed that a student from Binghamton University was being treated at the emergency room.

Linda Miller said she didn't know the nature of the injuries.

'We're on full alert anticipating we're going to get additional casualties,' she said.

Emergency services were in contact with some people inside by phone, WBNG-TV reported.
Binghampton, New York State

Under siege: A gunman has taken dozens of hostages at the American Civic Association, in Binghampton, New York State

Binghampton Mayor Matthew Ryan told a local paper that the gunman had a high-powered rifle.

Police and ambulances have surrounded the building and neighbouring apartments have been evacuated.

The American Civic Association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with 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.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man opened fire in a building where services are provided to immigrants in the New York town of Binghamton on Friday and killed 13 people before killing himself, ABC News reported.

New York Governor David Paterson confirmed that a number of people had been killed. ABC News, citing federal and state authorities, said 26 people were also wounded.

There was no official confirmation of the death toll or the gunman's fate.

Other local media earlier reported between four and 13 dead in the incident in Binghamton, about 150 miles northwest of New York City.

"This is a tragic day for New York. While the situation is still developing and details are being gathered, we do know that a gunman entered the American Civic Association in Binghamton this morning and that there are fatalities," Paterson said in a statement.

The area was surrounded by police with rifles, some carrying shields. Some local media reports said the suspected shooter was Asian and that authorities requested a Vietnamese translator to speak with him.

Following the American defeat in Vietnam, close to two million Vietnamese were allowed to enter the US. Those who have betrayed their countries and helped the Americans to carry out horrendous massacres. Naturally it included prostitutes and common criminals. The Americans are planning to move 100000 Iraqi traitors and killers following their withdrawal/defeat from Iraq.

As many as 41 people were inside the building when a man entered and started shooting, WBNG television news said, citing police scanners. It said some fled to a basement and more than a dozen were hiding in a closet, adding that emergency dispatchers had been in contact with people inside.

Four people were removed from the American Civic Association building on stretchers and taken to hospitals, the Press & Sun-Bulletin newspaper reported on its website.

Others came out on foot.

"About 15 or so employees of the Civic Association came out crying with their hands behind their heads and they were escorted by the police and they took them to ambulances and took them away," a witness told WNBF radio.

The American Civic Association building is used to teach English and provide other services to recent immigrants to the United States who are preparing for U.S. citizenship.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta, Claudia Parsons, Joan Gralla and Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by David Storey)


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Gunman opened fire during citizenship exam - reports [Hostage drama in Binghamton, New York]
Page 1 of 2 View as a single page 12:06PM Saturday Apr 04, 2009

BINGHAMTON, New York - A gunman opened fire on a centre where immigrants were taking a citizenship exam in downtown Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people before committing suicide.

The suspected gunman carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, New York, a law enforcement official said. But the name is an alias that the man has used in the past, said the official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and was talking on condition of anonymity.

"It obviously was premeditated," said Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski, noting the gunman blocked the rear exit with his car. "He made sure nobody could escape."

Police did not mention a motive.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton, said the gunman had recently been let go from IBM in Johnson City.

The man entered a foyer at the American Civic Association and shot two receptionists, Zikuski said.

One receptionist was killed, but another pretended to be dead, then crawled to a desk and called authorities, he said. Police responded within two minutes.

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Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, said she was in an English class when she heard a shot and her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room.

"I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting," she said.

"I heard shooting, very long time ... and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished."

The gunman entered a room just off the reception area and continued firing, the chief said. He fired on a citizenship class, Hinchey said.

"People were there in the process of being tested for their citizenship," Hinchey said in a telephone interview.

"It was in the middle of a test. He just went in and opened fire."

Twenty-six people hid in the boiler room and 37 people were safely removed from the building, Zikuski said. Four people are in a critical condition.

Most of the people brought out of the building couldn't speak English, the chief said.

The suspect's body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an office, according to the law enforcement official who reported the man's identification.

Waiting outside a Catholic Charities office where counsellors were tending to relatives of victims, Omri Yigal said his wife, Delores, was taking English lessons when the gunman attacked. He had no word on what happened to her.

"At this point, I know the scale of what happened, but I just hope Delores is OK," the Filipino immigrant said.

"I haven't got any information. ... The only thing I have right now is hope."

he gunman's connection to the centre isn't clear, Hinchey said.

"One of the first questions is going to be, what motivated this?" he said.

"What caused this to happen? What was the kind of person who did it?"

A woman who answered the phone at a listing for Henry D. Voong said she was Jiverly Voong's sister but would not give her name.

Asked if she was aware that he might have been involved in the shooting, she said: "How? He didn't have a gun. I think somebody involved, not him. I think he got shot by somebody else."

"I think there's a misunderstanding over here because I want to know, too," she said.

In Baden-Baden, Germany, President Barack Obama said he was shocked and saddened by the deadly mass shooting, calling it an "act of senseless violence".

The president, who is travelling in Europe, said he and his wife, Michelle, were praying for the victims, their families and the people of Binghamton.

The American Civic Association helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with naturalisation applications, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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The association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.

Alex Galkin, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, said he was taking his English classes when he heard a shot and quickly went to the basement with 20 other people.

"It was just panic," Galkin said.

The association's president, Angela Leach, "is very upset right now," said Mike Chanecka, a friend who answered a call at her home as Leach wept in the background.

"She doesn't know anything; she's as shocked as anyone," Chanecka said. "For some reason, she had the day off today. And she's very worried about her secretary."

At the junction of the Susquehanna and the Chenango rivers, the Binghamton area was the home to Endicott-Johnson shoe company and the birthplace of IBM, which between them employed tens of thousands of workers before the shoe company closed a decade ago and IBM downsized in recent years.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers George M. Walsh and Chris Carola in Albany; Kimberly Hefling and Devlin Barrett in Washington; Michael Hill in Binghamton; John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York; and the AP News Research Center.

- AP