Update: At Least 12 Killed At Immigration Center In NY

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From Yahoo News via Associated Press:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hostage_shooting

AP source: Binghamton gunman entered firing
By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer William Kates, Associated Press Writer
 
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A law enforcement official says a gunman at an immigration services center in New York state entered the building firing after blocking the back door.

The official says the gunman used his car to barricade the rear door of the building and then entered through the front. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation continued.

Officials and media reports say at least six people have been injured and as many as 41 hostages taken at the American Civic Association.

Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — A gunman entered an immigration services center in downtown Binghamton on Friday, injured at least six people and took as many as 41 hostages, officials said.

Mayor Matthew Ryan told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin that there was a hostage situation involving a gunman with a high-powered rifle.

The FBI was sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation continued.

The newspaper reported 41 hostages in the building of the American Civic Association and said apartments were being evacuated.

Emergency dispatchers were in contact with some people inside by phone, WBNG-TV reported. The gunman might still be in the building, the newspaper reported. The Binghamton SWAT team responded.

Indications were that the shooter was a young male, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he was still in the building, the law enforcement official said.

Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd.

The wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said.

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

A police dispatcher who spoke to The Associated Press wouldn't confirm a number of people shot or injured.

Around 1 p.m., Pennie Kerber, 72, told the AP in a phone call from her home across the street that the scene appeared to be settling down.

"The cops are all standing around in the front now. They're still all over the roof for sure," she said. "The SWAT shooters that were to the side of the building look like they're not there any more. It looks like it's clearing."

The area is in a stretch on the west side of the Chenango River in the city of about 45,000 near the Pennsylvania border. Emergency vehicles lined the streets in the neighborhood, a mix of homes and small businesses.

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that's when they learned of the shooting.

"One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you're living in downtown Binghamton, it's always noisy," said Shrager, of Slingerlands, an Albany suburb. "Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out."

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 Web site.

Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

[TruthBrigade]

At least 12 killed at immigration center in NY

By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer William Kates – 5 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090403/ap_on_re_us/hostage_shooting

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A gunman opened fire on a room where immigrants were taking a citizenship exam in downtown Binghamton on Friday, killing as many as 13 people before committing suicide, officials said.

Gov. David Paterson said at a news conference that 12 or 13 people had been killed. The suspected gunman carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.

The suspect's body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an office of the American Civic Association building, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and was talking on condition of anonymity.

The gunman barricaded the rear door of the building with his car before entering through the front door, firing his weapon, the official said.

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking at an event in New York, told the crowd that someone entered a room where an examination was being given from immigrants to become U.S. citizens, then shot and killed 12 or 13 people.

The Binghamton SWAT team responded, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also sending agents to Binghamton.

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

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

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."

Two women and a man suffering gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, said hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd. One was stable, one was serious and one was critical. Their ages ranged from 20s to 50s, she said.

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, said a student from Binghamton University was being treated there.

The shooting occurred in a mixed neighborhood of homes and small businesses in the center of Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 located 140 miles northwest of New York City.

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that's when they learned of the shooting.

"One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you're living in downtown Binghamton, it's always noisy," said Shrager, of Slingerlands, an Albany suburb. "Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out."

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 and Devlin Barrett in Washington.

[TruthBrigade]

Deadly rampage ends in man shooting self

Published: April 3, 2009 at 5:01 PM
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/03/UPI-NewsTrack-TopNews/UPI-35371238792485/

BINGHAMTON, N.Y., April 3 (UPI) -- Thirteen people, including the gunman, were confirmed dead Friday in a shooting spree at an immigration services center in New York state, news reports said.

Another 26 people were wounded in the rampage at the American Civic Association facility in Binghamton, N.Y., about 150 miles northwest of New York City, ABC News and WBNG-TV in Binghamton reported.

The gunman, identified as Jiverly Voong, 41, also known as Linh Phat Voong, of Johnson City, N.Y., held dozens of people hostage for several hours before killing himself, police said. Officials from state and local law enforcement agencies said the shooter entered the building through the front entrance about 10 a.m. and opened fire. The occupation ended around 2:40 p.m.

New York Gov. David Paterson called the assault "a brutal attack of innocent people."

"This is a tragic day for New York. I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said.

Voong's body was found on first floor of the facility and two weapons were recovered, officials said. He apparently used a vehicle to barricade the building's back door.

"We've got to figure a way to deal with this senseless, senseless violence," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said during a speaking engagement in New York.

Police entering the building immediately saw a receptionist who was shot in the head, officials told ABC News.

Televised images showed emergency services personnel removing people on stretchers and others walking out.

A lockdown of a nearby high school and nursing home were lifted.