Binghamton Massacre; The Day After and Picking Up the Pieces

There are still more questions than answers over why the gunman, Jivery Voong, killed 13 people at the American Civic Association offices in Binghamton, New York.

One person who claims to know the motive is none other than Taliban terrorist leader Baitullah Mehsud. He claims that this was a terrorist attack done at his behest.

U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment about Mehsud's claim, Reuters reported, and one Pakistani security analyst dismissed the claim as a publicity stunt.

Representative Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton, told the New York Times that indications are the gunman was an immigrant from Vietnam.

Mehsud's claim comes as a suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at an alleged militant hide-out Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, killing 13 people.

The U.S. is suspected of carrying out more than three dozen such strikes over the past year in Pakistan near the Afghan border, where militants often launch attacks against U.S. and NATO troops. The drone attacks have caused tension with the Pakistani government, which frequently complains about the U.S. carrying out strikes on its territory.

Let's just say I'm highly skeptical of Mehsud's claim. There's no evidence that Mehsud's group has a reach beyond the Afghan-Pakistani border region. It's far more likely that he's trying to expand the visibility of his group and spread fear.

It's also not the first time that terrorist groups have tried to claim responsibility for the acts of others.

What we do know is that Voong was laid off from IBM the day before and that he apparently had two registered handguns, and a 9mm and a 45 caliber were recovered at the scene, while a rifle case was removed from Voong's residence in Johnson City.

However, the motive for why he chose this particular target remains a mystery.

There are also reports that the police, who arrived on the scene within two minutes, waited an hour before entering the building. I'm not going to question the police actions without more information since they were trying to ascertain a developing situation that may have included a hostage situation.

Condolences and statements from politicians have come in, including statements by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and New York Governor David Paterson. Gov. Paterson's statement, however, takes the prize for being the most historically illiterate, as he states that this is the worst crime in the history of the state.

And now here in Binghamton we probably have the worst tragedy and senseless crime in the history of this state. When are we going to be able to curb the kind of violence that is so fraught and so rapid that we can’t even keep track of the incidents?

Apparently Gov. Paterson forgets the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, or the 1993 WTC bombing, which killed six and wounded more than 1,000 people.

Rick Moran notes that the commentary and punditry surrounding this mass murder could be swapped out for the commentary and punditry from any prior such mass murder. Just how much can be said about seemingly senseless murder.

UPDATE:
Apparently Voong (Wong) didn't like it that people made fun of his limited capacity to speak English, but that still doesn't explain everything:

Jiverly Wong was upset over losing his job at a vacuum plant, didn't like people picking on him for his limited English and once angrily told a co-worker, "America sucks."

It remains unclear exactly why the Vietnamese immigrant strapped on a bulletproof vest, barged in on a citizenship class and killed 13 people and himself, but the police chief says he knows one thing for sure: "He must have been a coward."

Jiverly Wong had apparently been preparing for a gun battle with police but changed course and decided to turn the gun on himself when he heard sirens approaching, Chief Joseph Zikuski said Saturday.

"He had a lot of ammunition on him, so thank God before more lives were lost, he decided to do that," the chief said.

Police and Wong's acquaintances portrayed him as an angry, troubled 41-year-old man who struggled with drugs and job loss and perhaps blamed his adopted country for his troubles. His rampage "was not a surprise" to those who knew him, Zikuski said.

"He felt degraded because people were apparently making fun of his poor English speaking," the chief said.

Wong, who used the alias Jiverly Voong, believed people close to him were making fun of him for his poor English language skills, the chief said.

He was troubled and angry for a long time, so it is possible that his firing from a job at IBM was the precipitating act.