Developing: Shooting At Binghamton NY American Civic Ass'n Building; UPDATE: 15 Killed; 26 Injured

Details are still coming in, but a number of people have been shot and dozens of hostages appear to be inside the American Civic Association building in Binghamnton, New York.

Four people left the building with hands on their hands. Police were searching some of them.

Four people have been taken to hospitals. The Binghamton and Broome County SWAT teams are on the scene, along with a negotiator.

The SWAT team is getting ready to re-enter the building. The shooter is still inside, police said.

There were reportedly 41 hostages in the building -- 15 in a closet and 26 in the boiler room.

Family members of the hostages and victims are gathering at Catholic Charities at 290 Front St. in Binghamton, police said.

At least two ambulances from the scene have arrived at Wilson Regional Medical Center.

Police began staging at Oak and Main Street, the site of the Binghamton High School, shortly after 10:30 a.m. today. Local apartments were evacuated and businesses, such as a nearby nursing home, were placed under lockdown as a precaution.

One male was down with a woman shot in the stomach, according to a police radio. The female victim was a secretary.

Police have since called for 10 ambulances.

Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan, who was at the scene, said there was a hostage situation in the Civic Association building, located at 131 Front St. Ryan said the shooter has a high-powered rifle.

UPDATE:
Two people were removed from the building in handcuffs, and more than two dozen other people remain in the building:

At least four people were shot and dozens of others were being held hostage by a gunman in the Binghamton building.
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At least three people have been taken to Wilson Regional Medical Center in Johnson City, one in critical condition, two listed as serious. Another person was taken to Lourdes Hospital in Johnson City.

Both hospitals postponed all elective surgeries and called in extra personnel to staff their emergency rooms.

According to police reports, more than 40 hostages were in the building — 15 in a closet and 26 in the boiler room. Sharp shooters from the Binghamton SWAT team were poised outside the building at 131 Front Street. The Endicott police bomb squad is also at the scene.

Scanner reports just before 1:30 p.m. indicate that police were asking 26 people in the Civic Association to lie on the floor with the hands above their heads.

Not sure I'd read too much into the report of the two people removed in handcuffs since reports generally note a single gunman with a high powered rifle. They may be considering whether he had accomplices. As I've said, this is a developing situation, so the facts and reporting is fluid and subject to change.

The American Civic Association website notes that it provides the following services:

Assists immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification, interpreters, and translators. Fosters cross cultural understanding for the entire community.

Gothamist posts the following grim news:

"The suspect was described as an Asian male in his 20s, between 5-feet 8-inches and 6 feet tall, wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses." A community college professor fluent in Vietnamese was also asked to aid cops in communicating with the shooter.

ABC News reports 13 are dead, 26 wounded. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who died or were injured at the hands of the gunman.

UPDATE:
The NY Times reports that the gunman killed himself, and may be among the count of 12-13 people who were killed.

UPDATE:
The official death toll right now stands at 12 people murdered, and the gunman took his own life. He is tentatively identified as Jiverly Voong, also known as Linh Phat Voong.

Right now, there is no motive for why he went on the rampage and took hostages at the Civic Association building.

UPDATE:
15 people were murdered by Voong, who then took his own life. Still unknown is Voong's connection with the building or people involved:

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton, said the gunman had recently been let go from IBM in Johnson City and opened fire on a citizenship class.

"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."

Authorities scheduled a news conference for Friday afternoon.

At least 41 people were in the American Civic Association building at the time of the shooting and that citizenship classes had been scheduled Friday at the center, The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin reported.