Binghamton Massacre Tributes Included The Gunman

If I were family or friend of one of those injured or killed in the Binghamton, New York massacre by Jivery Wong, I would be incredibly angry that memorial tributes included Wong among those killed. Some of the family members were angry and upset as well:

Bells rang 14 times and 14 tulips were planted in honor of the 13 staffers and students at the American Civic Association community center and mass murderer Jiverly Wong, who killed himself.

Lubomyr Zobniw, whose wife, Marie, was killed, was upset.

"Do we commemorate [Josef] Stalin? Do we commemorate the Holocaust? Why is this community memorializing the man who brought this hurt on us? I can understand maybe praying for him, but not commemorating him," he said.

Wong, 41, an immigrant from Vietnam, barged into the center with two guns and wordlessly sprayed a classroom with 98 rounds.

Police believe he was angry over losing his job and at his poor English skills, which he had tried to improve with a class at the center.

Why was Wong commemorated at a tribute to those murdered by him? Do we not recognize evil and treat it as such? These people gathered to pay their respects to the people murdered by Wong - to remember the evil and senseless act that he perpetrated. Yet some there think it appropriate to memorialize him in the same fashion as those he killed.

This isn't the first time we've seen this kind of response to a mass murder or terrorist act either. More times than I can count, I can recall the inclusion of terrorists in the death toll whether it was suicide bombings or attacks like in Mumbai. The failure to distinguish between those who killed and who were murdered is a failure to see the difference between good and evil.

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.

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.