—Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
Binghamton shooting leaves a dozen dead
At least twelve people are dead after a gunman went on a shooting spree inside the American Civic Center in Binghamton, according to preliminary information from state police.
At one point more than 40 hostages were being held in the building at 131 Front Street—15 in a closet and 26 in the boiler room. At 2:40 p.m., Binghamton Police indicated the situation was over and that a SWAT team was making sure there were no people inside the building.
The Associated Press reports the gunman killed himself.
Sharpshooters from the Binghamton SWAT team were poised outside the building during the crisis, and the Endicott police bomb squad was also at the scene.
Around 1 p.m., two people were taken from the American Civic Association with their hands cuffed behind their back. Scanner reports indicate that police were also following another man under the Court Street Bridge.
Scanner reports just before 1:30 p.m., indicate police were asking 26 people in the Civic Association to lie on the floor with the hands above their heads.
Police and ambulance crews 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, including a nearby nursing home, were placed under lockdown. The high school was also locked down.
The three patients at Wilson Regional Medical Center ranged in condition, with at least one critical, said spokesman Jon Tooley. One patient was being evaluated at Lourdes Hospital, with her condition unavailable, spokeswoman Kathy Kramer said.
A woman who worked as a secretary reportedly was shot in the abdomen.
Both hospitals postponed all elective surgeries and called in extra personnel to staff their emergency rooms during the crisis.
Shortly after noon, about 10 people were released from the building, with hands on their heads. The police searched some of them.
Around 12:40 p.m., another 10 were released from the rear of the building, clad in white sheets. They were shaken and hugged each other as they boarded a BC Transit bus. All are being considered suspects until they are cleared by police.
Family members of the hostages and victims were being told to gather at 232 Main St. in Binghamton, while more ambulance crews were on standby. A crisis hotline has been established by Broome County government for community and family members who might have had relatives present at the American Civic Association shooting incident. The number is 607-778-3911.
Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan said the shooter had a high-powered rifle.
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.
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.
Broome Community College Assistant Professor Tuong Hung Nguyen was asked to work with police to communicate with the shooter. Nguyen is fluent in Vietnamese.
Police shut down Main, North and Oak streets to respond to the incident, as well as Front Street at Gerard Avenue. The Memorial Bridge was also shut down, and police taped off the corner of Front and North.
Broome County activated its Emergency Operations Center at the Broome County Public Safety Facility on Front Street, to help with the emergency situation, said Brett Chellis, director of emergency services for Broome.
Gov. David A. Paterson issued a statement, saying, “This is a tragic day for New York.”
The White House has called Ryan, city officials said.
The American Civic Association helps immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal 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.
The ACA had citizenship classes scheduled for today.
Redeemer Lutheran Church at 72 Main St. in Binghamton will hold a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. tonight for those affected by the shooting.
[end of article]
Stephen T. writes:
Adela G. writes:
Jeff writes: “As an Asian immigrant man, I am sensitive about news like this.”
As a white American, I can assure Jeff that I need to be more sensitive about news like this than he does. The left-wing media spin will see to that. It’s already starting.
Every time there’s a mass shooting in America, whites are blamed regardless of the race of the shooter. If he is white, then it’s white racism and white America’s culture of violence (and love of guns) that caused him to kill people. If he is non-white, then it is white racism and white America’s culture of violence (and love of guns) that he was reacting against, thus causing him to kill people (who really died at the collective blood-stained hands of white America.)
And if Jeff thinks that for an immigrant, “life here in the U.S. can be stressful and challenging,” I can assure him that it’s also quite stressful and challenging for white native-born Americans. Though it may not be politic (or just plain polite) to say so, the influx of immigrants is part of that stress and challenge for Americans. The difference, of course, is the stress and challenge experienced by immigrants in coming to America is voluntarily assumed. Americans have no choice in the matter; involuntary acquiescence is quite stressful and challenging.