Gunman kills 12 and takes 41 as hostages in US

Pintu

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According to the NDTV, a single gunman gunned down at least 12 people and took 41 as hostages.

The link and the report from NDTV follows here with:

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090089640&ch=442009122700AM


Gunman kills 12, takes 40 hostage in New York State
NDTV Correspondent
Friday, April 03, 2009, (New York)
A lone gunman who shot dead at least 12 people and took 41 hostage after opening fire at the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, in the New York State on Friday morning, has been shot dead.

The gunman had opened fire at the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, about 220 km from New York City. The gunman fired at those gathered to take citizenship test. According to reports, the suspect, wearing a bright green jacket, entered the building and started shooting with a rifle.

Through hours of the hostage situation, there were reports of 12 to 13 people being killed, some hostages being periodically released or rescued and of two men, at least one of Asian descent, being taken into custody.

PTI adds:

"A dozen or more may have died," Bob Joseph, news director of local WNBF Radio in the small town of Binghamton, quoting sources.

Other reports said four were shot at the American Civic Association building, which helps new immigrants to the United States. Reports said the gunman opened fire during a citizenship test. They said an Asian man in his twenties who was taking citizenship test opened fire with an official indicating that a high-powered rifle may have been used in the attack.

Charles Kramer, Member City Council, said it was not a terror attack and that clearly there was one gunman who might have been mentally unstable.

Meanwhile, a local Binghamton news website reporting live from the site of the hostage incident quoted the police as saying that 13 people had been killed.

Before reports of the lone gunman being shot started filtering in, Pressconnects.com said two people had been taken from the American Civic Association building with their hands cuffed behind their back.

The website quoted police reports to say more than 40 hostages were in the building 15 in a closet and 26 in the boiler room. It said sharp shooters from the Binghamton SWAT team were poised outside the building at 131 Front Street and that a police bomb squad was also present at the scene.
 

rock45

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The gunman — believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant himself

Very sad first reports were he lost his job at IBM but I don't see that in this article.

NY gunman kills 13, commits suicide

By WILLIAM KATES – 31 minutes ago

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — A gunman barricaded the back door of a community center with his car and then opened fire on a room full of immigrants taking a citizenship class Friday, killing 13 people before apparently committing suicide, officials said.

Investigators said they had yet to establish a motive for the massacre, which was at least the fifth deadly mass shooting in the U.S. in the past month alone.

The gunman — believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant himself — had recently been let go from IBM, said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose congressional district includes Binghamton. But IBM could not immediately confirm that.

The attack came just after 10 a.m. at the American Civic Association, an organization that helps immigrants settle in this country. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the gunman parked his car against the back door, "making sure nobody could escape," then stormed through the front, shooting two receptionists, apparently without a word.

The killer then entered a room just off the reception area and fired on a citizenship class.

"The people were trying to better themselves, trying to become citizens," the police chief said.

One receptionist was killed, while the other, who was shot in the abdomen, pretended to be dead, then crawled under a desk and called 911, he said. Police said they arrived within two minutes. The rest of those killed were shot in the classroom. Four people were critically wounded.

The man believed to have carried out the attack was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an office, a satchel containing ammunition slung around his neck, authorities said. Police found two handguns — a 9 mm and a .45-caliber — as well as a hunting knife, authorities said.

Thirty-seven people in all were rescued from the building, included 26 who hid in the boiler room in the basement, cowering there for three hours while police methodically searched the building and tried to determine whether the gunman was still alive and whether he was holding any hostages, Zikuski said. Those in the basement stayed in contact with police by cell phone, switching from one phone to another when their batteries ran out, Zikuski said. Others hid in closets and under desks.

At one point, police led a number of men out of the building in plastic handcuffs while they tried to sort out the victims from the killer or killers.

Most of the people brought out couldn't speak English, the chief said.

Alex Galkin, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, said he was taking English classes when he heard a shot and quickly went to the basement with about 20 other people.

"It was just panic," Galkin said.

Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, said she was in an English class when she heard a shot and her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room.

"I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting," she said. "I heard shooting, very long time, and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished."

Gov. David Paterson said the massacre was probably "the worst tragedy and senseless crime in the history of this city." Noting mass killings in Alabama and Oakland, Calif., last month, he said: "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?"

The community center was holding class "for those who want to become citizens of the United States of America, who wanted to be part of the American Dream, and so tragically may have had that hope thwarted today," the governor said. "But there still is an American dream, and all of us who are Americans will try to heal this very, very deep wound in the city of Binghamton."

The suspected gunman carried ID with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., but that was believed to be an alias, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The police chief would not confirm the name of the dead man with the ammunition satchel, saying authorities were still trying to establish with certainty that he was the gunman.

"We have no idea what the motive is," Zikuski said. He said the suspected gunman "was no stranger" to the community center, and may have gone there to take a class.

A woman who answered the phone at a listing for Henry D. Voong said she was Jiverly Voong's sister but would not give her name. She said her brother had been in the country for 28 years and had citizenship.

"The police just called me and said he got shot," she said. Asked if she was aware that he might have been involved in the shooting, she said: "How? He didn't have a gun. I think somebody involved, not him. I think he got shot by somebody else."

"I think there's a misunderstanding over here because I want to know, too," she said.

Waiting outside a Catholic Charities office where counselors were tending to relatives of victims, Omri Yigal said his wife, Delores, was taking English lessons when the gunman attacked. He had no word on what happened to her.

"At this point, I know the scale of what happened, but I just hope Delores is OK," the Filipino immigrant said. "I haven't got any information. ... The only thing I have right now is hope."

The American Civic Association helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with citizenship, resettlement and family reunification. The shootings took place in a neighborhood of homes and small businesses in downtown Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 situated 140 miles northwest of New York City.

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.

A string of attacks in the U.S. in the last month left 44 people dead in all.

A gunman killed 10 people and himself in Samson, Ala.; a traffic stop shootout in Oakland, Calif., left four police officers and the gunman dead; an apparent murder-suicide in Santa Clara, Calif., left six dead; and a gunman went on a rampage at a nursing home Sunday, killing seven elderly residents and a nurse who cared for them.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers George M. Walsh and Chris Carola in Albany; Kimberly Hefling and Devlin Barrett in Washington; Michael Hill in Binghamton; and John Wawrow in Buffalo, N.Y.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Link
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTkwh0jekRrls-b8ugkObNpK6XsQD97B9E302
 

rock45

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The gunman — believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant himself

Very sad first reports were he lost his job at IBM but I don't see that in this article.

NY gunman kills 13, commits suicide

By WILLIAM KATES – 31 minutes ago

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — A gunman barricaded the back door of a community center with his car and then opened fire on a room full of immigrants taking a citizenship class Friday, killing 13 people before apparently committing suicide, officials said.

Investigators said they had yet to establish a motive for the massacre, which was at least the fifth deadly mass shooting in the U.S. in the past month alone.

The gunman — believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant himself — had recently been let go from IBM, said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose congressional district includes Binghamton. But IBM could not immediately confirm that.

The attack came just after 10 a.m. at the American Civic Association, an organization that helps immigrants settle in this country. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the gunman parked his car against the back door, "making sure nobody could escape," then stormed through the front, shooting two receptionists, apparently without a word.

The killer then entered a room just off the reception area and fired on a citizenship class.

"The people were trying to better themselves, trying to become citizens," the police chief said.

One receptionist was killed, while the other, who was shot in the abdomen, pretended to be dead, then crawled under a desk and called 911, he said. Police said they arrived within two minutes. The rest of those killed were shot in the classroom. Four people were critically wounded.

The man believed to have carried out the attack was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an office, a satchel containing ammunition slung around his neck, authorities said. Police found two handguns — a 9 mm and a .45-caliber — as well as a hunting knife, authorities said.

Thirty-seven people in all were rescued from the building, included 26 who hid in the boiler room in the basement, cowering there for three hours while police methodically searched the building and tried to determine whether the gunman was still alive and whether he was holding any hostages, Zikuski said. Those in the basement stayed in contact with police by cell phone, switching from one phone to another when their batteries ran out, Zikuski said. Others hid in closets and under desks.

At one point, police led a number of men out of the building in plastic handcuffs while they tried to sort out the victims from the killer or killers.

Most of the people brought out couldn't speak English, the chief said.

Alex Galkin, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, said he was taking English classes when he heard a shot and quickly went to the basement with about 20 other people.

"It was just panic," Galkin said.

Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, said she was in an English class when she heard a shot and her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room.

"I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting," she said. "I heard shooting, very long time, and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished."

Gov. David Paterson said the massacre was probably "the worst tragedy and senseless crime in the history of this city." Noting mass killings in Alabama and Oakland, Calif., last month, he said: "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?"

The community center was holding class "for those who want to become citizens of the United States of America, who wanted to be part of the American Dream, and so tragically may have had that hope thwarted today," the governor said. "But there still is an American dream, and all of us who are Americans will try to heal this very, very deep wound in the city of Binghamton."

The suspected gunman carried ID with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., but that was believed to be an alias, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The police chief would not confirm the name of the dead man with the ammunition satchel, saying authorities were still trying to establish with certainty that he was the gunman.

"We have no idea what the motive is," Zikuski said. He said the suspected gunman "was no stranger" to the community center, and may have gone there to take a class.

A woman who answered the phone at a listing for Henry D. Voong said she was Jiverly Voong's sister but would not give her name. She said her brother had been in the country for 28 years and had citizenship.

"The police just called me and said he got shot," she said. Asked if she was aware that he might have been involved in the shooting, she said: "How? He didn't have a gun. I think somebody involved, not him. I think he got shot by somebody else."

"I think there's a misunderstanding over here because I want to know, too," she said.

Waiting outside a Catholic Charities office where counselors were tending to relatives of victims, Omri Yigal said his wife, Delores, was taking English lessons when the gunman attacked. He had no word on what happened to her.

"At this point, I know the scale of what happened, but I just hope Delores is OK," the Filipino immigrant said. "I haven't got any information. ... The only thing I have right now is hope."

The American Civic Association helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with citizenship, resettlement and family reunification. The shootings took place in a neighborhood of homes and small businesses in downtown Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 situated 140 miles northwest of New York City.

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.

A string of attacks in the U.S. in the last month left 44 people dead in all.

A gunman killed 10 people and himself in Samson, Ala.; a traffic stop shootout in Oakland, Calif., left four police officers and the gunman dead; an apparent murder-suicide in Santa Clara, Calif., left six dead; and a gunman went on a rampage at a nursing home Sunday, killing seven elderly residents and a nurse who cared for them.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers George M. Walsh and Chris Carola in Albany; Kimberly Hefling and Devlin Barrett in Washington; Michael Hill in Binghamton; and John Wawrow in Buffalo, N.Y.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Link
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTkwh0jekRrls-b8ugkObNpK6XsQD97B9E302
 

Pintu

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Very sad Rock , I pray almighty for those have dead, May their soul rest in peace.

Shocking Reveal , Pakistani Taliban Claims responsibility of the US shooting.

According to Reuters UK , Pakistan's Taliban Chief claimed the responsibility for the massacre at the US immigration centre.

The link and the report from Reuters UK are as follows:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE5330GP20090404

Pakistani Taliban chief claims U.S. shooting
Sat Apr 4, 2009 8:20am BST

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed on Saturday responsibility for an attack on a U.S. immigration centre in New York state in which 13 people were killed.

"I accept responsibility. They were my men. I gave them orders in reaction to U.S. drone attacks," Mehsud told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

A man armed with two handguns killed 13 people at an immigration services centre before apparently turning the gun on himself, authorities in Binghamton, New York, said.

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

(Reporting by Alamgir Bitani; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel)
 
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This happened in the state I am living in, If Laskar e taybaa is responsible USA should declare war on Pakistan if they are proud of this then make them pay.
 

Pintu

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Now, it is to see , what Mr. Obama does ?
 
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I expect Obama to do very little ,he has made symbolic gestures which are very welcoming to terrorists, i am not suprised at all this happened under Obama, these were innocent people but if the terrorists want a fight everyone in USA is heavily armed we will slaughter them like wild pigs.
 

Pintu

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Here is another one on the same from Indian Express.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/taliban-claim-rubbished-us-still-clueless-on-ny-attack/443053/

Taliban claim rubbished; US still clueless on NY attack
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Agencies Posted: Apr 04, 2009 at 1722 hrs IST
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Baituallah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack on the US immigration centre.Baituallah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack on the US immigration centre.

Baituallah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack on the US immigration centre.
Related Stories: The royal hugWe need H1B professionals: US Govt
Binghamton (NY): US investigators, who began a probe into the shooting by a lone gunman believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant in New York states' downtown Binghamton, are yet to establish the motive for the massacre, which left at least 13 people dead.

As federal officials from numerous agencies began what was likely to be a lengthy investigation, they were unable to pinpoint a motive for the killings.

"What motivated the assault remained a mystery," the ‘New York Times’ said quoting officials. According to the report: "Binghamton officials said the assailant apparently had ties to the centre, which helps immigrants and refugees with counselling, resettlement and other issues".

Local news reports revealed that the dead gunman, identified as Jiverly Wong, 42, a Vietnamese immigrant who lived in nearby Johnson City, had recently been laid off from his job with IBM. He barged into the immigration services centre in downtown Binghamton, during citizenship classes on Friday and shot 13 people to death and critically wounded 4 others before turning the gun on himself.

In a claim dismissed by analysts as "far fetched", Taliban owned up responsibility for the shooting incident in an immigration services office in New York, saying it was carried out in retaliation against US drone attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud telephoned reporters in Pakistan to claim responsibility for the shooting He said the attack was launched by a Pakistani man and another unidentified man.
 
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Pintu

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Though they rubbished the claim they are still clueless about this.
 
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Obama may try to cover this up just like 9/11 pakistan involvement was covered up.
 

Pintu

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According to BBC Police began to probe the Massacre.

The link and the report from BBC follows:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7983463.stm



Police begin New York siege probe
Police at the home of Jiverly Voong in Johnson City, 04/04
Police searched the suspect's home and removed computer hard drives

US police are piecing together details of the man suspected of shooting dead 13 people and taking several hostages at a New York state immigration centre.

The suspect, who also killed himself, was named in media reports as 42-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Voong.

He reportedly lost his job recently and was frustrated by language problems.

Police said autopsies were under way on all of those who died, but they did not name a suspect or suggest a motive for the attack, in the town of Binghamton.

Earlier, Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud called media organisations including the BBC in Islamabad to claim responsibility for the attack.

But FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said that based on the evidence the militant's claim could be "firmly discounted".

See map of the area

The gunman apparently parked his car against the back door of the American Civic Association (ACA) buildings in Binghamton, north-west of New York City.

The Associated Press reported that he walked into the building and opened fire, apparently without saying a word.


About 15 or so employees came out crying with their hands behind their heads
Eyewitness

Witnesses: Binghamton shooting

Detectives have searched the house of the main suspect, with reports claiming the gunman had identity papers on him in the name of Jiverly Voong, of nearby Johnson City.

The officers removed items including computer hard drives and a rifle bag from his home.

Two handguns used in the attack were registered under the name of Jiverly Wong, AP reported.

Town Mayor Matthew Ryan told ABC news that Voong had lost a job recently "and was somewhat angry".

"He had language issues, didn't speak English that well, and was really concerned about his employment situation."

The victims appear to be mainly immigrants, taking English-language classes at the centre and receiving advice on settling in the US.

The authorities have been taking calls from worried relatives from all over the world.

'Most tragic day'

Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan, was in an English lesson when her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room.

"I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting," she told AP.


RECENT US SHOOTINGS
March 2009: A gunman kills a total of 11 people in a series of shootings southern Alabama
Dec 2008: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus kills nine people and himself on Christmas Eve in LA
Sept 2008: Six people die in a series of shootings in the north-west of Washington state
June 2008: A worker at a plastics plant in Kentucky kills five people before killing himself
Apr 2007: 32 people and the gunman die at the Virginia Tech campus

In pictures: Hostage drama

"I heard shooting, very long time, and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished."

About 40 people escaped from the building - 26 of whom are believed to have hidden in the basement.

Four were critically injured in the shooting, north-west of New York City, police said.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told NBC TV channel how one of the centre's receptionists played dead after being shot in the stomach, and managed to call the emergency services.

He said the injured woman stayed on the telephone for 90 minutes, feeding the authorities information.

"She's a hero in her own right," he said.

Correspondents said Binghamton residents were struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Local newspaper the Press Sun & Bulletin reported that there had been just one murder in the town since the start of 2008.

Mayor Ryan called it "the most tragic day" in Binghamton's history.

President Barack Obama, in Europe for a Nato summit, said he was "heartbroken" for the families of victims of the "senseless tragedy".

Mr Obama said his administration was "actively monitoring the situation" and that Vice-President Joe Biden was in touch with officials in Binghamton.

Map
 

EnlightenedMonk

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Its emerged now that it was a person of Asian (Chinese) descent... so, no problems with Al Qaida or other Terrorist Organizations there...
 

Pintu

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This is reported by AP.

The link and the report from AP are as follows:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goR0aYWNOrpc2vYx7G_59ddblsqgD97BSCOG1

Horror visits an immigrants' place of solace

By MICHAEL HILL – 1 hour ago

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — In an all-American city that has seen better days, they are true strangers from lands as far apart as Laos, Mexico, Somalia and the former Soviet republics.

The American Civic Association was the place they turned to for help navigating their journey. But their bridge to a better life is now a monument of immigrant sorrow, the site of a shooting rampage that killed 14 people, including the gunman.

Perhaps most implausible of all is that the killer was one of their own — as well as a son of one of their own. The gunman's father was known for his own work with immigrants in the area.

"That this tragedy should have happened in our community, to our friends who only wanted to advance their knowledge and love of America, is almost unbearable," the association's board president, Angela Leach, said Saturday.

The volunteer-based civic group, a member agency of the United Way of Broome County, was founded in 1939 by 11 immigrants. It helps roughly 60 to 100 people a day with finding housing, food, clothing, medical care and jobs, as well as offering English classes, interpreters, personal counseling and more.

"It's like having a mini-United Nations in your community," said Mark Kachadourian, a Binghamton attorney who has been on the association board since 2001. He became involved with the group after it helped his wife, a Canadian, get U.S. citizenship.

Some victims of Friday's shooting left violent homelands only to be slain in a quiet, industrial city at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers.

Layla Khalil, an Iraqi woman in her 50s, came to the United States after surviving three car bombings in Iraq, said Imam Kasim Kopuz, leader of the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier.

"To think that would happen here," Kopuz said.

She had three children, including a son who is a doctoral student at the Sorbonne in Paris, a daughter who is a Fulbright scholar at Binghamton University and a son in high school.

The daughter declined an interview because she was planning her mother's funeral.

Ty Tran, 37, visited the community center Friday morning with his wife and a friend, My Nguyen, who had lost his greencard and needed a new picture. They were charged $8 for a snapshot and walked out the front door at 10:20 a.m. — about 10 minutes before the shooting began.

"We were very lucky. If we stay, then we die," said Tran, a cable-manufacturing factory worker who has periodically used the center as a resource since emigrating from Vietnam in 1990.

The gunman's father, Henry Voong, was well known in the Binghamton area through his work years ago at the now-defunct World Relief Organization, helping recent arrivals. He would hook people up with a doctor, help them get on food stamps.

"Everyone, when they come to America, he's the one who helps," Tran said.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the actions of the gunman, Jiverly Wong, 41, an ethnic Chinese who arrived from Vietnam in the early 1990s, should have been no surprise to the man's family. He believed people he knew were making fun of him for his poor English-language skills, Zikuski said.

Binghamton has always been a lure for immigrants. A century ago, Slavs, Italians and other European immigrants disembarking at Ellis Island would immediately ask where the Endicott-Johnson shoe company was. Local lore chronicles immigrants showing up in the city and saying, "Which way E-J?"

More than 7,100 immigrants, most of them Asians, have settled in Binghamton since 2005, according to city statistics. They are a cosmopolitan mix of Kurds, Chinese, Filipinos, Africans, Iraqis — but only a fraction of the city's predominantly white population of 43,000.

Huong Holmes, 59, who came to the U.S. about 30 years ago as a boat person from Vietnam, said the center gave her a firm footing in America.

"They set up my apartment, they collected the furniture, they gave me some money," said Holmes, a resident of nearby Endicott, who for years has volunteered as a translator at the center and is now working on her doctorate of ministry. "I thank the American Civic Association a lot. That's why I'm doing my best to help all the other people."

The victims were killed as they were bettering themselves, many of them preparing to become citizens.

Zikuski said Saturday that police have had calls from nine countries. He doesn't know where the victims will be buried.

The center is a stepping stone for recent arrivals, many of them with poor or nonexistent English-speaking skills. Dolores Yigal, a recent touchdown from the Philippines, was learning English there as she dreamed of getting a job working with children, said her husband, Omri Yigal.

"She wanted to learn English so she could find work," he said. Dolores Yigal was at the center Friday. Her husband didn't know if she survived.

Lubomyr Zobniw was still waiting Saturday to hear information about his wife, Maria, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child and was a part-time caseworker at the Civic Association.

Zobniw said his wife was supposed to be off Friday but was called in.

"when your parents go away, it's one thing, but for someone who wants to help the world ..." he said, trailing off.

"I hope everything is OK, but now ... I'm still hoping for a miracle or something," he said.

The center is a haven for many in a busy new country they were still getting used to. Xiurong Yue, an accountant in China, is learning English there as she worked as a motel housekeeper, said John Gavazzi, her husband. She was not at the center at the time of the shooting.

"To her, this is her connection," he said, "she has friends in the class."

The Red Cross' Cynthia Gordineer said relief efforts have been complicated because families of victims speak about a half-dozen languages, and many have different customs that have to be respected.

"None of us have ever faced this," she said. "We're trying to find our way around a situation we've never faced."

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Rubinkam and William Kates in Binghamton; Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y.; and Jessica M. Pasko in Albany, N.Y.
 

Pintu

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According to Aljazeera.net FBI dismissed Taliban Claim.

The link and the report of Aljazeera.net are followed:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/04/20094414274878141.html

FBI rejects Taliban US attack claim

Police surrounded the building after
the gunman took hostages [AFP]

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has dismissed claims made by the Pakistan Taliban that it was responsible for an attack in the state of New York in which a gunman killed 13 people.

Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, had claimed in a phone call to Al Jazeera that he had ordered the shooting in which a man, believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant, opened fire at an immigration centre.

Mehsud had said the attack was a direct response to the drone attacks carried out by US forces on Pakistani tribal areas and a second attacker had managed to escape.

But Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman, said on Saturday: "Based on the evidence, we can firmly discount that claim."

At least 13 people died after the assailant went on a shooting spree at the centre where aid is given to immigrants, before he shot himself dead.

Al Jazeera reporter Kristen Saloomey said the gunman is believed to have been a 42-year-old immigrant who had recently lost his job and was distressed after being teased and humiliated over his poor English language skills.

Heavily armed police, backed by commandos and FBI agents, surrounded the American Civic Association building in Binghampton, northern New York, on Friday after the incident was first reported.

Hostage reports

The man had entered the building in Binghamton, about 240 km northwest of New York city, and shot two receptionists, Joseph Zikuski, the Binghampton police chief, said.

Police say the attack was premeditated [Reuters]

"It obviously was premeditated,'' said Zikuski.

He said the gunman had blocked the centre's rear exit with his car.

"He made sure nobody could escape,' he said.

One receptionist was killed, but another pretended to be dead, then crawled to a desk and called authorities, he said.

Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, from Kazakhstan, said she was in an English class when she heard a shot and her teacher screamed for everyone to hide in a storage room.

"I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting,'' she said.

"I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished.''

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

Shooting incidents have become increasingly common in the US, where guns are widely available and the rights to own them are fiercely debated.

In 2007, in one of the worst incidents, a student went on a gun rampage, killing 32 people at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.
 

ShyAngel

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Rock! I think he's laos. My gosh I tell yeah these immigrants from south asian country are nothing but trouble in this great nation. They came here because of Vietnam war. Most people from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Hmong are consider to be in US most wanted gang members. 4 years ago these bunch of laos, and Hmong gang members killed this one tibetan boy from pool house while the rest of the people scaped from there. They had bullet guns. It was horrible.......... After couple weeks the FBI found out about these people and they belong to this most wanted gang call LA Crib or something. Lots of lao girls are also in these gang as well. It is well known here in Minneapolis that these people used to eat Gerali and they would go hunt for it from people's backyard when first time they came from their country. What bothers me a lot is these people had lived the rest of their lives in "FREE STYLE" by taking all our tax money and yet what's their problem? I guess some people are just mean to be evil and kill innocent people for no reason.
 

ShyAngel

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Its emerged now that it was a person of Asian (Chinese) descent... so, no problems with Al Qaida or other Terrorist Organizations there...
Hey,
I don't think he's chinese at all! He is Laos or Vietnamese decent.
Seriously speaking chinese here in US and any western country has way more better reputation then any of these animals from south east asia. They always likes to claim themselves as chinese yet they are not. Their ancestors might be chinese but they are not chinese from mainland or anywhere from Hongkong, Taiwan, and etc. These people are from jungle. Chinese people are way more civilized, ambitious, and hard working then these animals. And def he has nothing to do with AL Qaida or any other terrorist. Because I knew that lots of these people from those country end up being in gang members and they are always on headline which has something to do with crime. We have the largest Hmong, Lao, Cambodia, and Vietnamese refuge here in Minnesota. US used them for vietnam war and picked all of them up from jungles in south east asia.

Shy his name is Jiverly Wong , he was a 41 year old Vietnamese-American.

Here is the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7983968.stm
I'm not surprise at all! Thank you pintu.......

Lots of vietnamese gang star here in Minnesota and LA.
 

Pintu

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Correction, Vietnam is not in South Asia.

The South Asian nations are as I am typing down:

1. India.

2. Nepal.

3. Afghanistan.

4. Pakistan.

5. Bangladesh.

6. Bhutan.

7. Sri Lanka.

8. Maldives.


Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are South-East Asian nations.
 

ShyAngel

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Correction, Vietnam is not in South Asia.

The South Asian nations are as I am typing down:

1. India.

2. Nepal.

3. Afghanistan.

4. Pakistan.

5. Bangladesh.

6. Bhutan.

7. Sri Lanka.

8. Maldives.


Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are South-East Asian nations.
Ops I meant to say south east asia but of all these time I keep typing South Aisa. ha ha ha Thanks pintu!
 

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