Jiverly Wong

Case record: Jiverly Wong

Timeline

• December 8, 1967 — Jiverly Antares Wong was born.
• late 1980s — Wong first came to New York.
• 1992 — Wong was arrested and convicted of a misdemeanor charge of fraud.
• November 1995 — Wong became an American citizen.
• August 1999 — Wong returned to the United States from Ottawa, Ontario, after living in Canada.
• December 1999 — Wong moved to Inglewood, California.
• June 1997 — Wong was granted a New York State license to own a handgun.
• 1997 — Wong was arrested/cited or had minor contact with police.
• July 2007 — Wong moved to Binghamton and left a job at a local IBM plant in nearby Endicott (as described in early reports); IBM stated it had no records showing he had ever worked for the company.
• November 2008 — Wong worked at a local Shop-Vac vacuum cleaner plant until it closed.
• December 1, 2008 — Wong claimed weekly benefits; he stated New York State Department of Labor was cheated and unpaid from December 1, 2008 to December 28, 2008.
• December 28, 2008 — The stated period ended in Wong’s letter.
• January (late January) — Wong enrolled in a class at the American Civic Association (English as a second language).
• early March 2009 — Wong stopped showing up to classes.
• March 18, 2009 — A package was dated March 18, 2009.
• April 3, 2009 — The Binghamton shootings took place at approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT; Wong barricaded the rear door with a vehicle registered in his father's name, entered through the front door firing bullets, was later found dead in a first-floor office, and died by self-inflicted gunshot wound the same day.
• 10:30 a.m. EDT — Broome County Communications received several 911 calls; the first police were dispatched.
• 10:33 a.m. — Patrol officers first arrived on the scene.
• 10:38 a.m. — The wounded receptionist Shirley DeLucia’s call was taken by 911 staff.
• 11:13 a.m. — SWAT members entered the building and began clearing it.
• 12:00 noon — Ten people left the building.
• about 12:40 p.m. — Another ten people left the building.
• 2:33 p.m. — SWAT completed the clearing of the building and all those inside had been evacuated.
• April 6, 2009 — A detailed obituary for the victims was published in The New York Times.
• April 8, 2009 — New York Governor David Paterson ordered state flags to be flown at half staff.
• April 11, 2009 — A New York Times article titled “Binghamton Killer Kept His Fury Private” was published.
• April 4, 2009 — A New York Times article titled “Before Killings, Hints of Plans and Grievance” was published.

Background

Jiverly Antares Wong (aka Jiverly Voong) was a naturalized immigrant and a resident of Johnson City, New York. He was described as a naturalized immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in November 1995. He was born into an ethnic Chinese (Hoa) family in South Vietnam and first came to New York in the late 1980s. After living in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada, he returned to the United States and took up residence in Inglewood, California in December 1999.

Wong married Xiu Ping Jiang and later divorced her. The couple had no children. The provided account says Wong’s marriage began on December 23, 1999 and that he separated on May 16, 2005, with divorce more than a year later on July 21, 2006, because of “irreconcilable differences,” according to the divorce papers. Her current whereabouts were described as unknown.

Wong worked for almost seven years as a delivery man for a catering company called Kikka Sushi in Los Angeles.

He later worked at a local Shop-Vac vacuum cleaner plant in Endicott until it closed in November 2008.

Several sources suggested possible motivations for Wong’s actions, including feelings of being “degraded and disrespected” due to his poor English language ability, frustration over losing his job, and difficulty in finding work in New York. The account also describes alleged comments to former co-workers at Shop-Vac such as “America sucks” and talking about assassinating the president.

Wong was also described as secretive. In interviews, his sister described him as introverted and withdrawn. A neighbor described Wong’s behavior as not creepy or strange, with the neighbor saying he would nod his head and sometimes say hi, and did not do anything out of the ordinary, good or bad.

The offence

Binghamton shootings at the American Civic Association immigration center

The Binghamton shootings took place on Friday, April 3, 2009, at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, United States.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, Wong entered the facility and shot numerous people inside. Fourteen people were ultimately confirmed dead, including the shooter, and four were wounded.

Wong barricaded the rear door of the American Civic Association building with a vehicle registered in his father’s name. He was described as wearing a bullet-proof vest, a bright green nylon jacket, and dark-rimmed glasses. He then entered through the front door firing a number of bullets at those in his path.

Two of the Civic Association’s receptionists were among the first victims. One was reported to have been shot through the head and killed. The second, shot in the stomach, feigned death, took cover under a desk, and called 911 after the gunman moved on.

The violence then focused on a classroom just off the main reception areas where an ESL class was being given to students. Everyone who was in that classroom suffered a gunshot wound. Wong entered and began executing victims, taking some hostage.

Police arrived within minutes of the 911 calls. It was later revealed that when Wong heard the sirens, he took his own life by turning one of his guns against himself.

In all, Wong fired 99 rounds: 88 from a 9 mm Beretta and 11 from a .45-caliber Beretta.

Police remained at the perimeter of the property, having locked down nearby Binghamton High School and a number of streets in the area.

Police summoned Broome Community College assistant professor Tuong Hung Nguyen, who was fluent in Vietnamese, to help communicate with Wong in the event of contact.

SWAT members entered the Civic Center building and began clearing it at 11:13 a.m.—43 minutes after the first call to police at 10:30 a.m., and 40 minutes after patrol officers first arrived at 10:33 a.m. At the time of entry, it had not yet been confirmed that Wong had committed suicide, so they proceeded with caution.

At approximately 12:00 noon, ten people left the building, with another ten leaving approximately forty minutes later. Some hostages had escaped to a basement, while over a dozen remained hidden in a closet. Thanh Huynh, a high school teacher of Vietnamese background, was asked to translate so the Vietnamese survivors could be interviewed by police.

Wong was found dead in a first-floor office of the building from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. By 2:33 p.m., SWAT had completed the clearing of the building and all those inside had been evacuated.

Investigation

Police communications and response

Broome County Communications received several 911 calls at approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, and the first police were dispatched to the scene.

The wounded receptionist Shirley DeLucia remained on the line despite her gunshot wound and relayed information until she was rescued. Her call was taken by 911 staff at 10:38 a.m.

Chief Joseph Zikuski of the Binghamton police said:

“At one point in his thinking process, he was going to take the police on — or at least try to stop us from stopping him,” Chief Joseph Zikuski of the Binghamton police said on Saturday, referring to Mr. Wong’s bullet-resistant vest. “He must have been a coward,” Chief Zikuski added. “When he heard the sirens he decided to take his own life.”

Chief Zikuski also said to people close to Wong that:

“the actions that he took were not a surprise to them.”

He said:

“He felt that he was degraded because of his inability to speak English, and he was upset about that,” Chief Zikuski said. “This behavior on his part wasn’t a total shock.”

Items found at the scene

Items found on Wong’s body included a hunting knife in the waistband of his pants, a bag of ammunition tied around his neck, and two semi-automatic pistols (.45-caliber Beretta and a 9mm Beretta) matching the serial numbers on his New York State pistol license. Also found were unspent magazines, at least one empty magazine with a 30 round capacity, and a firearm laser sight.

Arrest

Wong died at the scene and did not face an arrest in the described incident.

Trial

No trial proceedings were described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Wong committed suicide by shooting himself the same day as the shootings. His body was found in a first-floor office of the American Civic Association building from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Fourteen people were confirmed dead, including Wong. Thirteen victims were described as killed, and four people were described as wounded.

Victims killed

• Parveen Ali, age 26, a migrant from northern Pakistan
• Almir Olimpio Alves, age 43, a Brazilian Ph.D. in Mathematics and visiting scholar at SUNY Binghamton, attending English classes at the Civic Association
• Marc Henry Bernard, age 44, a migrant from Haiti
• Maria Sonia Bernard, age 46, a migrant from Haiti
• Li Guo, age 47, a visiting scholar from China
• Lan Ho, age 39, a migrant from Vietnam
• Layla Khalil, age 53, an Iraqi mother of three children
• Roberta King, age 72, an English language teacher who was substituting for a vacationing teacher
• Jiang Ling, age 22, a migrant from China
• Hong Xiu "Amy" Mao Marsland, age 35, a nail technician who migrated from China in 2006
• Dolores Yigal, age 53, a recent immigrant from the Philippines
• Hai Hong Zhong, age 54, a migrant from China
• Maria Zobniw, age 60, a part-time caseworker at the Civic Association, originally from Ukraine

Victims wounded

Among the four victims wounded were:

• Shirley DeLucia, age 61, the critically wounded Civic Association receptionist who feigned death and contacted police
• Long Huynh, age 42, a Vietnamese immigrant whose wife, Lan Ho, was killed; Huynh attempted to shield her with his body, but a bullet shattered his elbow, ricocheted, struck his wife, and killed her; additional details included that one of Huynh’s fingers was shot off, a bullet hit his chest, and another bullet entered his chin and exited through his cheek

Aftermath

Memorial and official response

President Barack Obama referred to the shootings as “senseless violence” and offered sympathies to the victims.

New York Governor David Paterson ordered state flags to be flown at half staff on April 8, 2009.

Wong’s parents, Henry Voong and Mui Thong, issued a statement apologizing for their son’s actions.

A detailed obituary for the victims was published in The New York Times on April 6, 2009.

Package mailed to a TV station

Several days after the incident, an envelope was received by Syracuse, New York TV station News 10 Now. The package was dated March 18, 2009 and postmarked April 3, 2009, the day of the shootings.

The three stamps used for the postage were: a liberty bell and two purple hearts.

The package contained a two-page handwritten letter, photos of Wong holding guns while smiling, a gun permit, and Wong’s driver’s license.

Verbatim letter text to News 10 Now

Following is the verbatim text of Wong’s letter to News 10 Now, handwritten using (nearly) all capital letters, including errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The letter did not contain a signature, and authorities had no reason to believe it was written by anyone other than Wong.

“DATE: MARCH - 18 - 2009 DEAR: NEW TEN NOW I AM JiVERLY WONG SHOOTING THE PEOPLE THE FiRST I WANT TO SAY SORRY I KNOW A LiTTLE ENGLiSH I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND ALL OF THiS. OF COURSE YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY I SHOOTING? BECAUSE UNDERCOVER COP GAVE ME A LOT OF ASS DURiNG EiGHTEEN YEARS. I GOT SEVEN YEARS AND EiGHT MONTH DELiVERY TO GROCERY IN THE CALiFORNiA. CAME BACK NEW YORK ON THE AUGUST - 2007. LET TALK ABOUT WHEN I LiVE IN CALiFORNiA. SUCH AS. . .COP USED 24 HOURS THE TECHNiQUE OF ULTRAMODERN AND CAMERA FOR BURN THE CHEMiCAL IN MY HOUSE. FOR SWiTCH THE CHANNEL Ti.Vi. FOR ADJUST THE FAN. FOR MADE ME UNBREATHBLE. FOR MADE ME VOMiT. FOR CONNECT THE MUSiC INTO MY EAR. UNDERCOVER COP USUAL COiNED SOME NASTY WAS NOT TRUE ABOUT ME AND SPREAD A RUMOUR TO THE RECEiVER AND SOME PEOPLE KNOW ME CONDUCE TOWARD MANY PEOPLE PREJUDiCED AND SELFiSH TO ME . . . COP MADE ME LOST MY JOB . . . COP PUT ME BECAME POOR. LET TALK ABOUT WHEN I LiVE AT THE 28.BAKER . ST. 2ND FLOOR. JOHNSON CiTY. NEW YORK 13790. IT TERRiBLE WHEN I LiVE THERE SUCH AS. . COP WAiT UNTiL MiDNiGHT WHEN I OFF THE LiGHT AND WENT TO THE BED. COP UNLOCK MY DOOR AND CAME IN TAKE A SiT IN MY ROOM <<COP DiD IT THiRTEEN TiME ON THE YEAR 1994>> ON THE THiRTEEN TiME HAD THREE TiME TOUCH ME WHEN I SLEEPiNG. ONE TiME STOLEN 20 DOLLAR IN MY WALLET ONE TiME USED ELECTRiC GUN SHOOT AT THE BEHiND MY NECK. (THAT TiME I DiD NOT KNOW ENGLiSH) PLEASE CONTiNUE SECOND PAGE THANK YOU. (Page 2) FROM 1990 TO 1995 NEW YORK UNDERCOVER COP TRY TO GET A CAR ACCiDENT WiTH ME. SUCH AS WHEN I DRiViNG ON THE HiGHWAY AND ON THE STREET UNDERCOVER COP SUNDDENLY BRAKE THE CAR STOP IMMEDiATELY AT THE OF FRONT MY CAR . . . COP DiD IT 32 TiME LiKE THAT DURiNG 1990 TO 1995 BUT I NEVER HiT THE CAR. MANY TiME FROM 1990 TO 1997 AT THE DAY TiME . . . COP EXPLOiT UNKNON ENGLiSH AND WENT TO MY HOUSE KNOCK THE DOOR FOR HARASS AND DOMiNEER. OF COURSE DURiNG THAT TiME COP COiNED SOMETHiNG WAS NOT TRUE ABOUT ME AND SPREAD A RUMOUR NASTY LiKE THE CALiFORNiA COP. FROM AUGUST - 2007 UNTiL NOW COP GAVE ME NOT TO MUCH ASS ONLY ONE TiME COP LEAVE A MASSAGE IN MY VOiCE MAiL AND SAiD << COME BACK YOUR COUNTRY >> AFTER FIVE MiNUTE I SEND A TEXT MASSAGE TO THEM I SAiD I WILL CALL THE POLiCE AND THEY SEND IT BACK TO ME THEY SAiD THEY ARE THE POLiCE DEAR. NEW TEN NOW. RiGHT NOW I STiLL GET UNEMPLOMENT BENEFiT OF THE COMPANY SHOP VAC ENDiCOTT. NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WAS CHEAT AND UNPAiD FROM DECEMBER – 1st - 2008 TO DECEMBER – 28th – 2008. I ALREADY CLAiM WEEKLY BENEFiT FROM THAT DATE. ANY WAY I CAN NOT ACCEPTED MY POOR LiFE. BEFORE I CUT MY POOR LiFE I MUST ONESELF GET A JUDGE JOB FOR MAKE AN IMPARTiAL WiTH UNDERCOVER COP BY AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE WiTH ME GO TO RETURN TO THE DUST OF EARTH. ALREADY IMPARTiAL NOW. . .COP BRiNG ABOUT THiS SHOOTiNG COP MUST RESPONSiBLE. AND YOU HAVE A NiCE DAY.”

Public commentary and personal accounts

A New York Times account included multiple direct quotations and reported interactions described as part of Wong’s life.

Employment center encounter

Mr. Wong told a receptionist:

“No, I’m Vietnamese!”

Chief Joseph Zikuski statements

Chief Joseph Zikuski also said:

He said:

Comments about being “degraded and disrespected,” and police encounters

The provided narrative described a fixation on law enforcement and included Wong’s claims in his letter about perceived police persecution and home entry.

Family and neighbors

Wong’s oldest sister Nga was quoted stating:

“I think he felt low and small,” said the sister, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Nga. “But he didn’t share his thoughts. He would always just say he was O.K.”

Nga also said:

“When everyone’s successful but you, you feel low,” she said. “And in our culture, if you’re the oldest son and you’re not doing well, you feel terrible.”

A neighbor, Eric Sherman, was quoted describing Wong:

“He’d be sitting in the hall with the postal boxes, smoking,” said Eric Sherman, a neighbor. “He’d nod his head, sometimes say hi. There wasn’t anything creepy or strange about him. He never did anything out of the ordinary, good or bad.”

Gym encounter and job stress

Son Quach was described as having heard Wong say he was laid off and living on unemployment benefits in broken English.

Other details

Wong’s age and residences (as described)

Wong was described as 41 years old at the time of the shootings. The account described his residence as Johnson City, New York. He moved back and forth between the Binghamton area and the Los Angeles area.

Prior law enforcement interactions (as described)

The narrative described multiple arrests or police contacts since 1990. It described:

• an arrest in California in August 1991 (details unclear)
• an arrest the next year for passing a bad check
• at least five times since 1990 he was arrested or cited or had some minor contact with police in Binghamton or Los Angeles areas
• a New York State Police investigation of a tip that he had a crack cocaine habit and was planning to rob a bank, but nothing came of it
• at the time of the shootings, he was not described as a subject in any investigation

Gun ownership and target practice (as described)

The narrative described that Wong was granted a New York State license to own a handgun in June 1997 and that he was a member of two shooting ranges in the Binghamton area. It described he used a semiautomatic Beretta pistol equipped with a laser sight at a range, and that he shot targets 50 feet away.

A description of Wong’s shooting style included a quotation from another man:

“He was basically shooting his shots in rapid succession with virtually no hesitation between shots, very smooth and steady and rapid shooting,” said the man, who asked that his name not be used.

The same man said:

“He was pleasant,” the man recalled. “He was courteous. You would never suspect that he would pose a threat to anyone.”

Interview and class attendance

The narrative described that Wong enrolled in an English as a second language class at the American Civic Association in late January and stopped showing up in early March.

It also described that he returned to the class on April 3 and burst in while Mr. Ho and his wife, Lan Ho, were seated in class. It described Mr. Ho tried to shield her; he was shot in the right arm but survived, and his wife was killed.

Police-communication translator role

Tuong Hung Nguyen was summoned to help communicate with Wong in the event of contact. Thanh Huynh translated so Vietnamese survivors could be interviewed by police.

Shots fired and firearms

The account specified:

• 99 rounds fired
• 88 rounds fired from a 9 mm Beretta
• 11 rounds fired from a .45-caliber Beretta
• two semi-automatic pistols found at the scene (.45-caliber Beretta and 9mm Beretta matching the serial numbers on his New York State pistol license)

Key quotations in the narrative about plans, motivation, and language

Chief Joseph Zikuski was quoted regarding Wong’s actions and sirens. Wong’s letter contained numerous accusations against “UNDERCOVER COP” and statements about persecution and dissatisfaction, including the lines:

“BECAUSE UNDERCOVER COP GAVE ME A LOT OF ASS DURiNG EiGHTEEN YEARS.”
and “UNDERCOVER COP WAiT UNTiL MiDNiGHT”
and “<< COME BACK YOUR COUNTRY >>”
and “COP BRiNG ABOUT THiS SHOOTiNG COP MUST RESPONSiBLE. AND YOU HAVE A NiCE DAY.”