国际英语新闻：U.S. Officials identify Binghamton shooter, indicate possible motives

BINGHAMTON, the United States, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The shooter who killed 13 people before taking his own life in an immigrant services Centre in New York's Binghamton has been identified as a naturalized U.S. citizen of a Vietnamese descent, the authorities said Saturday.

    Jiverly Wong, who was believed to be in his early 40s and lived just outside the nearby Johnson city, was recently frustrated over a job loss and disrespect from people who laughed at his poor English skills, providing clues to the motive of the killings, they said.

Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan (front) speaks at a press conference in Binghamton, New York, April 4, 2009, a day after a shooting rampage that left 14 people dead at the American Civic Association in Binghamton.

The shooter has lived here with his family for "quite a while," possibly over 20 years, and did a couple of different jobs, Mayor Matthew Ryan told Xinhua on Saturday at the Binghamton City Hall.

    The shooter's motive is still pending further investigation, but "we believe that had something to do with an angry person who lost the job, was frustrated about the fact that he couldn't speakEnglish quite well and that maybe some people were disrespecting him for that," Ryan said.

    At a press conference held Saturday at City Hall, Police Chief Joseph Zikuski also said that people close to the gunman said thathe was being "degraded" because of his inability to speak English well and he was upset about that.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski of Binghamton (R) replys to questions at a press conference in Binghamton, New York, April 4, 2009, a day after a shooting rampage that left 14 people dead at the American Civic Association in Binghamton. Joseph Zikuski said here Saturday that there was "no indication whatsoever" of terrorism involved in the shooting Friday morning in the city.

In a reference to press reports that a Pakistani Taliban militant leader had claimed responsibility for the massacre in Binghamton, Zikuski said that there was no indication that terrorism was behind it.

    "As far as we know, there is absolutely no indication whatsoever that there is any type of terrorist activity in any way involved in this," Zikuski told reporters.

    Wong arrived at the American Civic Association wearing body armor and might be prepared for a standoff with police, Zikuski said.

    "He must have been a coward, we speculate that when he heard the sirens he decided to end his own life," Zikuski said, noting that the gunman was armed with two hand guns and a lot of ammunition, and fired "numerous rounds."

    The officials also said that Wong was no stranger to the American Civic Association, where immigrants learn English and receive naturalization services.

    Until the first week of March, he had attended classes and then dropped out, they said.

Police officers investigate at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, the United States, April 4, 2009

"The American Civic Association was founded in 1939 by immigrants who wanted to help those who have come after them in pursuit of the American dream," its President Angela Leach said ina statement read out at the press briefing.

    "We are a small volunteer-based organization that helps people who are working to become citizens and works to promote racial, religious and political harmony," she said.

    Ryan described the incident as a "tragedy" that affects "many different people from many different countries and their families and friends."

The American Civic Association is cordoned off in Binghamton, New York, the United States, April 4, 2009. Chinese are among the dead in Binghamton Shooting, Chinese consulate cities police sources.

The authorities are still in the process of identifying the victims, whose names might be released at the end of Saturday.

    Two of the four wounded people are still in critical condition but all of them are expected to survive, they said.

    Speaking of Binghamton's multi-ethnic culture, the mayor said he was proud of the immigration population in the city, which was founded by embracing immigrants who came from Europe as well as other places around the world.

    "Our high schools have 32 different languages that are spoken there. We teach Mandarian Chinese at high school and we are proud of the way we embrace immigrants who come to our country. This is a very welcoming place," Ryan told Xinhua.