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Binghamton Police Chief: 'He Must Have Been a Coward'

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 4, 2009 12:48 PM CDT

(Newser) – Jiverly Voong, the 41-year-old gunman who took 14 lives including his own at an upstate New York immigrant center, was wearing body armor during the attack, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports. Binghamton’s police chief said the armor indicated Voong may have intended to take on police, but he speculated that the sound of sirens spooked him into suicide. “He must have been a coward,” the chief said.

As details of Voong’s emerged, those close to him said they weren’t surprised he turned to violence. People mocked his poor English, they said, making him feel “degraded.” Voong was also investigated by Binghamton police in 1999 for suspicion of plotting a bank heist. He appears to have recently worked in California for a sushi company, where his boss said he was antisocial but a good worker.

People load a gurney into a van at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY.
People load a gurney into a van at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY.   (AP Photo)
Officials work at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY.
Officials work at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY.   (AP Photo)
Jiverly Wong, or Voong.
Jiverly Wong, or Voong.   (AP Photo)
Jiverly Wong, or Voong.
Jiverly Wong, or Voong.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
sailor86
Apr 6, 2009 1:19 AM CDT
c'mon now. That comment was surely stated to rally people moronically into a diversion of hate and as such, take the light off his own men who chose self-preservation over heroism. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying it's a PR move. Shameless cop. Using dramatics.
riffran
Apr 5, 2009 7:52 AM CDT
you "obviously" have been S.W.A.T. in the past and know the policies and procedures and tactics used in those situations well, to qualify you to make that determination
AnnieChrist
Apr 5, 2009 5:01 AM CDT
Muleskinner and Mad, think about what the police were faced with before you criticize. They had no idea what the situation was, whether the guy was holding hostages or not. If he had still been alive and holding hostages as negotiating chips, the last thing they should do in that situation is to go in with guns blazing. If that had been the case and they went in firing, and hostages had died, you both would be posting about what idiots the police were.

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