Friends 'Not Surprised' by Killer's Rampage

(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. More»

Poll shows support for handgun ban at its lowest level ever

(NEWSER) - The recent spate of mass shooting has done little to inspire gun control efforts despite the fact that almost all the shooters held licenses, the AP reports. Lawmakers—including Democrats—say there is no appetite for a divisive fight over guns when the country is in economic crisis. Recent efforts to change gun laws have tended to be about relaxing rather than tightening them. More»

Victim of civic center massacre hailed from 8 different countires

(NEWSER) - The immigrants gunned down in Binghamton on Friday were from all corners of the world, the New York Times reports; they came together in the classroom where they, along with the killer, had been studying English. Two Americans—a teacher and a receptionist—were killed in the rampage. Four of the other 11 victims came from China, two came from Haiti, and the others were from Brazil, Iraq, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. More»

Investigators believe killer of 13 may have been recently laid off

(NEWSER) - Investigators trying to piece together a motive for the massacre at a Binghamton, New York, immigration center believe gunman Jiverly Voong may have been recently laid off, the Press & Sun-Bulletin reports. The Vietnamese-American, 41, worked at an assembly plant in the town until November, where colleagues described him as an angry loner who hated America, loved guns, and spoke of assassinating the president. More»

Students hid in storage rooms as Binghamton gunman killed 13

(NEWSER) - Students hid in storage closets when the shooting began at an immigration services center in Binghamton yesterday, a survivor tells CNN. "I heard shootings, very long time, about five minutes, and I was thinking when it will be stopped, but it was continued," she said. "No screaming, yelling," she said. "Just silence, shooting, silence, shooting, silence." More»