Letter From Shooting Suspect Reveals Possible Paranoia

(CNN) -- The suspect in last week's deadly shooting at a Binghamton, New York, immigrant center believed he had been harassed for years by undercover police officers, according to a letter received by a New York television station and purportedly written by that suspect, Jiverly Wong.

Police said they were studying the two-page letter, neatly written in broken English, to determine its authenticity. But the package that arrived Monday at News 10 Now in Syracuse also contained photographs of Wong with two handguns, his gun permit and his driver's license.

"There's several things in there that indicate to myself and the district attorney that suggest mental health issues as well as there may be some religious connotation," Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told 10 News Now, "but until we get a chance to have mental health professionals, have some religious people look at it to determine what it really means, I'm really not going to comment on it any further at this time."

Zikuski added that the emergence of a letter from the shooting suspect was not a surprise to law enforcement.

The package was postmarked April 3, the day of the shooting at the American Civic Assocation in Binghamton where Wong parked his car blocking a back entrance and entered through the front door, shooting two receptionists and then more people in a classroom.

By the time he was done, 13 people -- and Wong himself, killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound -- lay dead. Four others, including one of the receptionists, were wounded.

But the letter was dated more than two weeks earlier, March 18, indicating a troubled Wong had considered the act for some time.

"I am Jiverly Wong shooting the people," the letter begins followed by an apology that "I know a little English."

What follows is details of Wong's beliefs that undercover police had taunted him, tortured him and spread rumors about him wherever he went. The police, he said, forced him to leave California, where'd he'd lived from the early 1990s until 2007, and were trying to force him to leave the country.


They entered his room while he slept, he said, watching him sleep, touching him while he slept. And 32 times, he said, police drove in front of him and abruptly stopped. But "I never hit the car," he said.

At the end of the letter, Wong complained that he cannot "accept my poor life" and that he assume the role of judge and "cut my poor life." He demanded that an "undercover cop" be held responsible for whatever happened and ended with "You have a nice day."

American Civic Association Shooting

(CNN) -- A gunman barricaded the back door of an immigration services center with a car and burst through the front door on a shooting rampage, killing 13 people and then, apparently, himself, police said.

Four more people were wounded in the attack at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, and taken to hospitals in critical condition, according to authorities.

A senior law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40s.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Wong's home in Johnson City, near Binghamton, the source said.

Officers spoke to the suspect's mother at the home, the source said.

The shooter, who was carrying a satchel of ammunition, was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot to the head, police Chief Joseph Zikuski said.

Police are still investigating motives but said the use of the car suggested premeditation.

"It is our understanding he had ties to the civic association," Zikuski said.

In all, law enforcement removed 14 deceased people from the building and 37 survivors, Zikuski said, in what the city's mayor has called the "most tragic day in Binghamton's history."

At 10:31 a.m., authorities received a 911 call from a receptionist who said she'd been shot in the stomach, Zikuski said.

She told police that a man with a handgun also shot and killed another receptionist before proceeding to a nearby classroom, where he gunned down more victims, Zikuski said.

While the gunman continued to fire, 26 others in the center hid in a boiler room downstairs, where law enforcement found them.

It was unclear how long before the 911 call the rampage began, but by the time police arrived, about two minutes later, the shooting had stopped.

Zikuski hastened to add that two people who were led from the building in plastic handcuffs earlier in the day are not considered suspects.

Wilson Medical Center spokeswoman Christina Boyd said the Binghamton hospital was treating two females and one male for gunshot wounds.

"I would say these are significant injuries," she said.

Another victim, a male Binghamton University student, was treated and is in stable condition at Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital in Binghamton, hospital spokeswoman Kathy Cramer said.

It took another two hours or so for officers to clear the building. Some men were led out of the building in plastic handcuffs as a precaution, but were later cleared, the chief said.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama offered their condolences to the grieving community. Are you there? See submitted images, send your own

"Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the act of senseless violence in Binghamton, New York, today," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and the people of Binghamton."

Vice President Joe Biden, who was in New York on unrelated business, also condemned the acts and called on Americans to stop the cycle of violence.

"I'd ask you to keep all those folks in your prayers," he said. "I think it's time that, we gotta figure a way to deal with this senseless, senseless violence."
Nearby apartments were evacuated, and Binghamton High School was locked down for most of the afternoon.

The American Civic Association helps immigrants and refugees with a number of issues, including personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship and reunification, and provides interpreters and translators, according to the United Way of Broome County, which is affiliated with the association.

Rashidun Haque, who owns a nearby convenience store, said police had him and his four customers stay inside and away from the windows.

"I'm really shaky, because this kind of thing -- it's a small city, it's a beautiful city, but nothing goes down serious like this," Haque said.
He said the Civic Association building is about a two-minute walk from downtown.

Binghamton, a city of about 50,000 people, is close to the Pennsylvania state line about 140 miles northwest of New York City.