Shooter Dead - After Killing 13
Death Toll Rising in NY Massacre
Binghamton, NY - A gunman in upstate New York blocked the back door of an immigration services center with his car Friday before walking through the front door firing and taking as many as 41 hostage, officials said. As many as 13 people were killed according to reports.
Shooter Dead - It appeared the shoorter was dead on the scene and officials say the situation is winding down. Two men in restraints were seen taken out of the building, but their connection to the shooting has not yet been confirmed. Found on the scene were two handguns, according to one officer who asked not to be identified.
A college student said she and her . . . 
.... five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene. Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that's when they learned of the shooting.
"One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you're living in downtown Binghamton, it's always noisy," she said, "Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out."
According to Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin that there was a hostage situation involving a gunman with a high-powered rifle.
Ten people were released from the building shortly after noon, with hands on their heads and were searched by police, the newspaper reported. Around 12:40 p.m., another 10 people were released from the back of the building, wrapped in white sheets and appeared shaken. All are being considered suspects, the newspaper reported.
The FBI is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to assist local police, reports Orr. In addition the ATF is monitoring the situation and has offered its support.
The gunman barricaded the rear door of the American Civic Association with his car before entering through the front door, firing his weapon, the official said.
The newspaper reported 41 hostages in the building of the American Civic Association and said apartments were being evacuated.
Emergency dispatchers were in contact with some people inside by phone, says one The gunman might still be in the building, the newspaper reported. The Binghamton SWAT team responded.
Indications were that the shooter was a young male, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he was still in the building, the law enforcement official said.
Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd.
This is a tragic day for New York.
Governor David PatersonThe wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said.
Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, confirmed that a student from Binghamton University was being treated at the emergency room.
The area is in a stretch on the west side of the Chenango River in the city of about 45,000 near the Pennsylvania border. Emergency vehicles lined the streets in the neighborhood, a mix of homes and small businesses.
The American Civic Association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.
It also intervenes with emergencies, including fighting, hunger and homelessness, according to information from the association's Web site.
