List of people killed in Binghamton shooting

[antimatter98]

Source: Salon.com via AP

Apr 5th, 2009 | The names of the 14 people killed Friday at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, provided by the city police department. Includes names, ages, hometowns and country of origin:

-- Parveen Ali, 26, Binghamton, N.Y., Pakistan

-- Almir O. Alves, 43, Unknown, Brazil

-- Marc Henry Bernard, 44, Endicott, N.Y., Haiti

-- Maria Sonia Bernard, 46, Endicott, N.Y., Haiti

-- Hai Hong Zhong, 54, Endwell, N.Y., China

-- Lan Ho, 39, Binghamton, N.Y., Vietnam

-- Hong Xiu Mao, 35, Greene, N.Y., China

-- Jiang Ling, 22, Endicott, N.Y., China

-- Layla Khalil, 57, Binghamton, N.Y., Iraq

-- Roberta Bobby King, 72, Binghamton, N.Y., U.S.

-- Li Guo, 47, Binghamton, N.Y., China

-- Jiverly A. Wong, 41, Johnson City, N.Y., Vietnam (gunman)

-- Dolores Yigal, 53, Binghamton, N.Y., Philippines

-- Maria Zobniw, 60, Binghamton, N.Y., U.S.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2009/04/05/D97CFKN00_binghamton_shooting_list/index.html

---

I know one of those on this list. I can tell you that this individual
escaped a situation that you or I would have died in, made it to the US,
started again, lived a good life, helped others, and died on Friday.

America is filled with unsung heroes who set aside their nice lives for the betterment
of others, and this individual I refer to did exactly that.

I will add that Binghamton NY is the last place in the US I would have expected
such an event as these killings to have occurre

Decades ago, when the Endicott Johnson Shoe factory was supplying the nation
and the world with shoes from its Endicott/Johnson City plant, immigrants would
come into New York City and ask how to get to Endicott/Johnson City so that they
could find work, raise families and live their lives. In a similar way, the same
was true of the Bundy Company, maker of time recording machines, later to become
IBM Corporation.

America has lost its soul. We've become 'scammer nation.'

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Every bullet that's sold...

...has the potential of snuffing a life. Until we realize that simple fact, we will continue to live in a dangerous society.

[Pavulon]

4. Every bathtub, every drop of diesel fuel and fertalizer

please, this is silly. MURDER is illegal. So is weed. When we get a working drug ban going, take the next step and move on to banning firearms. youtube tatp, then think about the ban on those ingredients. hmm, cant ban you way out of reality.

Good luck with that. There are solutions that actually work, like the swiss model, that dont involve patronizing people with stupid gun laws that impact only those who choose to follow them.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. Yeah, there's been SOOO many diesel fuel/bathtub murders this week...

:eyes:

WAKE THE FUCK UP!

[Pavulon]

7. You want to trade a majority for a warm fuzzy, go for it

more people are killed by assholes on the phone (would be my bet)than in spree shootings. Over 300 were killed for the record with a simple explosive device.

Do you really expect to ban every piece of ammunition? You think that has ANY chance of fixing anything?

Spare me the drama. Most gun crime is drug related and in communities most people could give a shit about.

Feel free to address that realistically with a ban. Right after that drug ban kicks in..

[Dennis Donovan]

8. Not BAN, REGULATE...

;)

[Pavulon]

9. Existing regs should have stopped this , I bet mommy straw bought his guns (a felony)

since a dishonorable discharge should have stopped him from owning them. I believe the current regulations make weed illegal. How is it that it still exists for those who choose to smoke it.

Oh yea, rules work when people choose to follow them. You working the problem backwards.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. So because regs don't work, we shouldn't have any??

Apply that model to the financial crisis.

[Pavulon]

24. We should have them, just not add stupid shit to make ourselves

feel a sense of accomplishment. It is all about balance.

[Liberal_Christian]

21. ...don't forget about Mexico

The Cartel get 90% percent of their munitions from the sates. I'm not talking about a ban but there should be much heftier regs owning guns; doing nothing isn't a solution. Gun shows should be non-existent. There's nothing wrong with owning a gun for protection but how many different types, amounts, and varieties of makes and models of "protection" does one need. A lost life (let alone all the victims of domestic and international gun-related violence) doesn't seem to be worth a recreational hobby.

[Bluebear]

45. "Spare me the drama" you say to someone who knew one of the murdered victims. Nice. nt

[Stellabella]

12. I am SO SICK of this faulty reasoning.

For God's sake, guns have one purpose and one purpose only - to KILL. Bathtubs have other purposes, as do cars, fertilizer (Spell check is your friend), poisons, fuel, knives, and every other straw man you gun nuts come up with as your stupid 'defenses' against the plain fact.

Guns kill thousands in the US every year. Each one is a preventable death. But instead of acknowledging that, you go off on these stupid tangents that are totally unrelated to the issue at hand.

Go away.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Amen

Well said.

[Pavulon]

25. 39 murders in switzerland. Plenty of weapons. You guys are nuts

if you think that access is the reason behind this violence. Guns poke holes in paper.

Cars kill PLENTY more than guns as do doctor errors.

What is your SOLUTION? You label my response stupid, what are you bringing to the table?

[Chulanowa]

29. I could kill someone with a hammer. or I could build a shed.

I could drown someone in a bathtub. Or I can make gin in it. or I can bathe. Or I can drag it outside to use as a planter. Hell, I could loop a chain through hte drain and use it as a boat anchor - I've seen that done.

I could kill someone with a gun. or I could kill an animal with a gun. Or, I could pretend I'm killing someone or an animal with a gun. The options are a little limited.

Myself, I could give a shit less if you own guns or not. But just stop with the tortured fucking logic here. Guns are for killing. That's their sole function. That's the only reason for their invention and manufacture - to kill. When you buy one, you do so with the idea that it might kill someone, or something, to protect yourself, to feed yourself, or whatever. That's the goddamned point of a gun.

[Pavulon]

30. I have a 3700 dollar rifle that only pokes holes in paper

useless for hunting or shooting people. Maybe you could shoot yourself by accident, that it.

You want a ban, go for it. Kiss a majority good by. for something that is ineffective. Did you know weed is banned, no shit. Still easy to find with a few calls.

39 murders in Switzerland, lots of guns. Access to guns is not causal with violent crimes. Everyone with a cock is a rapist right?

This fucked us with the AWB with nothing to show for it.

Fix root cause. I will happily pay for comprehensive social medicine and welfare. Mental health, drug law, and reasonable laws around firearms are the solution.

Anything else is a joke sold to people so stupid they think a ban will actually work.

[Chulanowa]

31. Really?

What sort of rifle is that? And why poke holes in paper? What does the paper represent?

I don't want a gun ban. I want something banning dumb / crazy motherfuckers from obtaining the weapons. There's a difference.

Are you aware that Switzerland has the second-highest gun murder rate in the world, right after the United States" A.so did you know that Switzerland's gun laws are vastly more strict than in the US? If you want to use the Swiss model, hey what the hell, I admit it'll be an improvement. If you want the government to keep a tally of your bullets and saddle you with more laws and harsher penalties than the United States could dream up in exchange for demanding (not allowing) that you have a gun, well, let's go right ahead with it.

You realize that while a gun ban is a joke, so too is the myth that gun ownership makes you important or capable on any level? Banning guns is just as silly as owning them, honestly.

[Pavulon]

37. 34 murders, second highest? (linky)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland#cite_note-11


Your "crazy fucker" ban is in place. Numbnuts should not had have a weapon with a dishonorable discharge. Guess he broke that law.
get real. You reading my palms, doing a Freudian project at school?

243 Ack custom, Leupold LRT optics. Single shot, bolt action. That covers the rifle and optics.

Same as any competition, win by superior skill. Golf is pretty much the same. Why hit a ball towards a hole?

That will hurt your Freudian brain.

[Chulanowa]

39. Actually, my mistake, on two fronts.

First, my sources are counting industralized nations, you know, the sort that can make gun laws and actually enforce them. Second, the data is old, and looking at newer data, it seems that Switzerland has dropped a notch or two - It's has a lower gun crime rate than either Finland or Portugal. The United States is still #1, woo, go us, U S A! U S A!

Now if you want to talk about Switzerland and guns, might I mention that handguns are strictly regulated, Ammunition is tracked by the government and must be accounted for, and hte militia arms are absolutely required to be udner lock and key unless certainly needed? Honest man, if you want to talk about how great Switzerland is with guns, you are arguing for some pretty damn strict gun regulations.

Now, looking at your gun. Really? It's only capable of putting holes in paper? It is incapable of killing? If you were to point it at my face and pull the trigger, I might get a red mark, a little bruise or abrasion, and nothing else? Your gun is not a tool for killing?

You may USE it to put holes in paper. And I can use a hammer to do dentistry, too.

[Pavulon]

40. Same as a golf club

sure i could bash you skull open with it but it works well at hitting golf balls. Rifle groups well, that it.

Finland, Israel, many others follow that model.

All about people. Why would i bash your skull in or blow your brains out? I have a great life and no reason to fuck it up.

Removing motivation to commit violent acts it how you approach this.

[Chulanowa]

46. I do agree with your point

regarding removing motive.

If you missed it (and it seems you did), I don't care for a ban on guns. Frankly I think a full-out ban would only make the problem worse, as the gun-gropers decide to start murdering whatever "librul" they think is responsible for taking away their useless bang-makers.

Difference between playing golf and sport rifling? Golf is not a facsimile for blowing away another person. I don't think the Scots ever had a method of warfare that involved slapping a ball towards their enemies. Now. a sling, there we go.

Again. The point of a gun is killing. It's not a moral judgement, it's just what the tool is designed to do - Put a pellet of metal into something else at high, lethal velocity. Sure you can shoot paper with it. Hell, you can use that rifle as a clumsy crowbar. But that's not its intended function.

If all you wanted to do was put holes in paper competitively, you could toss shish-kabob skewers

[Liberal_Christian]

34. hmm. I gotta say; I'd be happy if ALL gun enthusiasts were like you.

I may disagree with your gun policy but I respect it more than most.

[Liberal_Christian]

32. Look at the big picture.

Out of all the Industrial nations, the U.S. statistically leads in not only firearm homicide but firearm suicide, and unintentional firearm death at 14.5 deaths per 100,000 residents. If there were laws that only allowed a lower amount of guns produced and assigned a maximum amount of guns possessed by households or individuals than that in present-day than that may reduce this overflow of illegal firearms in circulation that we're now dealing with. If you take the vanity and profit motive out of the gun business and instead view it only as a means of protection than we wouldn't be as saturated with guns as we are now.

[DatManFromNawlins]

27. Well, since cars do a better job of killing Americans than guns...

... maybe we should heavily regulate if not ban them altogether too.

I know I've lost more friends and relatives to car accidents than I ever have from gun violence.

[Flagg]

35. Those were not specifically designed to kill and destroy

[Pavulon]

38. They do an excellent job of it..

much more effective than a rifle.

[caseymoz]

33. There are at least 280 million firearms in the US.

You could conclude several things about this statistic:

1) If there are even a small proportion of errors in following gun regulations, it will still equate to a lot of tragedies.

2) If there's even a small proportion of accidents per firearm, the numbers of accidental wounds and deaths will still equate to the tens of thousands.

3) Because there are so many firearms, there will never be a successful way to confiscate them.

4) Statistically speaking, it could be much worse.

5) Considering the deteriorating economy, it will get much worse.

The numbers will only change when Americans aren't fascinated with firearms anymore. It's not something you could do with education or propaganda, it has to get to the point where the culture undergoes change. That usually happens with wholesale catastrophe.

[ShortnFiery]

53. Speaking of "bullets," The Pentagon's budget next year is rising from 512 to 585 BILLION.

The forgoing quote does NOT include the cost of our two ongoing occupations. :(

585 Billions is gonna buy LOTTSA AMMO. :evilgrin:

[Sultana]

2. RIP

:-(

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[citizenbfk]

3. America lost it's soul?

I lived in Binghamton seven years and enjoyed it. It seemed like a "classic," NY upstate town.

But you go way overboard to say America has lost it's soul -- you think our nation has lost it's soul become somebody here killed someone?
Or we lost our soul because an immigrant killed someone?

I've been close to this bandwagon before but just can't get all excited jump up and down about the nation "losing it's soul," although I find most news reporting and the focus of news dreadful.

But my soul wasn't up for sale. Your soul, too, I'd be led to believe still holds soulful values.

I think perhaps we've been so use to, many of us -- for good reasons -- to be critical of the nation and it's policies that we don't know how to celebrate or even see the good.

Endicott/Johnson Shoe factory, for example, you mention. Weren't they a nice company, really extraordinary in what they provided to the workers. Extraordinary how he kept full employment during the Depression -- see, that's a good thing.

[antimatter98]

5. I'm saying today, we've lost that which you speak to. That's all.

Pardon me for expressing my sadness today--I am overcome with the news. Sorry.

Good luck to you and all of us in this new world.

[Berry Cool]

19. Endicott-Johnson was one of those organizations that believed you wouldn't have union problems

if you treated your workers right in the first place. If you paid them a decent wage for the work they did and gave them houses and places for recreation when they weren't working.

[elocs]

10. My mother was born in Binghamton.

Too much of America worships at the altar of the Second Amendment where happiness seems to be a warm gun. Funny, nobody I know personally owns a gun and a few of them are hardcore Republicans.

[wickerwoman]

22. My mother too.

I used to go there every Thanksgiving and my grandmother's house was around the corner from the shootings.

When my grandmother went into care about six years ago every other house on her street was dealing drugs. The downtown looked bombed out and the handful of nice homes in the neighborhood that were still maintained were either law firms or funeral parlors. My aunt's convenience store was routinely held up at gunpoint and my grandmother didn't like me taking the bus from New York city since the Binghamton bus station is a major conduit for drugs into upstate New York. She wouldn't let me walk around her block in broad daylight alone. It was a blue collar neighborhood when my mom was growing up there but the economic devastation since the 1980s has made it unrecognizable to her.

She was laughing out loud at news reports that try to portray Binghamton as "Anytown, USA" selectively cutting around anything suggestive of another rust belt, white-flight affected, drug-infested small city that doesn't build anything. The median household income in Binghamton is $25,000.

Yes, this is a gun tragedy but I think it's another kind of tragedy as well. Binghamton, for me, is the poster city for the current economic crisis.

RIP to all those who were trying to make a better life for themselves in hard times and in a hard place.

[stray cat]

11. Such a tragic waste - hopefully people will come together to support their surviving family

[trthnd4jstc]

13. My Heart and Prayers go out to these victims and their families. n/t

[Beacool]

16. I'm terribly sorry about your loss.

My condolences to you and the families of all who lost their lives.

Unfortunately, this has become a common occurrence. What makes people go so over the edge that they feel that they must kill others before taking their own lives.

A hug for you........

:hug:

[baldguy]

17. Sacrifices to the gun cult on the alter of the Second Amendment.

[Critters2]

23. Exactly. nt

[Pavulon]

26. Repeal it.

Gun control is for the lazy and stupid to argue. Reasonable rules are in place. Murder is banned.

These things are rare in Switzerland and Israel where weapons are available. Wonder why?

Actually fixing root cause of this stuff is more difficult than bamboozling the usa today crowd with some new gun law for murders to break.

[canetoad]

36. I wish you would consider

what it is like to live in a country where general ownership of firearms is banned. For starters, we are still free. We are neither repressed, enchained, helpless nor defenceless. The reality is that the USA is not the worldwide norm when it comes to weaponry.

In general, people do not vary a hell of a lot across the world. Why should what works well in so many other western countries not work for America. Are you that much more 'liberated' that the rest of us?

Here are some very rough and ready statistics from the Australian Bureau of Crime Statistics and the FBI. I have rounded the figures off, but roughly this is the position for homicides in 2006 in Australia (no guns*) and USA:

Australia
Total Homicides - 297
Or 1 every 700,000
By firearm - 10% or 30

USA
Total Homicides - 14,990
Or 1 every 21,000
By firearm - 67% or 10,200

This means that in 2006, of our population, .0014 was murdered by a gun. In the USA .0034 of your people was murdered by a firearm.

Are you content with being more than two and a half times more likely to be murdered by gunfire than I am?


On Edit: Private ownership of firearms very strictly limited.

[Pavulon]

41. Got the fin or swiss numbers?

[canetoad]

43. No need to get defensive

Hmmmm. A defensive gun owner.........

[Pavulon]

44. Worried about dingoes eating your baby? Press madness

this issue is all drama, very little fact. Poverty and drug law are critical.

[Pavulon]

50. That comment is not meant to be harsh BTW

it is a simple association that non Australians make about Australia in the us. Not an attack.

Gun violence is rare to most groups here.

[Pavulon]

42. I will die in a car crash, from heart disease or cancer

i spent plenty of time in the company of highly armed men. Did not die then. Not worried about it, however I do not live in poverty or in a community destroyed by drugs and gangs. That is the key factor.

[baldguy]

47. #12

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3816741#3816795

Faulty reasoning is still faulty reasoning, no matter how many times you repeat it.

[Pavulon]

49. Simple reasoning, bring an AWB ban into existence

we go back to a minority.

[baldguy]

51. Not if so-called liberals stop giving credence to RW talking points.

[Berry Cool]

18. I am so sorry about your loss.

It's one of the horrible ironies of this whole event that so many of these people were escaping what they thought was an intolerable or very difficult existence and trying to find a better life in a safer place when they were killed. And the people who were trying to help them who died along with them...terrible.

[malaise]

20. I heard on TV that the teacher was a 72 year old

That means Roberta Bobby King was the teacher. What makes her death so much worse is that she was subbing for the regular teacher on Friday. I can't imagine how the regular teacher feels today.

[RaleighNCDUer]

52. I can. Lucky.

And guilty about feeling lucky.

[Summermoondancer]

28. I am sad beyond words

it is so unfathomable how this man could take out his anger on the very people who were immigrants just like him. I would hope that people would learn to think about what they say and how they act to others before they do...this man acted out of anger and frustration not only for his job loss but because he was picked on for his English skills. Instead of encouragement he received belittling comments.
Immigrants are what makes America great and it seems so many have forgotten this. I will pray for the families of the victims and for the family of the shooter they must feel incredible shame and pain right now.

[underpants]

48. Welcome to America

very very sad