Jiverly Wong (left) gunned down 13 people in New York state before killing himself. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK - A VIETNAMESE immigrant who gunned down 13 people in New York state before killing himself sent a letter to a television station before his rampage, blaming police and bemoaning his 'poor life.'
'I am Jiverly Wong Shooting the people. The first I want to say sorry I know a little English. I hope you understand all of this. Of course you need to know why I shooting? Because undercover cop gave me a lot of ass during eighteen years,' reads in part the letter received on Monday by News 10 Now in Syracuse, New York.
The two-page letter was dated March 18 but posted on Friday, the day his killing spree jolted the small city of Binghamton where he was living.
'Undercover cop usual coined some nasty was not true about me and spread a rumour to the receiver and some people know me conduce toward many people prejudiced and selfish to me... cop made me lost my job... cop put me became poor,' the letter went on.
Wong had recently lost his job at a Shop Vac facility.
'Any way I can not accepted my poor life. Before I cut my poor life I must oneself get a judge job for make an impartial with undercover cop by at least two people with me go to return to the dust of earth,' the letter read.
'Already impartial now... cop bring about this shooting... cop must responsible. And you have a nice day,' it added.
The bespectacled gunman at the heart of the tragedy in Binghamton was identified as Jiverly Voong, 41, of Vietnamese descent, who until early March had been taking classes at the American Civic Association.
Early on Friday Voong, who had legally changed his name from Wong, donned body armor, blocked the center's back doors with his car and then burst into the front of the building unleashing a hail of gunfire, police said.
Without uttering a word, Voong shot two receptionists, killing one, then strode into a classroom where an English lesson was being held and shot dead another 12 people before turning the gun on himself, police chief Joseph Zikuski said.
The dead included four Chinese nationals, Beijing state media said, and a Philippine woman identified as Dolores Carbonillas Yigal.
The alarm was raised by the surviving receptionist, hailed as a hero by the police chief, who played dead after being shot in the stomach. She then crawled under her desk to call 911 on her cell phone. -- AFP
