Was the gunman in the immigration services center shooting a recently laid-off IBM employee?

[antigop]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/

Laid off IBM employee?
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton, said the gunman appears to have been a man who was recently let go from IBM in Johnson City.

[TheWraith]

1. Yeah, that's what's being reported.

As with any info at this point, grain of salt. But it's probably the case.

[antigop]

2. Thanks. I'm cable-deprived (probably a good thing that I am) n/t

[Berry Cool]

3. No one but Hinchey has said that.

I have no idea where he got that information from. Notice it's attributed to no one, and it was not addressed at all at the press conference.

It sounds like another rumor--just like the false story that the people in the building were taking a citizenship test, when no such tests are offered there--but which Joe Biden ran with anyway.

I would trust reporters before I would trust politicians talking off the cuff...any politicians.

[rvablue]

4. I'm sorry. Why are we going off on Joe Biden now? I can't keep up.

Did you ever think that the VP might be privvy to information that you are not.

And why are you attacking Biden? Because he went on TV to provide some leadership during a day of tragedy and provide condolences.... what an awful guy....:sarcasm:

[H2O Man]

5. Post #3 was

about Rep. Hinchey, not VP Biden.

However, a couple points: (1) Hinchey's district includes Binghamton, and he has an office there. His staff is very well informed, and have solid connections to local/regional police agencies. (2) Rep. Hinchey was not the only one who noted that the gunman had recently been laid-off from IBM.

[rvablue]

6. OK. But in your post you accuse Biden of "running with it"

:shrug:

[H2O Man]

8. I don't.

I assume that you mean the person who posted that, not me.

Edit: You are right -- the person did mention Biden. I stand corrected. And you are absolutely correct: Biden would have more information than news reporters. Sorry for my error.

[Berry Cool]

13. But Biden had wrong information, yet he ran with it.

I'm not condemning him for that. I like Biden, I'm not bashing him by saying this. I'm just saying there's a lot we don't know yet about this situation, and some people are making statements that they precede with "Apparently" when the facts aren't "apparent" at all.

Hinchey says the guy was laid off from IBM and we're supposed to take his word for it. Biden says the people in the building were taking a citizenship test. We're supposed to take his word for it. How much is "apparent" and how much is just repeated rumor?

[Berry Cool]

15. Who else noted it?

And I know about Hinchey. Doesn't make whatever he says true. Doesn't make it false. I'd just like to see more confirmation. I can't help but wonder why I don't see that particular information in a lot more reports than I do. Makes me curious.

[H2O Man]

21. I spoke with

a person who works for the largest Binghamton-based news agency; they supplied a lot of the film and information for the national news. This person said the gunman had recently been laid-off from IBM. Two things were keeping this from being "officially confirmed." First, the police had not officially identified the person they believed was the gunman yet; second, he had at least two "identities," and IBM would only tell reporters that the first name, which was apparently an alias, was not the name of any employee, current or former. But a number of individuals who were connected to the incident had told reporters (and likely the police) that the person had been recently laid-off.

Rep. Hinchey has both formal and informal connections to law enforcement agencies in this area. I am confident that his statements were based upon the best evidence available at the time. It's worth noting the context of his statements.

[Mike 03]

7. That is one of a number of rumors circulating. The authorities involved in the investigation have

neither confirmed nor denied, but they are urging people to disregard many of the rumors now being circulated.

Certainly we will find out soon enough.

[OhioChick]

9. If so.....I expect to see more of this in the future, unfortunately. n/t

[antigop]

10. I asked the question because I'm not in a position to monitor the news all day.

I was hoping someone could fill in details -- someone who perhaps had heard something on the news.

[OhioChick]

11. According to a search...it appears to be so

'It was just panic' — Laid-off IBM employee guns down 13

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) - A gunman opened fire on a center where immigrants were taking a citizenship exam Friday in downtown Binghamton, killing 13 people before apparently committing suicide.

The suspected gunman carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.

But the name is an alias that the man has used in the past, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and was talking on condition of anonymity.

"It obviously was premeditated," said Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski, noting the gunman blocked the rear exit with his car. "He made sure nobody could escape."

Police did not mention a motive. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton, said the gunman had recently been let go from IBM in nearby Johnson City.

More: http://www.komonews.com/news/42415392.html

[antigop]

12. OK, thanks. I watched the evening news & nothing was said about him being a laid-off IBM employee.

n/t

[Berry Cool]

14. "It appears to be so" does not equal "it is true."

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was another disgruntled laid-off person, but "Hinchey said it" doesn't make it so.

edit for typo

Oh, and from what I recall, most if not all of IBM in the area is in Endicott, not Johnson City. Just saying.

[OhioChick]

17. Do a search...

Binghamton Gunman Is Reportedly Laid-Off IBMer

By Darryl K. Taft
2009-04-03

The gunman in a killing spree that has left 14 dead in Binghamton, N.Y., has been identified as Jiverly Voong, reportedly a former IBM worker recently laid off by the systems giant.

The gunman in a Binghamton, N.Y., killing spree that has left 14 dead has been identified as Jiverly Voong, reportedly a former IBM worker recently laid off by the systems giant.

Voong, 42, is reported to have shot and killed 13 people before taking his own life via a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Voong carried out the killing spree at the American Civic Association, which provides services for immigrants. Voong also wounded several people in the shootings, according to several reports.

More: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/Binghamton-Gunman-is-Reportedly-Laid-Off-IBMer-408098/

[Berry Cool]

16. That is the local SEATTLE news, picking up on an AP story

that merely repeats what Hinchey said.

[OhioChick]

18. See Post #17..."E Week" is quite reliable. n/t

[ChromeFoundry]

19. IBM to launch new version of business simulation game

The game uses a first-person shooting engine to immerse players in the environment of a company. A study last year by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation showed that a great lecture can improve learning outcomes by 17 percent, but delivering the same information through a serious game can improve learning outcomes by 108 percent.

http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/24/ibm-launches-new-version-of-business-simulation-game/

[OhioChick]

20. Nice....

Released on March 24th, 2009, I see.

[antigop]

22. This report says he once worked at IBM, but lost his job at the Shop-Vac plant

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_re_us/binghamton_shootings

He moved to the States in the early 1990s and soon afterward became a citizen, friends and relatives said. He worked at IBM for a time, friend Hue Huynh said, but decided to move to California.

There, he worked for seven years at a caterer called Kikka Sushi, eventually making $9 an hour, said Paulus Lukas, the company's human resources manager.

"He was really good at doing his job — we respected him for that," Lukas told the Los Angeles Times. "He's never late, he's always punctual. And when he finishes his job, he goes home. He doesn't complain, he doesn't argue with people. He gets along."

But one day he simply didn't show up for work, Lukas told the Times. Early last year, he called asking the company to send his tax forms to a New York state address.

Back in New York, he apparently worked at the Shop-Vac plant in Binghamton. Former co-worker Kevin Greene told the Daily News of New York that Wong once said, in answer to whether he liked the New York Yankees, "No, I don't like that team. I don't like America. America sucks."

The plant closed in November, and Wong was out of a job. That's apparently when things really started to go downhill.

[OhioChick]

23. Interesting....

I've heard so much spin on this story, I don't know what to believe anymore. One report said he was recently laid off from IBM and came to the US at a young age and now this. :shrug: