Binghamton, N.Y., remembers victims
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Mayor Matt Ryan wept yesterday as he tried to console himself and his community one week after a gunman opened fire on a classroom of immigrants studying English. The gunman killed 13 people before taking his own life.
"We have suffered a tremendous loss," Ryan said as 300 people gathered to mark the April 3 rampage at the American Civic Association building downtown. "We lost family. We lost friends. We lost colleagues. We lost neighbors. Our peace was shattered."
Before making a commemoration march, the group gathered in front of the Broome County Courthouse, several blocks from where Jiverly Wong, 41, barged in the front door of the ACA building and, without a word, sprayed the classroom with 98 rounds in just over a minute. Eleven immigrants and two association employees died instantly.
Police speculate that Wong, from Vietnam and a former center student, was angry over losing a job and frustrated about his poor English-language skills.
While the city will never forget its loss, Ryan said, residents can heal by banding together.
"It is by standing together, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand . . . that we will mend and heal," the mayor said.
Led by a Scottish drum and bagpipe corps, Ryan and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli marched with the group to a nearby park, where the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers meet. Clergy led a multifaith prayer service and helped plant 14 tulip bulbs in a memorial garden. They urged listeners not to live in fear or hate but to band together to heal and move on.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
