"I am shooting people... and have a nice day."

[countybear]

In keeping with what has become more common practice in mass shooters, Linh Phat (Jiverly) Wong, the gunman who stormed into an immigrant services building in Binghamton, NY, mailed a letter to a Syracuse TV station just prior to the incident, details follow:

"I am Jiverly Wong shooting the people."
Those chilling words begin a disturbing, unhinged letter mailed to a Syracuse TV station -- along with Wong's driver's license, gun permit and photos of him posing with pistols -- last Friday, the day Wong massacred 13 people at a Binghamton immigrant-assistance center before killing himself.

Read The Letter Wong Sent (PDF)

"The first I want to say sorry I know a little English I hope you understand all of this," continues the neatly handwritten letter, contained in an envelope mailed to News 10 Now and bearing Wong's Johnson City return address.

"Of course you need to know why I shooting? Because undercover cop gave me a lot of ass during eighteen years."

The letter unleashes a slew of bizarre, paranoid accusations against police officers whom Wong, 41, believed were persecuting him, repeatedly breaking into his room, stealing from him, causing him to lose his job and trying to stage a car accident with him 32 times.
"Cop bring about this shooting. Cop must responsible. And you have a nice day," the letter ends.

The missive -- whose outlandish claims are unsupported by any publicly known facts -- suggests Wong was deranged.

His only known interaction with authorities came when he pleaded guilty to forgery in Los Angeles in 1992 and served 100 days. Police in Binghamton have also acknowledged they had received a tip that Wong had been smoking crack cocaine and was plotting to rob a bank before the shooting, although he was never arrested.

Equally unsettling were the photos he enclosed, showing him smiling in a kitchen as he brandished a semiautomatic pistol and sitting at a table, coffee cup in hand, with two pistols on the tabletop at his side.

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told the TV station that FBI behavioral experts suggested "something like this [Wong mailing a letter] might happen . . . It's not a complete surprise to us."

It was already known that Wong, a Vietnam-born Chinese man who lost his $8-an-hour job at a vacuum-cleaner factory in November, was deeply frustrated with his lack of English skills and obsessed with acquiring a gun before he went on his rampage at the American Civic Association.

"The letter sounds bizarre and has tones of persecution. And in his internal world, this violence might have been some sort of retaliation," said Dr. Vatsal Thakkar, assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU's Langone Medical Center.

"Put these actions and the theme of the letter all together, and it could point to major mental illness, quite possibly paranoid schizophrenia."

The letter is dated March 18, 2009 -- weeks before it was mailed. While the handwriting remains uniform, the all-caps print alternates between bold and a shadowy light gray.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 mourners yesterday packed a funeral for Roberta King, who was gunned down by Wong along with 11 students whom she was teaching English. A receptionist was also slain. King's "legacy will live long past the tragic, sad events," said her brother, Joel Bandaines.

And Lyle Fassett said his sister, American Civic Association receptionist Shirley DeLucia, "rolls her eyes" at suggestions she is a hero because she phoned 911 after feigning death when Wong shot her in the stomach. DeLucia is expected to make a full recovery.

Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton in Binghamton

[lewisipso]

I hope you understand all of this

Sorry. No can do.

[MacLean]

Where did he get the gun?

[GASheepdog]

That this letter was published guarantees that a few more similar incidents will come our way (in addition to the ones that already have). I hate to sound so optimistic, but it always happens that somewhere out there are deranged nutjobs who read these posthumous declarations and draw some sick inspiration to do likewise.

Be prepared and stay safe brothers and sisters.

[countybear]

Where did he get the gun?

Updated | 7:59 p.m. A law-enforcement official said that Mr. Wong had a New York State pistol license that listed two pistols, a 45-caliber Beretta and a 9-mm Beretta. The authorities matched the serial numbers of two guns found with the gunman's body to the serial numbers on his license. The authorities were trying to trace the guns to determine where Mr. Wong obtained them and their history.

Information disclosed thus far was that Wong frequently traded and purchased handguns at a local Gander Mountain store. He had successfully passed at least 4 NICS checks.

Well, at least they were registered, eh?

[Second Chance]

Be a man go off into the woods and just shoot yourself..........friggin dumb ass morons!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blades73]

He was a frequent trader at our local gander mountain....me no like..make too big BOOM!!! ...need gun loud not so BOOM!!!

Ok, sarcastic? HELL YES!!! I live here and had to hear the shots from 3 blocks away at my courthouse...every swingin richard here wanted to respond..but we have to assume that it could have been a diversion to get in the court house and take out a Supreme Court judge...it took everything NOT to go headlong down the street..and the feeling inside now sucks. Hindsight sucks...but the city PD did a great job nonetheless. Courthouse was locked down in a heartbeat and judges evacuated into the center of the building until we could get them safely out and home.
Just like all the other big shootings...nobody thought it would ever happen here...except for a few cynics(including me) who knew that it was only a matter of time. Anytime, anywhere...now my wife doesn't think I am over-reacting by carrying all the time, except in the shower. This massacre has had a major effect on this city...not sure what yet, but you can feel it in the air...it just feels....different. Wish I could get approval for a carbine at work, but we Court Officers don't even train with shotguns. No long gun capabilities except for our SRT. Hmmm....my KelTec Sub 2000 fits in my patrol bag....hmmmm......

[armsmaster270]

To hell with the Guns how did he get a license for them.