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New York State officials say 14 people are dead after a lone gunman entered a center that assists immigrants in the town of Binghamton and opened fire. Another four people are in critical condition. Authorities say they have reason to believe the shooter is among the dead, but they would not confirm his identity.

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New York State officials say 14 people are dead after a lone gunman entered a center that assists immigrants in the town of Binghamton and opened fire. Another four people are in critical condition. Authorities say they have reason to believe the shooter is among the dead, but they would not confirm his identity.

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the emergency dispatch center received a telephone call at 10:31 Friday morning from a receptionist at the American Civic Association saying a man had entered the premises brandishing a handgun, shooting her and another woman. He then went into a room off the main reception hall and shot the rest of his victims.

The man entered through the front door, but police say he had parked a vehicle to block the building’s back door, so victims could not escape.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told reporters late Friday that he would not identify the man believed to be the shooter, but said authorities have reason to believe he is among the dead. “Among the dead there is a male victim that has a satchel around his neck or arms, and there is ammunition in it. Our original information is that the shooter was using handguns, and we did recover two handguns at the scene. So at this point, not 100 percent, but we have very good reason to believe the shooter is among the dead,” he said.

Chief Zikuski said 26 people at the center, which assists immigrants with naturalization applications, fled to the building’s basement trying to escape the rampage. In all, authorities safely evacuated 37 people who were unharmed from the premises and another four who were seriously injured.

He said all of the dead were found in one room, with the exception of a receptionist who was killed in the front hall.

The police chief said that the suspected shooter had ties with the civic association, but a motive was not immediately clear. He said the next step would be to check the fingerprints on the vehicle’s steering wheel, which blocked the back door, with those of the suspected gunman’s.

Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan said it would be a lengthy process to identify all of the victims.

The shooting occurred in a neighborhood of homes and small businesses in the center of Binghamton, a city of about 47,000 located some 225 kilometers northwest of New York City.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said he and his wife Michelle were “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn of the attack. He said his administration is actively monitoring the situation and Vice President Joe Biden is in touch with New York Governor David Paterson and local officials.voa

, Voice of a Nation

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