Letter shows up from NY shooter

[NYcarry]

News 10 Now Link to pics and letter

Link to Story

Exclusive: The Ramblings of a Killer
by News 10 Now
photo by News 10 Now, Syracuse
Published Apr 06, 2009
Watch Video

We are learning more about the man who killed 13 people and then himself in Binghamton Friday. Jiverly Wong sent an envelope to our sister station, News 10 Now in Syracuse, the day of the shootings that arrived Monday.

The envelope contained photos of the killer, and a message. Included was a driver's license, a pistol permit and photos of Wong with two pistols.

What began as a normal day in the News 10 Now newsroom took a sharp turn when the envelope, postmarked from Binghamton on April 3, arrived. The letter itself is dated from March 18.

"Honestly, a moment of panic! I've been in this business for about 30 years now; I've never experienced something quite like that. Umm, I think realizing what we apparently have in our hands was kind of scary, actually, in understanding the gravity of it. As I started reading the letter, it appears to contain some of his personal history. And it amounts to his reasoning of why he was going to carry out the attack," said Ron Lombard, News 10 Now General Manager & News Director.

The attack took the lives of 13 plus Jiverly Wong as police say he turned one of his weapons on himself.

Law enforcement, of course, was contacted and arrived to take the contents, including the letter, neatly written in broken English, claiming the shootings were the result of years of harassment from law enforcement.

A letter that Lombard feels should be shared with all that are watching and have been watching this tragic story unfold.

"We feel there is compelling, public interest in this. It begins to answer the questions, assuming everything is authentic, it appears to answer the questions of motive which is a big, unanswered question," added Lombard.

The envelope sent to our sister station, News 10 Now in Syracuse, has brought the channel into the investigation behind the Binghamton shooting.

There has been much discussion about the motivation behind the Binghamton shooting. Speculation about a Vietnamese immigrant upset over his lack of English skills, upset over the loss of a job. But, in the letter, a much different story is being told.

It is a story of a mentally unstable man, obsessed with unnamed undercover police whom he says have taunted him, tortured him and spread rumors about him wherever he went for years. First, forcing him to leave California, then once he returned to the Binghamton area, attempting to force him out of the country.

He tells stories of police entering his room and sitting down and watching him sleep, touching him while he slept, even stealing money from his wallet.

He claims the police would drive in front of him and then stop their car suddenly trying to cause an accident. He said that happened 32 times, but he says, "I never hit the car.”

Police say Wong entered the civic association wearing body armor, and parked a car at a rear door to block anyone's escape. They say those are signs of premeditation. That prior planning is made clear by the letter.

The accompanying pictures were of Wong with the two guns, along with the registration that allowed him to possess the weapons. Most telling is the date at the top, March 18, indicating he was planning the attack two weeks earlier. The letter wasn't mailed until the day of the shooting.

What he intended is also clear from his own description of himself: "I am Jiverly Wong shooting the people."

At the end was a summation with Wong saying he cannot, in his words, “accept my poor life.” He says he is taking on the job of a judge, that he will "cut my poor life." He later added, "At least two people with me go to return to the dust of the earth."

His only apology was not for what would happen. He said simply, "I am sorry I know a little English."

The letter ends with his demand that a "cop", the focus of his delusions, must be held responsible. Then, the letter ends chillingly with, "You have a nice day".

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski thanked News 10 Now for voluntarily turning the materials over to investigators. He says it will be, in turn, sent to the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit.

It will look at it as well as psychologists and also religious experts, all in an effort to determine what Wong was trying to tell us in the letter and his motive for carrying out this crime.

Zikuski adds that they were expecting something like this to turn up somewhere.

The FBI told Zikuski over the weekend not to be surprised if the media or someone else called to say they received this type of mailing.

The Binghamton Police Department now has the package mailed to News 10 Now. They are reviewing its contents as evidence in the investigation into the incident.

View the photos and letter that Jiverly Wong sent to our sister station News 10 Now in Syracuse.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Roadrunner]

Thank you so much News 10 for giving this deranged murderous son of a bich exactly what he wanted; 15 seconds of fame for the murder of helpless innocent people. It's so nice to know you can be counted on to encourage all of the copycat murderers who are sure to follow. /sarcasm

I'm not sure of the constitutionality of this, but I would love to see a law passed forbidding the release of the name or writings of mass murderers. Report the story but refuse to make them famous. These sickos have fallen into a pattern; first they prepare their press release and mail it then they go kill as many people as they can. Mass murder should not be a springboard to instant fame. That's their goal and the media gives it to them on a silver platter. I guess they figure if they can't be a hero they can at least be a villain. No wonder so many more follow suit. It won't end if we continue to reward this behavior. This whole thing makes me sick.

[Roadrunner]

This got me so angry I wrote them an e-mail through their feedback page on the News 10 website. Here it is:

Congratulations on giving a mass murdering sociopath his dying wish; immortal fame and a platform to broadcast a legacy of hate. The only appropriate action after opening that envelope was turning it over the police. I won't go so far as to say that you are complicit in the next mass murder committed by a waste of life looking to get his face on TV, but by publishing this one's propaganda you have encouraged it. It makes me sick to see the most despicable act imaginable rewarded by your organization. Once again, congratulations on your achievement, I'm sure the ratings from that broadcast are phenomenal. I hope you can look at yourself in the mirror without despising what you see.

Kurt

Let's bombard them with more. Here's the link: News 10 Now | 24 Hour Local News | Viewer Center Don't use the shooter's name; he deserves no more recognition than a rabid dog. I hope his body is dumped in a sewage pit.

[Janq]

So basically like we all figured this too is yet another case of mentally ill person acting crazy.

Shocking.

- Janq

[tbrenke]

So basically like we all figured this too is yet another case of mentally ill person acting crazy.

Shocking.

- Janq

suprise, suprise.

[grady]

Thank you so much News 10 for giving this deranged murderous son of a bich exactly what he wanted; 15 seconds of fame for the murder of helpless innocent people. It's so nice to know you can be counted on to encourage all of the copycat murderers who are sure to follow. /sarcasm

I agree, Roadrunner. They gave him exactly what he wanted, and they likely have encouraged other twisted minds to follow suit.

I wish they had the decency to not air the letter.

[GizmoHD]

Does anyone else find it coincidental that something of this magnitude would occur and the shooter would send a letter with his 'pistol permit' and ID to the station? But something does NOT sound right... Almost as if its.. manufactured?

Or is that TOO left field?

[gasmitty]

Let's bombard them with more. Here's the link: News 10 Now | 24 Hour Local News | Viewer Center

Thanks for posting the feedback link. Here's my two cents' worth:

News 10, in your misguided quest for ratings you have given a sick, twisted murderer exactly what he wanted: his 15 minutes of fame. Doesn't it trouble you in the least that so many mass murderers are driven by thoughts of having their names "go down in history"? Does it cross your mind that maybe you've just inspired the next deranged Klebold and Harris-wannabes to commit mayhem for the chance that they, too, might be memorialized by the mass media?

Don't flatter yourselves by proclaiming "the public has a right to know." You played right into this murderer's hands, even though he's already dead. Shame on you for reporting this sociopath's lame excuses along with his name. Wake up!

[paramedic70002]

Bizarre. Conspiracy or lunatic? Dunno.

[fatcat]

I don't understand how he got a NY pistol permit. Of course they are not saying it was a carry permit, and it could not have been. I don't see how this guy would have passed the interviews to get a NY carry permit.

I still cannot believe he got an ownership permit.

[CR2008]

I don't understand how he got a NY pistol permit. Of course they are not saying it was a carry permit, and it could not have been. I don't see how this guy would have passed the interviews to get a NY carry permit.

I still cannot believe he got an ownership permit.

I know people who had conceal carry permits in other states where it is VERY HARD to get, such as Maryland and they got themselves in trouble with the law (drug dealing, traffiking etc)... so I don't see what's hard to see here... they got cops and military involved in dirty stuff and look on how many background and psych checks they had done? These things will happen no matter how much restrictions, 'checks' etc.

[fatcat]

I know people who had conceal carry permits in other states where it is VERY HARD to get, such as Maryland and they got themselves in trouble with the law (drug dealing, traffiking etc)... so I don't see what's hard to see here... they got cops and military involved in dirty stuff and look on how many background and psych checks they had done? These things will happen no matter how much restrictions, 'checks' etc.

Well its hard to believe because in NY a carry permit requires an interview with a state official. Depending on the county, it could be a state police investigator, or even a judge.

This man could hardly speak English, and was quite obviously not stable. Any detective doing this interview would have had some suspicion that perhaps this man should have had a gun, let alone a carry permit.

I sat and talked with a NY State Police investigator for a good 40 minutes or so. He asked me all kinds of questions and things about me and my family. I don't even see how this man could have answered the questions.

[CR2008]

Well its hard to believe because in NY a carry permit requires an interview with a state official. Depending on the county, it could be a state police investigator, or even a judge.

This man could hardly speak English, and was quite obviously not stable. Any detective doing this interview would have had some suspicion that perhaps this man should have had a gun, let alone a carry permit.

I sat and talked with a NY State Police investigator for a good 40 minutes or so. He asked me all kinds of questions and things about me and my family. I don't even see how this man could have answered the questions.

That's a good point... how can someone who probably can't even read the paper work pass the interview process... it's scary and with the whole political movement to give citizenship to people who are illegal aliens, perhaps even those people could have legal access to guns though many probably can't speak a work of english too... probably the inteviewers etc were afread of being called a "racist" if they denied him you never know these days, especially with the fools at the top.

[Hopyard]

That's a good point... how can someone who probably can't even read the paper work pass the interview process... it's scary and with the whole political movement to give citizenship to people who are illegal aliens, perhaps even those people could have legal access to guns though many probably can't speak a work of english too... probably the inteviewers etc were afread of being called a "racist" if they denied him you never know these days, especially with the fools at the top.

Two things. 1) Why are some of you pounding the newspaper for posting the letter? Printing that letter is so important. It shows the rest of us what a paranoid schizophrenic sounds like, gives us a window into how disordered this man's mind was, and provides the public evidence that the man was truly deranged, which is an important component of understanding that particular crime.

Some of you talk about limiting what the papers can print, because you truly don't believe in the whole Constitution; only the 2A part.

2) He may well have easily passed the interview. It is quite possible that at the time the interview was done he was sane. It is also possible that he was quite good at covering over his insanity.

His language difficulties should have nothing whatsoever to do with his passing the interview. And for all you know he had an interpreter assist.

OTOH , the language difficulties may have been an indication that his thinking ability was impaired. He may have masked that disorder with claims of poor language skills when in reality he suffered from disordered thinking.

This story, as ones similar, is extremely sad. Still, it provide great insight into the tragedy of illness in some folks lives. No one chooses to think in such a disordered and disjointed manner. They are sick in a very real way.

One great tragedy or failing which we have in our country is our collective inability to provide initial diagnosis and effective treatment for folks like that. It is just too easy to make fun of them or to throw them in jail for all manner of crimes that wouldn't have been done if not for their illness.

I recently lost a much older cousin who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia all of his life. I scarcely knew him because none of the family wanted to have anything to do with him due to his odd ways. The man had nonetheless achieved a modicum of public fame and so one newspaper did an extensive story on his life and mentioned his life long struggles with hallucinations. These weren't anything my cousin chose for himself; in fact they likely started after a physical illness, surgery, and prolonged hospitalization when he was a child.

There is no need to pound the newspapers for publishing the letter. Plenty of good comes from seeing the severity of the mental illness, because others learn to see the patterns of thought which characterize paranoid schizophrenia.

(P.S. If you have not already seen the movie "A Beautiful Mind" go ahead and rent it. The producers and writers do a really good job of presenting the struggles of living with schizophrenia.)

[Roadrunner]

I sympathize with people who live and struggle with mental illness. Actual mental illness, not a diagnosis trumped up as a legal defense. What makes me positively furious is that this guy had the lucidity to prepare what amounts to a publicity package for his own massacre, send it the station, and then carry out said massacre with measures taken to insure maximum deadly effect (blocking the doors and choosing a location with no armed security). He may have been crazy, but crazy or not by sending this package to the media he proved that what he craved was fame and attention. The Virginia Tech shooter did the same thing and got just as much attention. It was just as disgusting then as it is now, but now we have the benefit of hindsight and can start to see a pattern in these killers' behavior. They kill people because they want to be on TV and we give them exactly what they want.

This behavior is little different in its essence than that of a five year old throwing a tantrum at the supermarket because his parents won't buy him the candy he wants. Smart parents ignore the little brat until he shuts up and learns that tantrums don't produce the results he wants. Our media is giving these grown up, homicidal brats all of the candy they can stomach; all they have to do is kill as many innocent people as they can, which has proved depressingly easy to do. Failing to give them the attention and notoriety they desire may not stop future murders, but it will stop encouraging them.

Earlier I suggested passing a law to stop the release of these pathetic cries for attention while simultaneously questioning the constitutionality of such an action. I do realize its a slippery slope and with more thought probably wouldn't actually support such a law, good as it would feel to see these acts punished. That's the price of freedom. Seeing this crap makes me too mad to see straight and I acknowledge that. However, just because something is legal doesn't make it right and doesn't stop us as an audience of these media outlets from telling them that what they are doing is wrong and we think they should stop. They have a constitutionally protected right to publish material even if I find it offensive, but they don't have an obligation to do so. If the producers at that network had even a shred of decency they wouldn't have released that letter and photos.