http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/003078.html

The feds are gunning hard for Sheriff Joe Arpaio for not playing along with their national aid and abet illegal aliens policy:

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/03/taking-a-stand-against-the-open-borders-agenda/

So the likes of Luis Gutierrez - the very same who called ICE agents “Gestapo” - has the galling arrogance to attempt to land a verbal slap on Ray Tranchant. Sure Luis, killing two innocent American girls is far less egregious an offence than calling a foreign criminal a bandito-an outlaw.

http://washingtonscandal.blogspot.com/2009/03/ethics-investigation-of-rep-luis.html

April 3, 2009: SWAT teams surround an immigration center in Binghamton , N.Y. , where a gunman opened fire and took hostages.

A gunman blocked the rear door of an upstate New York immigration center, then walked through the front door and opened fire Friday, killing 14 people, likely including himself, police said at a news conference in the massacre’s aftermath.

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the rampage “obviously was premeditated” and began with the shooting of two receptionists. One died. The other was critically wounded, but she pretended to be dead and was able to crawl to a desk and call 911 when the gunman walked down a hallway.

Zikuski said police responded within three minutes of the call, but it was not immediately clear how long it took her to place the call after the shooting began.

Immigrants were preparing for citizenship testing at the time. Zikuski said 37 people were rescued from the building, and four of them were wounded and in critical condition.

The gunman reportedly was a 42-year-old man of Asian descent and lived in the Binghamton suburb of Johnson City . Jiverly Voong, who also goes by the name Linh Phat Voong, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a local law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Officials, however, would not identify the shooter during the news conference.

Police did not mention a motive. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes Binghamton , said the gunman had recently been let go from IBM in Johnson City . He said it was not clear of the gunman’s connection to the center.

The shooter blocked the back door of the building with his car, then stormed in through the front entrance about 10:30 a.m. while firing a high-powered gun. Several people were taken hostage.

The gunman wore a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses as he executed victim after victim, according to local media. His body was found on the first floor of the American Civic Association with a hunting knife jammed into the waistband of his pants, the reports said.

Click here for photos.

Click here for taped video from the scene from the Binghamton Press Sun & Bulletin.

Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan , said she was in an English class when she heard a shot and her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room.

“I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting,” she said. “I heard shooting, very long time … and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished.”

A woman who answered the phone at a listing for Henry D. Voong said she was Jiverly Voong’s sister but would not give her name.

Asked if she was aware that he might have been involved in the shooting, she said: “How? He didn’t have a gun. I think somebody involved, not him. I think he got shot by somebody else.”

“I think there’s a misunderstanding over here because I want to know, too,” she said.

The suspected gunman carried identification with the name of Jiverly Voong, a law enforcement official said.

“This is a community that comes together in crisis,” Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan said at the news conference, while expressing grief at the tragedy and gratitude for the response of authorities.

Gov. David Paterson said he hoped the investigation, which he described as a “senseless act of violence” would be brought to a resolution.

“We all have a profound sense of sorrow,” the governor said.

President Obama expressed sympathy for the victims and their families and vowed to monitor the situation in a statement released late Friday afternoon.

“Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the act of senseless violence in Binghamton , N.Y. today,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and the people of Binghamton . We don’t yet know all the facts, but my administration is actively monitoring the situation and the Vice President is in touch with Governor Paterson and local officials to track developments.”

The Associated Press reported that at least 41 people were taken hostage, citing police and media sources.

SWAT team officers surrounded the building but it took about four hours to secure the scene, officials said Friday afternoon.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also sending agents to Binghamton .

While the tragedy was unfolding, emergency dispatchers were in contact with some people inside by phone, officials said.

Twenty-six people escaped to the building’s boiler room, officials said.

Alex Galkin, an immigrant from Uzbekistan , said he was taking his English classes when he heard a shot and quickly went to the basement with 20 other people.

“It was just panic,” Galkin said.

Police locked down a nearby high school, evacuated apartment buildings and advised local business owners to stay inside.

The FBI sent hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene.

The American Civic Association helps immigrants in the Binghamton area with naturalization applications, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The association describes itself as helping immigrants and refugees with counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification and translators.

The association’s president, Angela Leach, “is very upset right now,” said Mike Chanecka, a friend who answered a call at her home as Leach wept in the background.

“She doesn’t know anything; she’s as shocked as anyone,” Chanecka said. “For some reason, she had the day off today. And she’s very worried about her secretary.”

Two women and a man suffering gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City , said hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd. One was stable, one was serious and one was critical. Their ages ranged from 20s to 50s, she said.

Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton , said a student from Binghamton University was being treated there.

The shooting occurred in a mixed neighborhood of homes and small businesses in the center of Binghamton , a city of about 47,000 located 140 miles northwest of New York City .

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that’s when they learned of the shooting.

“One of our housemates thought they heard banging of some kind. But when you’re living in downtown Binghamton , it’s always noisy,” said Shrager, of Slingerlands, an Albany suburb. “Literally two minutes later the cops came and got us out.”

At the junction of the Susquehanna and the Chenango rivers, the Binghamton area was the home to Endicott-Johnson shoe company and the birthplace of IBM, which between them employed tens of thousands of workers before the shoe company closed a decade ago and IBM downsized in recent years.

College student Leslie Shrager told the AP that she and her five housemates were sleeping when police pounded on the front door of their house next door to the shooting scene.

Officers escorted the six Binghamton University students outside, she said, and that’s when they learned of the shooting.

U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said in a joint statement that “our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. We … will do everything we can to help.”

At the junction of the Susquehanna and the Chenango rivers, the Binghamton area was the home to Endicott-Johnson shoe company and the birthplace of IBM, which between them employed tens of thousands of workers before the shoe company closed a decade ago and IBM downsized in recent years.

It should be law that if you are going to run for elected offce and you hold an elected office, you must resign from the current office. If you lose, you’re looking for another job.

Well said. Couldn’t agree more!

Richfield, WI — A fatal crash in which a landscaping truck driven by a suspected illegal immigrant collided with a sport utility vehicle Sunday is stirring up new anger over U.S. immigration laws.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!!

Meanwhile, shots have been fired [see below]. This is the logical outcome when citizens are frustrated by politicians at all levels who are selling out their country:

DEVELOPING: A gunman blocked a back door and opened fire at an immigration center in upstate New York Friday, shooting several people and taking dozens more hostage.

There were reportedly “multiple casualties” in the rampage at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, N.Y., but police declined to say whether that’s the case.

The Associated Press reported that at least 6 people were shot and 41 were taken hostage, citing police and media sources.

Binghamton Police told FOXNews.com that they couldn’t confirm whether any of the shooting victims died and wouldn’t give the number shot because it was still “an active scene.”

A local hospital said they were treating at least five shooting victims.