Jiverly Antares Wong

Jiverly Antares Wong was born Linh Phat Vuong on December 8, 1967, in South Vietnam, into an ethnic Chinese family. In the late 1980s, he emigrated to the United States with his parents, initially settling in New York before later relocating to California. Wong became a naturalized U.S. citizen in November 1995.

His early adult life in the United States was marked by instability and frequent relocation. In 1992, while living in California, Wong was arrested and convicted of misdemeanor fraud related to forgery. Despite this conviction, he legally registered firearms in both California and New York in later years. He married while living in California but later divorced; the marriage produced no children.

For nearly seven years, Wong worked as a delivery driver for a sushi catering company in Los Angeles. Former coworkers described him as quiet and reserved rather than overtly aggressive. In mid‑2007, he abruptly left California and returned to New York, settling near his parents in the Binghamton area. His employment there was sporadic. He worked at a Shop‑Vac manufacturing plant until it closed in November 2008, after which he struggled to find stable work.

In early 2009, Wong enrolled intermittently in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, an immigration and community assistance center serving refugees and immigrants. His attendance was irregular, and he stopped attending entirely by March 2009.

On the morning of April 3, 2009, Jiverly Antares Wong carried out a mass shooting at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York. At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, Wong arrived at the building and barricaded a rear exit with a vehicle registered in his father’s name, effectively trapping occupants inside. He entered through the front door wearing a bullet‑resistant vest, a bright green jacket, and dark‑rimmed glasses.

Wong immediately opened fire on people in the reception area without issuing any verbal warning. Two receptionists were among the first victims. One was killed instantly, while the other, 61‑year‑old Shirley DeLucia, was critically wounded but survived by feigning death. Despite her injuries, she remained on the phone with emergency dispatchers for nearly 40 minutes, providing crucial information to authorities until she was rescued.

Wong then entered a nearby classroom where an ESL lesson was in progress. Of the 16 people inside, he shot 13, including the instructor. He proceeded to take additional individuals hostage elsewhere in the building. Within minutes of the first 911 calls, police surrounded the site, locking down nearby streets and schools. Uncertain whether the gunman was still active, authorities prepared for prolonged negotiations and even arranged for Vietnamese interpreters to assist if communication became necessary.

At approximately 10:33 a.m., just three minutes after he began shooting and as police alarms sounded, Wong committed suicide by shooting himself inside the classroom where many of his victims lay. In total, he fired 99 rounds: 88 from a 9mm Beretta pistol and 11 from a .45‑caliber Beretta. Investigators recovered both firearms, along with multiple loaded magazines, a laser sight, a hunting knife, and a bag of ammunition tied around his neck.

SWAT teams entered the building cautiously, unaware that Wong was already dead. Over the next several hours, hostages were evacuated from hiding places, including closets and a basement area. By early afternoon, the building was fully cleared.

The attack killed 13 people and wounded four others. Days later, a local television station received a package mailed by Wong containing photographs of himself posing with firearms, copies of identification and permits, and a rambling handwritten letter alleging police persecution and expressing paranoid beliefs.