Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings

Imagine being one of the people, minding their own business, attending class and all hell breaks loose with a gunman on a rampage shooting people he does not even know.

Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings
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NEW: Police execute search warrant at suspected gunman's home

NEW: Authorities have also talked with shooting suspect's mother

Fourteen people, including gunman, died Friday in N.Y. immigration center shootings

(CNN) -- Authorities are still sorting out the details after a shooting rampage Friday at a Binghamton, New York, immigration center left 14 people dead, including the suspected gunman.

A senior law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40s.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Wong's home in Johnson City, near Binghamton, and spoke to the suspect's mother, the source said.

Earlier in the day, Binghamton police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the gunman entered the American Civic Association building. At 10:31 a.m., authorities received a 911 call from the receptionist, who said she'd been shot in the stomach, Zikuski said.

She told police that a man with a handgun also shot and killed another receptionist before proceeding to a nearby classroom, where he gunned down more victims, Zikuski said.

Authorities said 37 people made it out of the building alive, most of the survivors managed to survive by hiding in a boiler room and storage closets.
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Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings

The investigation will go on and people have gone home. The gunman is dead and while some think he cannot hurt anyone else now, the truth is, he will keep hurting people for many more years. The survivors of the attack will keep paying the price and so will their families for a very long time. Some will recover, but as this article points out, it has a lot to do with the history of the survivors. Sometimes it is one traumatic event too many opening the door for PTSD but other times, it's because the individual exposed to the events carries away the pain of others along with their own.

Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings
Press & Sun-Bulletin - Binghamton,NY,USA
By Vanessa Ebbeling • vebbeling1@gannett.com • Staff Writer • April 3, 2009
BINGHAMTON -- They're alive.


But the 37 survivors who walked away from Friday's massacre at American Civic Association might face debilitating emotions in the wake of the shooting tragedy that left 14 dead. Symptoms and the coping mechanisms will be as different as the individuals themselves, mental health experts said.

"It's normal for people to feel anxiety and feel depressed; people often have trouble sleeping," said Meredith Coles, an assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University. "Typically, that goes down over time and that's one of the amazing things about people facing trauma."

Humans are incredibly resilient and can recover -- and even thrive -- after traumatic experiences. But if symptoms persist for weeks or months, survivors should seek professional help.

"They'll also attempt to avoid stimuli that arouse recollections of the trauma," he said. "But these are normal responses to an abnormal event."

The degree of a survivor's symptoms might depend on their involvement in the circumstance and past traumas in their life.

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How can you ever feel safe after this? How can you believe you do not have to look over your shoulder or wonder where the next attack will happen? You can't but you do get to a point when you are able to rationalize that an abnormality like this does not happen every place you go. Your nerves will stop jumping and your senses will not be out of control forever as time replaces this horrific part of your life. The key is to start talking about it, let it out, so that it does not take root inside of you. Too many survivors stuff the horror into the back of their minds, avoiding any discussion or memory of it and they allow it to end up ruling their lives after. You couldn't control the event but you are in control when it comes to you and what you do to heal from it. If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find people to listen. If you need a shoulder to lean on, reach out for it. Do not suffer in silence if you find you need help to heal.

UPDATE
Binghamton struggles to understand why
Wearing body armor and carrying two weapons, Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with his car on Friday, then went inside and fatally shot 13 people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. "Whatever drove this individual to do what he did I cannot possibly fathom," said Angela Leach, a representative of the association. "He must have been a coward," said Police Chief Joseph Zikuski. full story