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Gunman kills 13, self in 13 dead in New York state

04 April 2009 08:36 (UTC +04:00)

. The attack came just after 10 a.m. by local time at the American Civic Association. The gunman parked his car against the back door, then stormed through the front, shooting two receptionists, apparently without a word. The killer, believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant, then entered a room just off the reception area and fired on a citizenship class. One receptionist was killed, while the other, shot in the abdomen, pretended to be dead and then crawled under a desk and called 911, he said. Police said they arrived within two minutes. The rest of those killed were shot in the classroom. Four people were critically wounded. The man believed to have carried out the attack was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an office, a satchel containing ammunition slung around his neck, authorities said. Thirty-seven people in all made it out of the building, including 26 who hid in the boiler room in the basement, cowering there for three hours while police methodically searched the building and tried to determine whether the gunman was still alive and whether he was holding any hostages. The suspected gunman carried ID with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong, of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., but that was believed to be an alias, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity. President Barack Obama, who was traveling in Europe, said he was shocked and saddened by the shooting, which he called an "act of senseless violence."