BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 3 minutes ago
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Several people were killed Friday when a gunman walked into an immigrant services center and opened fire, Gov. David Paterson said.
"I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said hours after the gunman shot several people and took dozens hostage.
NBC's Pete Williams cited city and state officials as saying that as many 13 people might have been killed. But Williams cautioned that the information was very preliminary and may change by because police were still searching the building.
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At least 41 people were in the American Civic Association building at the time of the shooting, The Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin reported.
The gunman had a high-powered rifle, Mayor Matthew Ryan told the newspaper. Law enforcement sources later told NBC News that several weapons were recovered from the shooting scene.
The suspect was described as a man in his 20s between 5 feet, 8 inches, and 6 feet tall, wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses.
Police locked down a nearby high school and advised local business owners to stay inside.
Rich Griffith, who works across the street from the hostage scene, said he saw three people carried out of the building on stretchers alive.
At least six hospitalized
Five people with gunshot wounds were being treated at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, according to hospital spokeswoman Christina Boyd.
The wounded ranged in age from 20 to their mid-50s, and their conditions ranged from stable to critical, she said.
Linda Miller, a spokeswoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, confirmed that a student from Binghamton University was being treated in the emergency room.
Around 1 p.m. ET, Pennie Kerber, 72, told the AP in a phone call from her home across the street that the scene appeared to be settling down.
"The cops are all standing around in the front now. They're still all over the roof for sure," she said. "The SWAT shooters that were to the side of the building look like they're not there anymore."
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