BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The man who gunned down 13 people at an upstate New York immigration center fired 98 shots from two handguns in a little more than a minute, police said Wednesday, a gunslinging feat one expert said would make him a “new Rambo.” Ballistics reports showed Jiverly Wong fired 87 times from a 9mm Beretta and 11 times from a .45-caliber handgun. If he bought the ammunition online, he could have paid as little as $40 for the rounds he fired. Police said almost all 13 victims died instantly. Four others were wounded but survived. Wong, 41, killed himself as police were rushing to the scene.
Wisconsin: Double voting
A man said Wednesday that he voted in his late wife’s name in November to fulfill her dying wish to cast a ballot for Barack Obama. Stephen Wroblewski, 64, of Milwaukee, said he plans to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot. His wife, Jacqueline Wroblewski, was a veteran Democratic activist and former poll worker who died of lung cancer in August.
Rhode Island: Columbus out
Brown University is taking the “Columbus Day” out of Columbus Day weekend. The faculty voted at a meeting Tuesday to establish a new academic holiday in October called “Fall Weekend.” The long weekend coincides with Columbus Day. Hundreds of Brown students had asked the Providence school to stop observing Columbus Day, citing the explorer’s violent treatment of Native Americans he encountered.
Colorado: Ponzi allegation
A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme from his suburban Denver home for about 15 years, bilking investors out of millions of dollars to collect religious art and classic cars. A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Shawn Merriman collected up to $20 million from investors to support a lavish lifestyle. Merriman has not been charged but the matter remains under investigation, a spokesman with the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Florida: Murder, suicide
A central Florida woman who fatally shot her 20-year-old son then killed herself at a Casselberry shooting range left recorded messages that said she was the anti-Christ and that she needed to save her son. In rambling, teary audio recordings left for her boyfriend and authorities, as well as shorter suicide notes, Marie Moore, 44, apologized several times and said repeatedly: “I had to send my son to heaven and myself to Hell.”
North Korea: Kim re-elected
North Korea’s official news agency says Kim Jong Il has been re-elected as leader of the communist nation. The Korean Central News Agency reported today that Kim was elected chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission. Under North Korea’s constitution, that makes him leader of the country since his late father Kim Il Sung remains “eternal president.” All eyes will be on the 67-year-old Kim as he presides over the opening session of North Korea’s new rubber-stamp parliament.
Russia: Red star to remain
Russian lawmakers on Wednesday reversed their earlier decision to have Soviet-era red stars on military aircraft repainted in three colors of the national flag. The Kremlin-controlled lower house of parliament voted 408-0 with one abstention to keep the five-pointed stars red and only add stripes in the national colors around their contour. The move reverses the preliminary approval in December of a bill that called for repainting the stars in red, white and blue. Red stars have adorned the nation’s military aircraft since the 1917 Bolshevik revolution and are a powerful symbol.
Guatemala: Cycle-rider ban
Guatemala is banning more than one person from riding on motorcycles in a policy aimed at stamping out attacks by cycle-mounted hit men. Guatemala’s assistant police director said more than 60 bus drivers or assistants have been shot by gunmen so far this year, and most of the attackers rode on the back of a motorcycle. The law goes into effect today. Gangs extort money from bus operators in exchange for protection. Those who refuse to pay are often attacked.
From Herald news services
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