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Forty Possibly Taken Hostage in Civic Assn. Building in Binghamton, N.Y., Several Killed

Aired April 03, 2009 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We will. We'll keep going, continuing on this story, Tony. Thank you so much.

We are following the breaking news that Tony's been talking about out of Binghamton, New York. A multiple shooting inside a building there. At least four people have been shot and killed, more than a dozen wounded at a center that helps immigrants and refugees. And the gunman apparently is still inside.

There are reports of many hostages that are being taken, people running for their lives, hiding in closets. SWAT team members, including its sharpshooters and a hostage negotiator, on the scene. It seems to be ongoing, pretty chaotic. And it's really hard to lock in on hard numbers or details right now, but we're working all of our sources to get accurate information for you as soon as we can.

Let's just put some perspective on the unfolding standoff right now. Mike Brooks, CNN security analyst, has been able to talk to his sources there in Binghamton.

What have you been able to find out, Mike?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Kyra, law enforcement sources very close to the situation have told me that, apparently, during a citizenship test for immigrants, there at the center, a male, who's possibly Asian, opened fire.

Early indications are that there's four dead, more than a dozen wounded. There could be anywhere between 20 to 40 hostages. The Binghamton Police Department, they are requesting mutual aid from local jurisdictions to help them with the containment in the initial stages of this hostage situation. You've also got the New York State Police with their negotiators and SWAT teams. And also the FBI, out of the Albany division, are sending their SWAT, their tactical team, as well as negotiators there to the scene to assist Binghamton police.

PHILLIPS: And let's just -- just so viewers have an understanding of what's going down, because they see these pictures with police officers and guns and the SWAT Team.

BROOKS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And so first of all, we don't know how many people are still inside that building. Correct? It has not been completely evacuated? BROOKS: No, we do not, Kyra. We do now know where people are. They could be spread out throughout the building. We do not know this at this time. You know, they don't know where the gunman is right now. We haven't heard if negotiations are ongoing.

Again, but this is still the early stages. You know, you call the first part of a situation like this, Kyra, your stabilization and control phase of an operation. And that's where you want to try to find -- get everything in perspective, get all the wounded out if you can, and then set up your perimeter and try to locate the hostage taker, the shooter, whether he be an active shooter still in the building, we don't know. But you want to try to get contact with him or her and negotiate if possible.

PHILLIPS: And here's where the SWAT team has to be extremely careful, because you don't want anybody else inside to get hurt. You want to get your hand on that gunman or at least some -- establish some type of communication so you can try and talk him out of this situation.

And then also, you know, you're worried about everybody on the outside of that building, as well.

BROOKS: Oh, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: So it's a complicated, you know, ballet dance, if you will, for the SWAT team in how they proceed from this point forward, Mike.

BROOKS: Absolutely. You're right on target with that, Kyra. You know, you set up your containment.

And you also worry about, OK, if the gunman is still inside and comes to a window, you know, you need to evacuate the area. These are all things that the incident commander are getting together with negotiator, the tactical team leaders, and they're trying to figure out, OK, where do we go from here?

And then you want to try to, again, as you said, try to make some kind of contact with the -- with the hostage taker inside.

But again, early stages of this investigation and of this tactical operation, and you know, it's just very, very fluid right now.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mike, stay with me. Please continue to call your sources there in Binghamton, because you're getting great information for us.

While you're working that, let's bring in someone who's dealt with incidents like this up close and personal. Howard Robertson is the former commander of the New Orleans Police SWAT team. He's on the phone with me now.

Howard, a number of times, working in New Orleans, I was right there with you as you went to go out to calls like this. I remember one thing you told me, you were always concerned about the escalating threat to try to save those remaining people inside the building.

Can you explain to our viewers, once you arrive on the scene, how you're trying to get in touch with that gunman in some way but, at the same time, trying to prevent the loss of life?

HOWARD ROBERTSON, FMR. CMDR., NEW ORLEANS POLICE SWAT TEAM: Well, the thing that's happening right now that the SWAT commander's really looking at is, you've got -- you had an early escalation with several people shot. And that's normally when you have to react right away.

But then there's a calm, and some hostages were released, so there's a calming stage right now. So it's given the SWAT commander a chance to kind of prepare if he has to make a sudden entry. But at the same time, he has time to maybe try to make contact.

You know, right now intelligence is the most important thing that he can gather. I understand that they found the shooter's car, which means they could go back to his house, maybe search the house, find out if there's stuff in the house. Whether or not he has a bomb with him would make a big difference on the type of entry that can be made.

So right now the intelligence gathering is enormous. The people who were able to escape, talking to them and finding out anything he said, his state of mind. There's a good chance he's going to kill himself. So you have to kind of know whether or not he's willing to take himself out or if he's going to take other people out when he goes. And that's going to make a decision on how the SWAT commander handles the role.

PHILLIPS: And you bring up a really good point. OK, he's already opened fire. We're getting reports that four people have been shot and, obviously, dozens more possibly being taken hostage. So you make the point that there could be a moment of calm here. So he's already taken drastic action.

So -- and I know you've studied the mindset of these types of guys before. Is it possible that he's just trying to figure out what his next move is, and is that the time when you try to find a relative, a friend, somebody to get on the phone or establish some type of communication with him to try and talk him out of this?

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. You know, most of the time when a shooter goes in like this, if you look at most of the school incidents, it's -- they go in, and they are looking to shoot somebody, and probably figure they're going to be killed or kill themselves by this point. Since it didn't happen, he probably hasn't thought his plan any further.

So now he's in that lull of, "What do I do?" He knows he can't get out. So does he kill himself or does he make the police kill him?

PHILLIPS: So, OK. So -- and while he's sort of in this lull -- and we haven't gotten any more reports of him opening fire.

ROBERTSON: Right. PHILLIPS: We haven't seen anybody -- any additional people being brought out in stretchers to this point. Tell me what the SWAT team is doing. They're not only securing the perimeter around this building, but they're trying to probably figure out -- correct me if I'm wrong -- how they're going to make entry, where exactly he's in the building. And that's -- explain that process, Howard.

ROBERTSON: I can tell you that they have somebody who works in that billing that has drawn a diagram, if they don't have blueprints of the building. And they're training on the sod (ph) out of view exactly how they can make an entrance, where, if there's a secondary entrance, there's a second-story entrance, how they can get in. What type of distraction devices they can use that will allow them to get in.

And they'll be ready to make that entry. For instance, if he starts shooting again, would be my key to, you know, no more human life lost. So if he starts shooting, you've got to go in and end this situation. As long as he's not shooting, you can kind of negotiate with him, which is what they're trying to do, to keep things to where no one else gets hurt, no one, you know, not even him.

But they're practicing right now for that dynamic entry to get in and end this situation, which I think will happen if he starts any more aggressive activity.

PHILLIPS: And also to, Howard, explain to our viewers, I mean there are reports out there that possibly there are 40 hostages in that building. There are some reports saying that 15 are in a closet, there's another 26 in the boiler room. As you can imagine, there's probably a lot of people on their cell phones, their BlackBerries, trying to make contact with people so police can get information.

So let's say, for example, he doesn't start to open fire so they don't have to enter that building right away. Let's say they figure out where he is, they locate where he is. How does the SWAT team maneuver to take him down without the threat of any of those hostages that he could have around him or he could have a gun to somebody's head?

ROBERTSON: Well, that's where all the intelligence gathering is coming in right now. You know, is there closed-circuit TVs inside that business? If there is, like in a bank, they can tap into that and start looking. If there's not, they're going to send a recon team out to be able to get cameras inside so that they can see what's going on.

They're going to find intelligence some kind of way to know what room he's in, where he's located, what type of weapons he has, whether or not he has a bulletproof vest and whether or not he actually has hostages and how many. That will make a big, big difference in the type of entry and, you know, the action the officers take.

PHILLIPS: Howard Robertson, former commander of the New Orleans Police SWAT Team, Howard, please stay with me.

Also Mike Brooks, our CNN security analyst, working his sources there in Binghamton, New York.

Just to bring you update -- updated real quickly, we're getting reports at least four people have been shot, dozen -- dozens of others being held hostage right now by a gunman here at this center, the American Civic Center in Binghamton, New York.

What exactly does this center do? Well, it assists immigrants and refugees with immigration, personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification, interpreters, translators. It aims to foster cross-cultural understanding for the entire community, but today something obviously has gone horribly wrong.

Apparently, an Asian male was taking a citizenship test, we are being told, and opened fire. He is apparently still in that building, and dozens of people possibly still being held hostage.

We want to welcome our international viewers as we continue following this breaking news coverage. While we've got Howard standing by, also Mike Brooks, Josh Levs, you've been checking out all the Web sites on the shootings. What are local stations reporting? Any new information thus far that I haven't been able to cover?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you've got a good amount of it right there. What I can do is give people a sense of the area, layout about the area, some context about everything we're seeing.

Let's zoom in. You'll see here at iReport.com someone's already grabbed that photo we've been showing and posting about it here. Beginning a conversation, how concerned they are about everyone.

A lot of the information, Kyra, you were just sharing comes from the UnitedWayBroome -- with an "E" dot org. And this is the organization. This is what it does, what you were just talking about. The American Civic Association Inc.

What we learned here is that it's Front Street, and what I want to do is show everyone how it fits into Binghamton, where it is. This "A" right here, along this yellow line, up along the river. That shows you the building that we're talking about.

And any time I hear about a crime situation, one of the first things I like to see is what that street is like? Do we have to be concerned, let's say, about other homes there, about small businesses, about other people in that area?

Let's zoom in one more time. You're going to see what this looks like. That's the key building we're talking about right now. I'll emphasize, it's not live. But thanks to Google Street View, we're able to take a look at what the road looks like and kind of zoom around. You can see some of the homes here. You can see small businesses. You can see some of the structures that are set up.

Obviously, as we're seeing in our video right now, authorities are across that area. We can be confident that anyone who needs to be away from that area is away from it at this point. At least we certainly hope so. But that's what the area looks like in general.

A couple more things to show you, where we're getting all our latest information, how you can keep up with this if you're on the road, if you can't stay with CNN TV. It's currently our top story, as you can imagine, Kyra -- of course it is -- CNN.com. We've got all sorts of details. We continuously update this. It says right here, "Official: Hostages Held After Multiple Shootings."

And I'm going to show you a couple of our affiliates that have been doing a good job following this, as well. This right here, WBNG, one of our affiliates in Binghamton. BNG, very memorable, like Binghamton.

And finally, PressConnect brings you to "Binghamton Press." And you know, people are Twittering about this. We're going to keep our eyes on all the elements online, keep bringing you whatever information we have to kind of put it in context, obviously, while we all focus on the key mission here for the authorities, Kyra, which is to get everyone out safely now.

PHILLIPS: Indeed. Josh, thank you so much.

We want to welcome once again our international viewers joining us now as we follow this breaking news story. On the phone with me now, Marshall Viall. I'm told he actually used this service in 2007 to help bring his wife from China. The service that we're talking about is the American Civic Association. That is where, apparently, this gunman is holding possibly dozens of hostages. This is an organization that assists immigrants, refugees, immigration and personal counseling issues, everything around the immigration process. Marshall did use this in 2007. Joining us on the phone now.

Marshall, give us sort of an idea of how this works, because it sounds like you utilized the same type of help, counseling, to get your wife here from China. And apparently this might be someone that was taking a citizenship test and opened fire right there inside the center.

Can you just kind of tell us how this works? And have you ever seen anything like this happen before where folks are getting irate or upset about their immigration process?

MARSHALL VIALL, USED AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION SERVICES: No. My -- as I mentioned previously to the individual that called me initially, I had gone through various approaches to sign up for the immigration of having my wife come to this country with very little success.

Through the investigation of what services were available, I met Fred Czezinsky (ph), who was the executive director down there. And he became a good friend of mine and worked with me diligently. And through his efforts, I was able to have my wife come over and get her visa in a relatively short period of time.

I had been there on numerous occasions, even some of the outdoor events that they do, where numerous immigrants provide food from different -- from their countries for sale. And everything seemed extremely good. They have a number of events that they put on for the families and individuals from the different countries, an their families domestically, and it's always been a very warm and pleasant attitude. This is quite a shock to me. I'm very, very surprised.

PHILLIPS: So do you know, by chance, if the executive director, if Fred Czezinsky (ph), is inside that building, Marshall?

VIALL: No, I do not. I just contacted the Catholic Charities, and they said that, as of right now, their knowledge is that four people have been moved to Lourdes Hospital, which is not far from the facility. The surrounding areas have been locked down. And there is no other information available at this time. And I'm listening to the radio just to see if I can determine whether or not any additional casualties have been realized or whether the situation has resolved itself.

PHILLIPS: OK. So Marshall, let me ask you: have you actually called the home of the executive director of this American Civic Association?

VIALL: No, I have not.

PHILLIPS: Do you have his phone number by chance?

VIALL: I have -- the only number I do have is the one at the facility itself.

PHILLIPS: His direct office number?

VIALL: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: Do me a favor. I'm just going to take you off the line for a second, if you don't mind giving that phone number to my crew there in the control room, because I'd sure like to call, just go for it and call his direct line and see if, by chance, he picks up the phone. And then I'll bring you back to me.

I'll update my viewers right now as we're looking through live pictures. You can see our affiliate there, News 10 bringing us live pictures of all the ambulances, police forces. The SWAT truck you can see off to the side there. Also firefighters on the scene, as it converges right here at the American Civic Association there in Binghamton, New York.

Just to bring you up to date, this is all the information we have at this time. There's a lot of information floating around via the local news and also our sources here about how many people are still held hostage, how many people have been shot, how many people have been killed.

But I can tell you at least four people have been shot and dozens of people possibly taken to the -- to the hospital after a gunman, possibly an Asian male in his 20s, opening fire. Our Mark -- Mike Brooks, our security analyst, has been talking to his sources there in Binghamton, New York. He says the sources tell him that this Asian male was taking a citizenship test and possibly opened fire right there in the middle of that center. Possibly up to 40 hostages, we are being told. Maybe 15 or so hiding in a closet still, 26 in the boiler room. Do not know where that gunman is at this point, but the SWAT team is working hard to try to locate him and prevent any more loss of life.

We're going to continue this breaking news story. We'll be right back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Welcome back to our international viewers and domestic viewers as we continue to follow a breaking news story here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This is what we know so far: At least four people have been shot, several people, we are told, taken hostage at an immigration service center in Binghamton, New York.

This is the actual center that you are looking at: the American Civic Association. It assists immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal counseling, all types of issues about readjusting and coming into the United States.

You're looking right now at our special Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping system of the situation that's taking place in Binghamton right now.

Chad Myers has been following -- working the system for us and following through those special maps for us to try to give you an idea of where exactly this is and how it's all unfolding right now.

And Chad, just to point out, you know, the numbers are so sketchy right now. We're hearing possibly 40 hostages being held inside that building. The gunman, they still believe, is inside that building. But we do know at least four people have been shot and several more taken hostage and to the hospital.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And we've been showing you Google Earth most of the day. We have another tool. It's called Microsoft Virtual Earth. They have different abilities than the Google Earth does. It's just a different process, different images.

Right here in the middle of the screen, that's the civic association building there. I'm going to spin you around, about 90 degrees. Then we'll zoom right into the side of the building. Notice all the glass along the side of the building.

An earlier report today also said that the gunman barricaded the back door with his car. That would be that back door right there. Right there you can see that that would be an entrance or an exit.

Now the parking lot to this building is in the back of the building, away from Front Street, a very long building. Front Street on the top of your screen, and zooming out you can see the alleys along the side. A very large church here to the right of the building, as well.

Rotate it one more time, you can see the other side. Little bit more difficult to see because of the other building in the way. There may be some entrances and exits here. But we do know, though, there's a lot of glass on the front of the billing itself.

And then I'll spin you around, all the way around to the front again. And here's our original picture. There's the original screen. And that's basically the same shot you're seeing but at a lower angle on Google Earth. This is what we called the oblique angle here on the Microsoft Virtual image.

And I can keep zooming out for you, right along the Chenango River. Front Street, the River Street here, the river side, and then obviously across the street here. The church, and then really the witnesses saying only about a two-minute walk directly to downtown Binghamton itself, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Chad, appreciate it.

Let's bring in our security analyst here at CNN, Mike Brooks.

Mike, you were mentioning all the law enforcement entities that are there on the scene now, the FBI now assisting the police department in Binghamton.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Also the FBI there in Albany has sent hostage negotiators, of course, and there's negotiators with the SWAT team, evidence response team, command post assistance, obviously everything working out of that command post.

Why don't you explain how the FBI is going to help assist? I'm assuming this is with intelligence...

BROOKS: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: ... about the alleged shooter. Right?

BROOKS: Exactly. And let me just make something clear, Kyra. We know that there was a citizenship test going on at the time. We don't know if he was there taking the test. So he may have walked in on this -- on this test. We don't know, but we don't know for sure if he was actually taking it.

Now on the FBI side of things, they will assist the local law enforcement there with anything they need. As we know, they're sending hostage negotiators, because they're the ones -- the FBI, actually, they're the ones that train all of the local police departments' negotiators throughout the country. They trained me initially at -- down at Quantico. And then I wound up being one of the instructors assisting them during their classes. They also are going to help with the evidence response team. Once they get inside this building, once this building is clear, Kyra, it is going to be a huge crime scene. The FBI has the evidence response team technicians. They'll come in and assist Binghamton with that.

And they'll also, as I said, as you stated, with the command post, they'll provide any kind of command post, case management as this goes along. They'll also provide any intelligence, help them with any intelligence gathering, any evidence.

We heard from Howard, one of the big things that I can tell you as a former operator and negotiator, intelligence during a situation like this is vitally important. If there's leads that need to be run in other states, the FBI will assist in that kind of thing.

So they're there to help. But I just want to make clear that the Binghamton Police Department, they're in charge of this situation.

PHILLIPS: All right. So -- and that command post, extremely important. Sort of explain the dynamic of that. It's sort of where the board goes up, and they've got the Sharpies. And they're strategizing what the inside of that building looks like. And they're figuring out, OK, who's -- what are the negotiators going to do? I'm assuming that they'll try to make calls and get in touch with the shooter, the alleged shooter from inside that command post.

Meanwhile, there's another team -- right, Mike?

BROOKS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Strategizing how they're going to make entry if he opens fires -- if he opens fire again.

BROOKS: That's exactly right. You've got your tactical element. You've got your negotiator -- your negotiator element. And you've got -- you know, and they basically work together, because you can't have one without the other. Providing intelligence.

If they do finally make contact with him, inside, you know, everything that he says, they will go ahead and listen to everything. And that will help the tactical team decide whether or not they have to make a dynamic -- dynamic entry, make an emergency assault.

Again, as Howard pointed out, you know, if there is additional shooting coming from inside there, one of the first things that the tactical team does, they develop a plan: where is going to be our main point of entry? Where are our secondary breach points? All of these things come into play in the early -- early goings of a situation like this.

But as it goes along, they will also, as part of the command post, they'll just -- they'll keep gathering intelligence, and it will be funneled through, you know, one person. So everybody is reading off the same sheet of music when you have a situation like this. PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, stay with me. Our breaking news coverage continues after a quick break. If you're just tuning in, please stay with us. We're telling you about a gunman still holed up inside the American Civic Association there in Binghamton, New York.

So far it looks like he has not opened fire -- or opened fire again. This could be a good moment, a good moment of calm where law enforcement officials can get in touch with him and try to get him out of that building while possibly up to 40 people still may be held hostage inside that building.

We're on it; we're working our sources. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We continue to follow breaking news now out of Binghamton, New York. This is what we know so far. Multiple shooting inside a building there. We are told a man with a rifle has shot and killed at least four people, wounded more than a dozen others right here at this center that helps immigrants and refugees at the American Civic Association located right there in Binghamton, New York.

The gunman apparently still inside. There's reports of up to 40 hostages that have been taken. SWAT team members, which include sharpshooters, hostage negotiators, even the FBI on the scene there, assisting the SWAT team.

There's still a lot that we don't know, so it's hard to lock in on those hard numbers or details at this point. But we're working all of our sources to try and get as much accurate information to you as possible.

Let's bring in someone, once again, who's dealt with incidents like this a number of times up close and personal for a number of years: Howard Robertson, former commander of the New Orleans Police SWAT Team. He's on the phone with us once again.

And Howard, I know you're watching the ongoing coverage and keeping up with details; also watching part of the live pictures and video thus far. What's your take? I think one of the most important things you pointed out is it looks like there could be a moment of calm here, which gives law enforcement officials a good opportunity to try and make contact with that shooter.

ROBERTSON: Well, from my perspective, at this point when you get that moment of calm, that's when the SWAT commander really uses his brain. I mean, that's when you're gathering all the intelligence possible. Like I just saw there's a possibility he has a high-powered rifle. And that changes everything because the high-powered rifle can penetrate the normal officer's bullet-proof vest.

So, it changes your whole way of thinking, the type of weapons he has. It also gives you a chance to go talk to family members, relatives and find out if there's somebody there that he may listen to, to help calm him down. It's a great opportunity to start negotiations, providing he speaks English. If not, you have to bring somebody else in.

I'm sure that's why the FBI is there, because the FBI can bring in interpreters that kind of help, you know, make things smoother and keep things calm.

PHILLIPS: And...

ROBERTSON: The thing -- go ahead, Kyra. Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: No, no. Go ahead, Howard.

ROBERTSON: The think that surprises me the most is when I look at the pictures, and you look at the front of the building, all the streets are blocked. You know, the police cars are around, and there's still a lot of people just walking casually in front of the building. Knowing he's armed and knowing he has a high-powered rifle, I'm surprised to see that, unless they have intelligence that he's in the back of the building.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, because at any moment, it's possible he could just start opening fire from one of those windows up top. And that puts everybody in extreme danger.

ROBERTSON: Correct, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: OK, so you also mentioned, too -- and by the way, I want to welcome our international viewers. They're joining us now as well. We'll bring you up to date on the breaking news that we're following. It's a shooting in Binghamton, New York. The gunman still, we believe, is inside the American Civic Association there in Binghamton, possibly 40 hostages at this point.

Howard, you brought up an interesting point about the fact that he had a car parked in the back. Apparently, it was blocking the back door, so he was thinking about possible some sort of exit strategy, maybe if he came through that building and took off through the back. Now, that's an advantage to police officers because that could give them a lot of vital information about who this person is.

ROBERTSON: If they know who the perpetrator is inside, they can go inside his house. They can get a warrant to search his house and find out what's inside the house. Now, in the house may have ammunition to tell him exactly how many weapons he has. It may have plans of -- you know, that he has drawn this up on paper. It gives them a chance to talk to neighbors to find out about the person.

They may find a phone list of friends and relatives that they can contact. You know, tell him if he's been angry at something, if he's just been fired, if his, you know, wife or girlfriend left him, what triggered this event, which should help the negotiations.

Because negotiations is all about building rapport, making that person believe that tomorrow's going to be a better day, that they want to live. No matter what they just did, that they want to live. And the only way to make that happen is to find something that he believes in, find something that he loves and make that the most important thing, not the incident that's happening right now.

PHILLIPS: Former SWAT commander of the New Orleans Police Department, Howard Robertson, stay with me. We're going to take a quick break and continue our breaking news coverage out of Binghamton, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We continue to follow the breaking news out of Binghamton, New York right now, a multiple shooting inside a building there. A man with a rifle has shot and killed at least four people, wounded more than a dozen others. Let's go straight to the scene, listen to the live reporter with News 10, Neil St. Clair.

NEIL ST. CLAIR, NEWS 10 NOW CORRESPONDENT: At the moment, we are advising all parents of students to please go to Catholic Charities. I believe that is 290 Front Street in Binghamton. You can head over there to pick up your children. That's where they had advised most of them to go after the school was locked down.

As of right now we have at least four confirmed that have been injured. They have been taken to Lourdes Hospital. Lourdes Hospital has a triage center set up. They have all elective surgeries are canceled for the moment. They are taking these victims as their top priority. And so they will be getting in there as soon as possible.

Again, we do not have any confirmed dead, but at least four confirmed injured, possibly more. But it seems that the standoff may have had some major developments just here in the last few moments. Of course, we'll bring you the latest as it happens. From now from the scene, Neil St. Clair reporting, News 10 Now.

PHILLIPS: All right, that's one of our affiliates there in Binghamton, New York. And Neil St. Clair reporting on the scene for News 10. We'll dip in there as soon as he brings us on the scene information.

But this is what I can tell you what we know so far. I'm sort of piecing together all the information that we have. Live pictures now from our affiliate, News 10. You see all the law enforcement and the fire trucks, the command post there with the SWAT team, everything set up.

We are going to put this on a delay. God forbid anything else happens inside that building. Apparently the gunman is still inside this American Civic Association there in Binghamton. Through our security analyst Mike Brooks, apparently there was a citizenship test that was going on, and we don't know if this gunman was taking it or not, but that is where he apparently opened fire.

Word is, he's got a high-powered rifle. Also we are being told he has shot and killed four people, possibly wounding others, possibly holding up to 40 people hostage inside that building.

What exactly is the American Civic Association? Well, it's a place where immigrants go, refugees go for counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification, interpreters, translators. It tries to foster cross-cultural understanding for the entire community as they come into Binghamton, New York.

Something went horribly wrong today, obviously. Possibly an Asian male in his 20s being the one that opened fire, and now possibly holding at least 40 people hostage. Josh Levs getting in some iReports, also following all the Web sites for us, all our affiliates and how they're covering this story. Josh, what have you been able to find out?

LEVS: Well, I'll tell you, Kyra, I mean, the best we can do here from here or I can do is give you kind of the context and the images of what the area looks like. Let's zoom in for a second. I want to show you some iReports.

As you just said, we got these photos from Garo Catchadorian (ph), who lives in that area, was far enough away, where the police were letting people be. But if you look here, you get a sense of what it looks like from the ground. We've been seeing some video, also some of those aerial shots before. This gives you a sense of what it's like here. Now, if any of our iReporters are out there in a position to take photos safely of what the area looks like to you and obviously not affecting authorities in any way, go ahead, keep sending them -- ireport.com.

What I'd like to do is show you a couple Web sites to give you the big picture of what's been going on here. First of all, this is the site we've been talking about as well -- Let me see if I can get back to it -- American Civic Association, Inc. It tells you a little bit about what it's about. It assists immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal counseling and other things as well. They're obviously not posting about what's happened. This is their standing Web site.

But there's one more thing I've been doing. We're just showing you kind of what this street looks like. It gives you a sense of what it's like in general, because all of a sudden, you're seeing all these pictures, all these authorities and people gathered out there.

Let's zoom back in one more time. I want to take you over here. And you should be able to see from here what the area looks like. This is it on a normal day, apparently. That's the building right there in white. I'm using Google Earth right now, and I'm going to zoom you over here to show you what the street looks like. It appears to be private residences here as well as some small businesses in the area.

Obviously, police have been in touch with people in the area. All the reports are saying that. Some people have been evacuated. You can take a look around this area, and you can see what the street is like at a normal day, at a normal time. Obviously, you can imagine the kind of shock that something like this can cause. Kyra, there you go. That's the latest we have here.

PHILLIPS: And I've got more questions for you. Stay with me. Let's go to Neil St. Clair, News 10. He's on the scene. ST. CLAIR: (INAUDIBLE) just happened over there by the ACA just a few moments ago?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I saw people two people just get brought out in cuffs.

ST. CLAIR: So, you saw two people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ST. CLAIR: OK, and could you describe them for me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They looked like Asians, foreign people.

ST. CLAIR: So, they were a couple of Asian people that were taken out of the building. They were taken out in handcuffs. Were they male? Were they female?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were both male.

ST. CLAIR: They were both male. And what did the scene look like then? Was it a large swarm of police? Did they look like suspects? Were they perhaps victims? What did it seem?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had handcuffs. They had their hands behind their back, and there was, like, a large swarm of police coming down the street with them.

ST. CLAIR: OK. And did you see any hostages taken out? We know there were more than 30 hostages. Have you seen anybody released from the ACA in the last few moments?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I haven't.

ST. CLAIR: OK. We're going to bring another eyewitness in over here, if you wouldn't mind, for just one moment. Hi there, and what is your name?

KRISTIN MALONE (ph), EYEWITNESS: Kristin Malone (ph).

ST. CLAIR: Hi, Kristin (ph). OK, can you just go ahead and describe to me the scene that you've seen? You've obviously been here for a while. Tell me what you've been seeing.

MALONE (ph): I saw two men, Asian, get brought into handcuffs in the back of the police cars. And I saw a group of people leave the building.

ST. CLAIR: So, you did in fact see a group of people that were actually taken out?

MALONE (ph): (INAUDIBLE)

ST. CLAIR: OK, fantastic. All right, is there anything else you can add?

MALONE (ph): There's just a lot of people mad about the situation. There's people yelling. But two of them are caught, so...

ST. CLAIR: Now, I sort of heard a cheer go up when the arrests were announced. Was that people reacting to this possible arrest?

MALONE (ph): Yes, just reactions, like, happy that they finally got them and they're taken care of.

ST. CLAIR: Fantastic. So, it seems that the standoff may be coming to an end at this point.

MALONE (ph): Yes, hopefully.

ST. CLAIR: Fantastic. OK, thanks so much. All right.

Well, as you can see, people are running actually towards the scene right now, saying they caught them. So, as far as we can tell, some eyewitnesses are saying that two people were actually taken out, both of Asian decent, both male, we believe, that were taken out of the building.

And it seems that the hostages for the moment have been freed. So, this standoff may be coming to an end. It was obviously a very violent day here, but hopefully things will resolve very quickly. And of course, we will bring you all the updates as they become available to us.

From the scene, Neil St. Clair, News 10 Now.

PHILLIPS: All right, we were just listening to our affiliate there, News 10, Neil St. Clair in Binghamton, New York. It is possible -- we've not been able to confirm this yet. Obviously, Neil is there on the scene. He's interviewing some eyewitnesss. They are saying they say two Asian males brought out the back in handcuffs. They saw a group of people being taken out of the American Civic Association there. He said that he did hear some cheering, so it is possible that this hostage situation is over.

This is what we know so far. At least four people have been shot, several people taken hostage at this immigration services center in Binghamton. Possibly 40 people were in there. We still don't know.

But now we're getting reports from the local affiliate and the reporter there on the scene, News 10, that this may be over, that their eyewitnesss did see two Asian males being taken away in handcuffs, a group of people being taken out of that building.

We are hoping that this is coming to an end. We are working our sources to try and confirm that. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Very skeptical right now whether this hostage situation is over or not. We are getting reports that possibly two Asian males inside this civic center, this American Civic Association, which assists immigrants and refugees, word that one possibly opening fire and killing possibly two, now killing four people and taking up to 40 people hostage.

We're getting conflicting reports. We're very skeptical whether this is over or not, but we are following it. It could possibly have come to an end. Bob Joseph, news director with WNBF Radio there in Binghamton joining me on the phone now. Bob, you were bringing us really good information at the beginning of this. Are you hearing that it's over?

VOICE OF BOB JOSEPH, NEWS DIRECTOR, WNBF RADIO: Well been we have gotten signs that indeed the two suspects who were led from the scene in plastic restraints were the people involved. The descriptions certainly match up.

The original description of the shooter who began the violence about three hours and 15 minutes ago was that of an Asian male in his 20s wearing glasses, and that seems to match the description of one of the men who was led to a Binghamton police car in plastic restraints. A few minutes later, another man, also restrained with plastic restraints behind his back, was led to an unmarked police car.

We don't know whether both of them were shooters or if the one man was a shooter and another could have been an accomplice. We had heard that only one man had actually been firing his weapon starting at about 10:30 this morning Eastern time.

Now, what's interesting, you're mentioning plastic restraints and not regular handcuffs. And training that I've gone through and witnessed, usually the plastic restraints are used on individuals they're not quite sure if they were involved or not. If they're pretty sure they've got someone who's opened fire with a high-powered rifle, that's taken the lives of possibly four people, maybe more, they're not going to be using plastic restraints. Do you think that's -- I mean, from your experience, doesn't that catch your attention?

JOSEPH: It would seem to be highly unusual. On the other hand, it's a possibility that the officers who happen to be closest to these men as they were secured, that may have been all they had. You're absolutely correct. It would be very unusual that a violent suspect would be taken into custody using the plastic restraints.

But under the circumstances where police were perhaps just near the building as they were able to get a couple of people out, it could have been the only thing they had. There has to be an atmosphere of horrible confusion inside the building because of so many people who had fled downstairs, as many as 41 people who were in various hiding places shortly after the gunfire broke out.

So, police were being advised, as the SWAT team entered the basement, to use extreme caution because they didn't know if some other suspect could have been mingling in with the others who were hostages. So, I'm sure that everybody who is at least initially perceived to be a hostage has to be check out to verify they are indeed just innocent people and not part of anything that could have been a conspiracy. PHILLIPS: So, bob, do you have any idea if it were -- was it SWAT team members that brought these two Asian men out? Do you know?

JOSEPH: From the description of the police, it appeared that the officers who led these men out were dressed in regular uniform and not necessarily in the type of gear that the SWAT team members would be using.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. OK. Then I think we got -- we definitely need to remain skeptical on who these two males were that were brought out. Bob, will you stay in touch with us and let us know if you hear anything more? Because we'd sure like to get confirmation on if indeed that was the shooter or shooters that were taken out into those police cars just moments ago.

JOSEPH: I will.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Bob. We're going to take a quick break. We'll continue our breaking news coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In breaking news here at the CNN NEWSROOM in Atlanta, Georgia, we want to welcome our international viewers along with our viewers here in the United States. We continue to follow this breaking news story. We are getting word it's possible that this hostage situation has ended, but we have not been able to confirm that thus far.

Here's what we're following out of Binghamton, New York. It was a multiple shooting inside this building right here, the American Civic Association. A man with a high-powered rifle, we're told, has shot and killed at least four people, wounded more than a dozen others at this center that actually focuses on helping immigrants and refugees and gives citizenship tests.

The gunman apparently, we were told, was still inside. But now we are getting reports from eyewitnesses that possibly two Asian males were taken out in plastic restraints. That, of course, got our guard up, the fact that they were thought in handcuffs.

It's possible that these might have been some of the hostages or other people inside that building. You know, when the police bring out any individual in a situation like this, they do have to use plastic restraints because they don't know who's the good guy, who's the bad guy until they've completely cleared out that building and have evidence are able to get inside and figure out exactly what's going on.

So, we're sort of confused whether the gunmen have been captured or not, who are hostages, who are not hostages. We're still tracking that. SWAT team members obviously are there with their hostage negotiators on the scene. The FBI adding support. We're really trying to lock in and confirm all the facts here of this possible ongoing situation in Binghamton. Chad Myers, you've been using Google Earth, also Microsoft Virtual Earth to kind of give us a better look at this scene without compromising what's happening there with the SWAT team.

MYERS: Well, yes. And all these photos and images that we're showing you are stock images from flyovers and satellite passes that happened months ago or days ago or weeks ago, certainly nothing live.

But we'll take you to Google Earth first to kind of give you an idea. It's about 135 miles as the crow flies from New York City on up toward Binghamton. Maybe halfway, as the crow flies, to Buffalo. About 185 miles if you're going to take I-80 on up toward 81. But Binghamton itself, right on the Susquehanna River, right where the Shenango and the Susquehanna come together.

Kind of a long town, because just the way towns appear on the river basin, you get the town that follows the river rather than go up the hills. The building right here in the middle of the screen is the building that we have been watching. We can take you to what's called Google Street View and then click right on the picture itself, very close to the building, and there is -- you can even read the words right on the front of that building: The American Civic Association.

Now, people there in Binghamton, I've heard a lot of the reporters just calling it the ACA, which is probably quite just a local acronym for what we have here. Now I'm going to switch to the live search. This is actually the Microsoft version, almost, if you will, of what Google can do. And you can zoom in, you can zoom out. And what you're doing here will move you up the river, because this is where it is.

And we'll take you as close to it what we can as possible. And there's a church not that far from it, right here down at the bottom of the screen. And here's the oblique version. And I'll spin around. You can see the back of the building here, the side of the building here. And you can do all of this from home on Virtual Earth as well.

But the front of the building, it's a very long building. And the parking lot obviously there in the back of the building, Kyra. We've been watching it for you, obviously. This would be great news if this was completely over. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and just as you say that, Chad, I'm getting word that police there on the scene are confirming that up to 12 people have been killed now in this shooting. And we still cannot confirm whether that gunman or possibly two gunmen now have been arrested. We don't know if the hostages have been taken out of the building there, the American Civic Association, or not. We do know that eyewitnesses -- OK, actually, we're going to go straight to the affiliate, News 10, Neil St. Clair on the scene. Let's listen in.

ST. CLAIR: Any communication with her other than that she's locked down and stuck there until at least 5?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been calling me off and on, so I know she's OK. ST. CLAIR: What's been the feeling inside? Was she scared, upset?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared. She's really scared. I want her out of there.

ST. CLAIR: Absolutely. So, and has the school given you any updates, any place to go and get her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess 233 Front Street.

ST. CLAIR: OK, so they're going to bring you over to 233 Front Street, so that's a notice for parents, like Leanne (ph), so you can go and get your children. Leanne (ph), if you just step aside for one second, we have another witness over here. So, you said that you were actually able to sort of sneak behind police barricades and get a little close to the building. Tell me what you saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the riverbanks, right in front of the civic center. We've got Army Reserve down there. There's SWAT teams in the back. They're sighted on. You've got snipers on the roof. This is the real deal here.

And God bless the victims. And I hope everything goes OK for the people down there. But this is the real deal. I've never seen so many officials in my entire life. It's for real down there.

ST. CLAIR: You were telling me that the police actually had the back door barricaded, that there were snipers over there. Did you see anything at the actual moment of arrest? What did you see over there, and what happened at that moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I didn't see anybody getting arrested, but I saw a lot of gentlemen, you know, SWATed up, all armed -- uniformed up, and they're running around. They're frantic. They're on the radios.

There's a lot of activity going on in the windows. It almost looked like they were ready to go in for a second. So, I kind of stood back. But they saw me, told me to back up. I didn't want to get in anybody's way, either. I was just trying to, you know, get a peek in there, you know what I'm saying.

ST. CLAIR: All right. Fantastic. Thank you so much.

All right, well there you have it. Two eyewitness accounts. One woman obviously hoping that her daughter is safe and sound, will be released from Binghamton High School. Another one that was actually able to get very close to the scene, describing for you there very vividly what's going on with the SWAT teams, with the Army National Guard perhaps being called in as far as he saw.

And now we are getting more reports, as you heard from the Associated Press, saying that now up to six people have been injured and taken to the hospital. And yes, of course, obviously want to say God bless to all the victims. We hope that everybody will be fine and safe from there.

Now, it seems that a lot of people are starting to move away from the scene. We don't have any quite reason why for that yet. But it seems that things are starting to calm down at least a little bit. Of course, we'll bring you all the latest as it becomes available to us. For now, back to you in the studio, Jodi (ph).

PHILLIPS: All right, now, that's Neil St. Clair reporting live there on the scene in Binghamton, New York with News 10, our affiliate. So, it is very confusing at this point. We still cannot confirm if indeed this situation is over, if this hostage situation is over. We had been reporting that possibly a gunman or two gunmen were taken out of this building right here.

And actually, I'm just getting these pictures in. Is this tape, guys? OK, brand-new video that we're just getting in from the scene. If you're just tuning in, we're getting word now, up to 12 people, police saying up to 12 people have been killed inside the American Civic Center here in Binghamton, New York. Possibly up to 40 people still being held hostage.

We did get reports from eyewitnesses that they did see some people being led out of the back of that center. Two Asian males in plastic restraints, which may lead us to believe that they were not the gunmen, because we had gotten word from police that the man that did open fire inside that building had a high-powered reffle -- or rifle, rather. And it's hard to believe that if, indeed, they got their hands on him that they would have him in plastic restraints. And obviously, it's proper procedure, whoever they bring out of that building, they've got to have them in restraints because they don't know who the good guy is or the bad guy at that point.

So, we're still trying to work the details. We cannot confirm if this is over or not. We cannot tell you whether the gunman has been taken out or not. Possibly now we're hearing there might have been two gunmen, but you can see here through this new video. You can see members of the SWAT team in the back. You can also see officials there from the fire department, the FBI.

You can see medics being brought on. Now that we're being told that 12 people have been killed, it is possible that these medics here on the scene are being brought in to tend to those inside that building still. But right now, not just 12 but up to 12 people, possibly more, have been killed in this shooting that has taken place in this center that deals with refugees and immigration issues.