Response to Binghamton Tragedy

by Woodrow Kroll

Until Friday, April 3rd, Binghamton, was a quiet, upstate New York town that attracted hardly anyone's attention. Mostly it was known for how badly people pronounced its name (Bing-em-ton). But I knew this town well.

I have lived in Binghamton, New York on three different occasions, spanning three decades. When Linda and I moved to Back to the Bible, we moved from Binghamton, New York. I had been President of Davis College there for the previous decade.

Thus, the senseless, brutal, animalistic killings that took place in Binghamton on Friday have left a real scar on my soul.

I remember Binghamton as an immigrant town, mostly eastern Europeans--Romanians, Slavs, Czechs and many Italians. Large immigration populations always meant great ethnic food and Binghamton had more than its share of the best. In the years since I left Binghamton, immigration to the town has continued. Since 2005, more than 7,100 immigrants, most of them Asians, have settled in Binghamton. They are a cosmopolitan mix of Kurds, Chinese, Filipinos, Africans, Iraqis--but only a fraction of the city's predominantly white population of 43,000. Their faces showed up in our churches and often on our campus taking evening classes.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of 13 people, 13 men and women just trying either to become a U.S. citizen or to help others become a U.S. citizen. Now we are left with trying to piece together the questions, the motives, the senselessness of it all. Thirteen families are asking why? Why my family member? Why here? Why now? Why? And once again there are no easy answers. Rarely does God answer our "why" questions anyway.

But in the midst of this extreme sadness and tragedy, there are tiny droplets of God's grace that we must not miss. We must appreciate that, in the midst of chaos, there is grace.

God's grace was evident in the fact that there were 41 people in the American Civic Association building that day and a crazed maniac armed to the teeth with enough ammunition to kill all of them many times over managed only to take 13 people with him to eternity. A tragedy for those 13; a miracle for 28 others.

God's grace was evident in the fact that, even though one of the first shots fired as the gunman walked through the front door hit the receptionist, she had presence of mind enough to play dead and ultimately make the 911 call that brought emergency help quickly.

God's grace was evident in the fact that the police arrived at the building in just two minutes. Thank God for their rapid response.

God's grace was evident in the fact that 26 people were able to take refuge in the boiler room in the basement of the building. The killer never got to them, nor likely knew they were there.

And for me personally, God's grace was evident in the fact that this horrible, senseless attack occurred on Friday, and not on Wednesday. You see, Davis College , which I served as President from 1980-1990, has an active TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) program. Students from Davis go to the American Civic Association each week to help immigrants learn English. They go--every Wednesday.

Let's join our hearts in praying for the families of these victims. Let's grieve for an America that has spawned such violence on television, in movies and in video games that it is being mimicked more and more frequently on our streets. But in the midst of our sorrow, grief and prayers, let's thank God for His grace. Thank God for Wednesdays.