Woman in N.Y. massacre says God provided strength to call 911

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (RNS) The wounded receptionist who feigned death during a shooting massacre at an immigrant service center told her priest that God gave her the strength to call 911 after being shot in the abdomen. Before heading to her job Friday (April 3) morning, Shirley DeLucia attended the 6:30 a.m. Mass in memory of […]

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (RNS) The wounded receptionist who feigned death during a shooting massacre at an immigrant service center told her priest that God gave her the strength to call 911 after being shot in the abdomen.

Before heading to her job Friday (April 3) morning, Shirley DeLucia attended the 6:30 a.m. Mass in memory of her late husband at Saints John & Andrew Church in Binghamton, her parish priests said.

They said DeLucia later told them she felt God’s presence when 41-year-old Jiverly Wong entered the building and started shooting at immigrants and refugees taking English classes and preparing to become United States citizens.


DeLucia, 61, told the priests that God gave her the strength to call 911.

DeLucia was shot in the abdomen, but spent 90 minutes on the phone giving police information about the shooting that left 14 people dead.

She survived, but another receptionist in the room didn’t. Binghamton Police Chief Joe Zikuski called DeLucia a “hero in her own right.”

The Rev. Christopher Celentano, associate pastor of the parish, reflected on DeLucia’s strength and faith during his homily at Palm Sunday Mass. Celentano and the church’s pastor, Monsignor Michael Meagher, visited DeLucia Saturday at the hospital.

She was recuperating from surgery and had been removed from a ventilator. She told them how she wished she could have saved more lives and shared how her faith helped her to survive.

“She was pretty sad about the incident, she wished she could have saved more lives,” said Celentano. “The only thing she could do was play dead. And the SWAT team came, and you could hear the gunshots.”

In his homily, Celentano drew parallels between the passion of Jesus Christ and the senseless violence that permeates our society.


“Violence is evil,” he said. “What was inflicted on Jesus was evil. He was there with Shirley when she called 911. We need to pray for hope and God’s grace to get through this struggle.”

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