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A disgruntled former designer of women’s accessories of Hazan Imports, who had been laid off last year, stalked and killed a co-worker just outside the Empire State Building, New York around 9AM EST. The suspect, now identified as 53-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, then attempted to flee the scene.
A construction worker alerted two NYPD officers on foot patrol, who pursued Johnson down 33rd Street where Johnson drew a .45 caliber handgun and Police opened fire, hitting him at least 3 times, killing him. It is unclear if Johnson even fired a shot, yet in the ensuing crossfire, 9 people were wounded or grazed by gunfire.
“Some may have been accidentally shot by police officers,” New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised police and civilians for their quick response, “There is no doubt that the situation would’ve been even more tragic except for the extraordinary acts of heroism. New York City is the safest big city in this country but we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence.”
Manhattan’s Bellevue Medical Center reported that it was treating 6 victims with gunshot wounds. None of the injuries were life threatening, according to hospital spokeswoman Alice Ramos.
Local and federal authorities converged on the building around 9 a.m. and closed several streets around 5th Avenue and 34th Street, snarling traffic in the heart of Manhattan.
A police officer stands near a shooting victim.
While this is undoubtedly a horrible tragedy, the attention the media is giving it makes me sick. Just the night before, 19 people were shot in Chicago. 13 of them within a 30 minute span. Yet that story is buried in the media explosion that the broad daylight shooting received.
Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on in the world. People everywhere seem to be losing their minds. Bath-salt zombies eating faces, gunmen hunting people down and Government policies that have turned our once great nation into a Police state… If anything all the new “security measures” for “our protection” aren’t making things better. In my opinion, they’re making it worse as desperation sets in for certain factions of society, driving them to justify extreme measures.
I guess the Mayans were right after all, the World really does end in 2012.
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UPDATE (11:38AM EST): A disgruntled former employee of a business inside the Empire State Building shot a former coworker in the head in a dispute just outside the building, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
As the suspect, Jeffrey Johnson, tried to flee the scene, he pulled a .45 caliber pistol on two approaching police officers, who opened fire on him. Nine people were wounded or grazed by gunfire in the crossfire. “Some may have been accidentally shot by police officers,” Kelly said.
UPDATE (10:59AM EST): Allegedly, a disgruntled worker, who was recently fired, stalked a his boss down a Midtown street and shot him in the head, killing him outside of a Starbucks on 33rd street. He then turned his weapon on random pedestrians outside the Empire State Building — shooting as many as eight others, killing one bystander, a woman getting her morning coffee, before he was shot and killed by NYPD officer on foot patrol.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to address the city at 11 a.m.
UPDATE (10:42AM EST): The body of an alleged gunman is lying outside the entrance to the Empire State Building after a shooting broke out Friday morning, leaving at least two dead, New York City officials said.
An elevator worker from inside the Empire State Building ran outside and began chasing the alleged shooter just after the incident. Shortly after, an NYPD cop on foot patrol — part of the Critical Response Vehicle unit — killed the gunman with one shot.
UPDATE (10:17AM EST): The New York Post is reporting that two men fought right on the sidewalk in “a dispute between coworkers” before one suddenly drew his weapon and opened fire. 10 people were wounded and the shooting sent panicked pedestrians scrambling from the jam-packed intersection of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The guman killed an innocent bystander before he was fatally shot by police.
UPDATE (10:09AM EST): CBSNewYork is reporting that at least 10 people have been shot and at least one killed when gunfire broke out around 9 a.m. outside the Empire State Building.
Police said the gunman was shot and killed and a weapon was found near the body.
ORIGINAL POST (9:58AM EST): At least five people have been shot in front of the Empire State Building on 34th and 5th Ave in New York. The gunman was shot and killed by police, New York police reported.
A fire department spokesman says it received a call about the shooting just after at 9 a.m. and authorities converged on the scene within minutes.
No additional information at this time.
Hello, my name is James. I am a digital artist, designer and blogger, currently employed as web developer at Monetate. This blog is a collection of my ideas, inspirations, and reactions to news or anything else that intrigues me. Enjoy!
CNN reports that all nine people injured in Friday’s shooting in front of the Empire State Building were wounded by police gunfire according to a statement made by New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/justice/new-york-empire-state-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1