Two people were killed and nine injured in a shooting incident Friday morning outside the Empire State Building by a disgruntled ex-employee of a nearby business, officials said.
The suspected gunman, Jeffrey Johnson, 53, who was laid off a year ago, approached a former co-worker on the street and shot him three times, killing him, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
A construction worker who witnessed the incident followed Johnson as he walked away, Kelly said. The construction worker alerted police, who confronted Johnson. He turned his .45-caliber pistol on the officers, and was killed as they opened fire, Kelly said.
Some of those injured in the incident may have been hit by police bullets, he said, adding that the nine injured are expected to survive.
Kelly said Johnson was a designer of women’s accessories at Hazan Imports until he was laid-off in a downsizing sometime last year.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene Friday morning on streets crowded with tourists and commuters alike.
“I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, and I ran back into my offices,” Gloria Walker, a witness, told NBC News. “I ran, I ran, I ran.”
The FDNY told NBC News they responded to a call about the shooting at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street at 9:07 a.m. Friday and arrived at 9:13 a.m.
