New York (CNN) — All nine people injured in Friday’s shooting in front of the Empire State Building were wounded by police gunfire, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters today.
The officers unloaded a total of 16 rounds at a disgruntled former apparel designer, killing him after he shot and killed a co-worker and engaged in a gunbattle with police, authorities have said.
Police said an investigation is under way after one officer shot nine rounds and another shot seven. Three victims suffered gunshot wounds, while the remaining six were hit by fragments.
Police identified the gunman as Jeffrey Johnson, 58, who was apparently laid off from his job as a designer of women’s accessories at Hazan Import Co. last year.
Johnson, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard in the mid-1970s, had two rounds left in his .45-caliber pistol. It holds eight, Kelly said.
Police identified the slain victim as Steven Ercolino, 41, who had apparently filed a prior complaint against his assailant saying he thought Johnson would try to kill him.
Both men had filed harassment complaints against each other in April 2011, Kelly added.