Shooting Near Empire State Building in New York
Published at(NEW YORK) — A man who had been fired from his job a year ago shot and killed a former co-worker outside New York City’s Empire State Building Friday morning, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
At least nine others were wounded. The mayor said some of the wounded “may have been accidentally” shot by police officers.
Speaking near the crime scene, Bloomberg told reporters the man, identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 58, had been fired from his job at Hazan Import Corp., which specializes in women’s accessories, last year and returned to his former offices to confront a coworker.
After a dispute with the coworker, Johnson pulled a .45 caliber handgun and shot his former coworker three times, killing him, authorities said.
The victim, who was 41, was not immediately identified.
As Johnson left the scene of the shooting, he was followed by a construction worker, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. The construction worker alerted two NYPD officers who confronted the man. Johnson pulled his gun again, at which point the police drew their own weapons and killed him.
“He tried to shoot at the cops… We do not know if he got any shots off,” Bloomberg said.
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