2 killed, 9 wounded in shooting near Empire State Building

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two people were killed and nine wounded Friday when a laid-off apparel company employee gunned down a former co-worker near the Empire State Building, then was fatally shot in a hail of police gunfire outside the New York landmark, authorities said.

The Washington Post reports that the gunman killed the former co-worker with a .45 caliber handgun less than a block away from the Empire State Building and was followed by a construction worker, who alerted police, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told reporters at the scene. He said the shooter, identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 53, of Manhattan, then drew his weapon and attempted to shoot two police officers, who opened fire and killed him.

Bloomberg said some of the nine people who were hit outside the Empire State Building may have been shot accidentally by police. He said it was not clear whether the gunman managed to fire his weapon at that point. But he said none of the wounded — two women and seven men — have life-threatening injuries.

“This has nothing to do with terrorism,” Bloomberg said. He called it a “terrible tragedy,” adding that “there’s no doubt that the situation would have been even more tragic but for some extraordinary acts of heroism.”

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly identified the murder victim as a 41-year-old man. He said the shooter worked for six years as a designer of women’s accessories at Hazan Imports on West 33rd Street before he was laid off about a year ago in a company downsizing. He described Johnson as a “disgruntled employee.”

Officials later identified the victim as Steven Ercolino, a company vice president. Kelly said the two had accused each other of harassment when Johnson worked at Hazan Imports. Kelly said Johnson shot his former co-worker three times at close range outside the business, hitting Ercolino in the head.

Kelly said Johnson left the scene carrying his weapon in a black bag under his arm. He said the construction worker who followed him alerted two uniformed police officers who were on routine counterterrorism duty outside the Empire State Building’s Fifth Avenue entrance.

“As the two officers approached Johnson, he pulled his .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol from his bag and fired on the officers, who returned fire, killing him,” Kelly said. “An additional nine individuals were either wounded or grazed during the exchange.”