At 11:22 AM eastern New York’s mayor Bloomberg addressed the media with the latest information about the shooting, those injured or killed and the name of the suspect. According to the Mayor there were 2 reported deaths in the shooting, including the shooting suspect. Another 7 men and 2 women were injured but expected to make a full recovery.
Here is what happened in the shooting this morning according to the Mayor’s address: At approximately 9:02 this morning a 53 year-old man, Jeffrey Johnson, shot a former co-worker at close range on the street with a .45 caliber hand gun. The shooting occurred in front of Johnson’s former place of employment, Hazan Importers, near the Empire State Building. Johnson was reportedly terminated over a year ago.
After killing his former co-worker, Johnson attempted to make a casual escape by walking away from the scene. A construction worker, who witnessed the shooting, alerted the nearby police assigned to the Empire State Building.
When the police confronted Johnson a shoot-out occurred between Johnson and the officers. During the shooting Johnson was killed and several others were injured, along with another bystander killed in the crossfire. Mayor Bloomberg indicated that some of those injured may have been accidentally hit by police fire. Johnson was killed just outside the entrance to the Empire State Building in full view of tourists and bystanders.