2 dead, 9 wounded in Empire State Building shootings, police say

[WestVirginiaRebel]

CNN:

New York (CNN) -- A disgruntled former apparel designer was killed Friday morning in a hail of police gunfire in front of the Empire State Building after he shot and killed a co-worker and engaged in a gunbattle with two officers, authorities said.

Police officers fired a total of 16 rounds; one officer shot nine while another one shot seven, the New York Police Department said.

An investigation is under way, authorities said.

The violence erupted just as visitors began to queue up to ascend the famous New York skyscraper in one of Manhattan's busiest neighborhoods.

Police identified the shooter as 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, who was apparently laid off from his job as a designer of women's accessories at Hazan Import last year.

"We have on tape the perpetrator pulled his gun out and tried to shoot at the cops," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "Whether he got off any bullets or not, to be determined."

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the bystanders were not hit directly by police, but rather the officers' struck "flowerpots and other objects around, so ... their bullets fragmented and, in essence, that's what caused the wounds."

Earlier Friday, Bloomberg told reporters that some of the wounded may have been inadvertently hit in the crossfire or by ricocheting bullets.

Six of the wounded were treated and released at hospitals as of Friday evening, while three others remained hospitalized, Kelly said.

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If it had been up to the gunman, those people most likely would have wound up dead...