Empire State Building Gunman in NYC Named; Witnesses Describe Shooting
Shootings Friday morning near New York City's Empire State Building may have been carried out by Jeffrey Johnson, a disgruntled worker who had been fired from his job. Now, some witnesses have come forth to give their account of the shooting that wounded nine people and resulted in two deaths.
According to New York City Mayor Bloomberg, Johnson, 53, is the gunman who began to shoot at others outside the popular tourist destination after being fired from a job one year ago. The shooting took place on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street around 9 a.m., according to NBC News.
Police reportedly arrived at the scene just minutes after being called when shots were fired. Some witnesses have begun to detail their accounts of the incident that took place.
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Chris Ogden, a construction worker on the scene, spoke to the New York Daily News about what he had witnessed. According to Ogden, the gunman, who was reportedly wearing a business suit, was seen carrying a briefcase before shooting a victim with a semi-automatic pistol.
"He shot the guy in the head," Ogden told the newspaper. "The guy went down. He took a second shot when he was down."
Another unnamed witness told CBS New York about hearing up to 15 shots at one time.
"Then we heard it again and it was like 10 to 15 shots at one time," she told the news station.
Max Kaplan, a New York resident, spoke to CNN about hearing nine gunshots go off at the scene before ambulances arrived.
"We're all very shaken up at the office," Kaplan said in a CNN news report.
While CNN reported that six gunshot victims were being treated for non-threatening issues at a local hospital, two people were reported dead, including the shooter.
Although Fifth Avenue in New York City was blocked off at press time, the Empire State Building released a statement saying that they are fully operational.
