By Andrew Mach, Shimon Prokupecz and Jonathan Dienst, NBC News
Two people were killed and nine injured in a shooting incident?Friday morning outside the Empire State Building by a disgruntled ex-employee of a nearby business, officials said.
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The suspected gunman, Jeffrey Johnson, 58, who was laid off a year ago, approached a former co-worker on the street and shot him three times, killing him, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
A construction worker who witnessed the incident followed Johnson as he walked away, Kelly said. The construction worker alerted police, who confronted Johnson. He turned his .45-caliber pistol on the officers, and was killed as they opened fire, Kelly said.
Some of those injured in the incident?may have been hit by police bullets, he said, adding that?the nine injured are expected to survive.
Louis Lanzano / AP
A disgruntled ex-employee opened fire Friday morning and shot 10 people, killing one. The gunman was then shot and killed at the scene.
Kelly said Johnson was a designer of women's accessories at Hazan Imports until he was laid-off in a downsizing sometime last year.
Through tweets, photos, witnesses share chaos outside of Empire State Building
Witnesses described a chaotic scene Friday morning on streets crowded with tourists and commuters alike.
Chris Watkins told the Wall Street Journal he saw a man running through the crowd carrying a handgun and wearing a backpack. "He was shooting toward the crowd, not toward anyone in particular," Watkins said, adding that he ran into a nearby drug store when he heard shots. He said he later saw four people lying in the intersection of 34th St. and Fifth Ave.
"I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, and I ran back into my offices,? Gloria Walker, another witness,?told NBC News. "I ran, I ran, I ran."
Another witness, Darrin Deleuil, told the Wall Street Journal that he saw the shooter, wearing a suit and fedora shoot one victim point blank on 33rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. "He looked like an old gangster," Deleuil said. "He looked real calm to me. He made sure he didn't miss him."?
The FDNY told NBC News they responded to a call about the shooting at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street?at 9:07 a.m. Friday and arrived at 9:13 a.m.
Please check back for more on this breaking news story. For minute-by-minute updates, visit breakingnews.com.
Gloria Walker describes witnessing the shooting at the Empire State Building to WNBC: "It was pandemonium."
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