Gunman dead in Empire State Building shooting spree
Gunman was store clerk who was fired from his job at the Empire State Building, New York City police say. Ten people were shot, and two are dead, including the gunman.
In this frame grab from WABC-TV, emergency personnel respond to reports of several people being shot outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. Authorities say the shooter is dead.
(AP Photo/WABC-TV)
New York
UPDATED at 11:10 am Friday
Two law enforcement officials in New York City say a recently fired store worker shot a former colleague to death and then randomly opened fired on others near the Empire State Building.
The officials say eight other people were struck by bullets but those injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
The officials say the gunman previously worked at a store inside the landmark skyscraper. The shooting happened at about 9 a.m. Friday at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.
New York City police say hat the gunman is dead. A witness says the shooter was firing indiscriminately. CNN reported 10 people have been shot, two were killed, including the as yet unidentified shooter.
The shooting happened Friday morning at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. There are reports that the gunman was firing a shotgun.
A fire department spokesman says it received a call about the shooting just after at 9 a.m. Friday and that emergency units were on the scene within minutes.
The department says paramedics are evaluating eight people but some of them may not have been shot.
Aliyah Imam tells Fox 5 News that she was standing at a red light when a woman standing next to her fell to the ground. She says the woman was hit in the hip. She says the gunman was "shooting indiscriminately at people."
CNN reports that there is no terrorist link, according to a law enforcement source. The body of the shooter is under a sheet, lying on the sidewalk near the entrance of the Empire State Building.
Rebecca Fox told CNN that she was walking down Fifth Avenue to her job across the street from the Empire State building, and saw people running. She had headphones on, so didn't hear any shots. She saw woman who had been shot in the foot. She saw police surrounding the shooter on the ground in front of the building.
"It was a crazy scene," she said.
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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.