NYPD Bullets Wounded All Nine In Empire State Building Shooting

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said all nine bystanders wounded in Friday's Empire State Building shooting had been hit with police gunfire, CNN reported Saturday morning.

According to Kelly, of the nine wounded, three suffered gunshot wounds and six were hit by fragments.

Gunfire broke out shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday when a gunman identified as 58-year old Jeffrey Johnson shot and killed former coworker Steve Ercolino near the Empire State Building.

Johnson attempted to flee the scene, but was thwarted after a construction worker who followed him tipped off police officers.

Police approached Johnson who aimed his gun at the officers before police opened fire, killing him on the spot.

The NYPD said officers fired 16 rounds with one officer shooting nine and another seven.

During a press conference held on Friday, Mayor Bloomberg had said some individuals may have been shot at by NYPD.

Less than two weeks prior to Friday's shooting, NYPD shot and killed a knife-wielding man in Times Square. The bizarre incident caused many to question if the NYPD had overreacted.

Since the chaotic incident, details have emerged describing a hostile relationship between Johnson and Ercolino, who both worked at Hazan Imports together until Johnson was laid off nearly two years ago.

CORRECTION: This article originally stated that the man in Times Square who was shot by NYPD had a gun. He actually had a knife. The article has been updated to reflect that.

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Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly speaks near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

This photo posted to an Instagram account belonging to a person identified as paulnshapiro, an eyewitness at the scene, shows a victim of a shooting, with police standing by, outside the Empire State Building in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. The identity or condition of the victim was not immediately known. A disgruntled laid-off women's accessories designer shot a former co-worker to death in front of the Empire State Building, causing a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police killed the suspect and at least nine others were wounded, some possibly by police gunfire, city officials said. The shooting happened at about 9 a.m. Friday at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/paulnshapiro via Instagram)

An official inspects evidence near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talks to the media near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Officials examine a body near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

An unidentified woman is treated by emergency medical technicians inside an ambulance following a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

This photo posted to an Instagram account belonging to a person identified as mr_mookie, an eyewitness at the scene, shows a victim of a shooting being tended to by pedestrians outside the Empire State Building in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. The identity or condition of the victim was not immediately known. Law enforcement officials in New York City say at least four people have been shot outside the Empire State Building in violence that stemmed from a workplace dispute, and that the gunman has been killed by police. The shooting happened at about 9 a.m. Friday at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/mr_mookie via Instagram)

Bystanders and a police officer stand on Fifth Avenue to view the scene after a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Rebecca Cox talks to media while recounting what she saw immediately following a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

In this photo made with a cell phone, officials examine the body of gunman Jeffrey Johnson, who was killed by police gunfire after he fatally shot Steven Ercolino, an executive at his former company, outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least nine bystanders were hit by gunfire in the confrontation. (AP Photo/Lee Weinstein)

New York City police stand near the body of shooting victim Steven Ercolino, 41, on a sidewalk near the Empire State Building in New York, Friday Aug. 24, 2012. According to city officials, Ercolino, a vice president of sales for Hazan Imports, was fatally shot by Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a woman's accessories designer whom Ercolino had laid off, outside the Empire State Building setting off a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police officers killed the gunman and at least nine others were wounded, some by stray police gunfire, authorities said. (AP Photo/Daniel Stevens/humanelectricblog.tumblr.com)

This cell phone photo taken by Brendan Gunn, shows the body of shooting victim Steven Ercolino, 41, in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. According to city officials, Ercolino, a vice president of sales for Hazan Imports, was fatally shot by Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a woman's accessories designer whom Ercolino had laid off, outside the Empire State Building setting off a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police officers killed the gunman and at least nine others were wounded, some by stray police gunfire, authorities said. (AP Photo/Brendan Gunn)

Evidence lies on the street near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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New York City police approach the lifeless body of Jeffrey Johnson lying on a sidewalk near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say 58-year-old Johnson, who was laid off from a nearby shop in 2011, shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Guillermo Ratzlaff)

Police surround a sheet covered body, lowser left, on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk as they investigate a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

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New Details Emerge On Empire State Building Gunman

NEW YORK — All nine people injured during a dramatic confrontation between police and a gunman outside the Empire State Building were wounded by gunfire from the two officers, police said Saturday, citing ballistics evidence.

The veteran patrolmen who opened fire on the suit-clad gunman, Jeffrey Johnson, had only an instant to react when he whirled around and pointed a .45-caliber pistol at them as they approached him from behind on a busy sidewalk.

Officer Craig Matthews shot seven times, and Officer Robert Sinishtaj fired nine times, police said. Neither had ever fired their weapons before on a patrol.

The volley of gunfire felled Johnson in just a few seconds and left nine other people bleeding on the sidewalk.

In the initial chaos Friday, it wasn't clear whether Johnson or the officers were responsible for the trail of the wounded, but based on ballistic and other evidence, "it appears that all nine of the victims were struck either by fragments or by bullets fired by police," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters Saturday at a community event in Harlem.

Police officials have said the officers appeared to have no choice but to shoot Johnson, whose body had 10 bullet wounds in the chest, arms and legs.

The officers confronted Johnson as he walked, casually, down the street after gunning down a former co-worker on the sidewalk outside the office they once shared. The shooting happened at 9 a.m., as the neighborhood bustled with people arriving for work.

The gunman and his victim, Steve Ercolino, had a history of workplace squabbles before Johnson was laid off from their company, Hazan Import Corp., a year ago. At one point, the two men had grappled physically in an elevator.

John Koch, the property manager at the office building where the men worked, said security camera footage showed the two pushing and shoving. The tussle ended when Ercolino, a much larger man, pinned Johnson against the wall of the elevator by the throat, Koch said. Ercolino let him go after a few moments, and the two men went their separate ways.

"They didn't like each other," Koch said.

After shooting Ercolino, Johnson, an eccentric T-shirt designer and avid bird-watcher who wore a suit every day, even when photographing hawks in Central Park, walked away as if nothing had happened.

Alerted by a construction worker, officers Matthews and Sinishtaj gave chase as Johnson rounded a corner and walked along Fifth Avenue in front of the landmark skyscraper.

A security videotape from the scene shows several civilians – including three sitting on a bench only a few feet away – scattering as the officers opened fire.

Police have determined that three people were struck by whole bullets – two of which were removed from victims at the hospital – and the rest were grazed "by fragments of some sort," Kelly said.

Two women with leg wounds and a man with a wound to his buttocks required surgery and remained hospitalized Saturday. They were listed in stable condition.

Both Matthews, 39, and Sinishtaj, 40, joined the nation's largest police department 15 years ago.

Matthews had drawn attention this year by suing the New York Police Department, accusing his superiors of unfairly punishing him for not meeting arrest quotas. A judge threw out the complaint.

The union representing the two officers didn't immediately respond to a message left seeking comment.

The shooting didn't deter tourists from flocking to the Empire State Building as usual on Saturday.

Patricia Flynn, 57, a retired schoolteacher, visited the building's peak with her elderly mother, who once worked in the skyscraper as a secretary.

"But I didn't tell her what happened," said Flynn, adding that her mother was unaware of Friday's shooting. "And she really enjoyed the view."

A group of 31 tourists from France held a meeting Friday night at their nearby hotel to decide whether to cancel their planned Empire State Building visit.

"We were scared, and we thought it was a risk," said Catherine Krukar, 38, a teacher.

But in the end, they went ahead with the visit, she said after descending from the observation tower,

"We know it can happen anywhere, and we wanted to see the Empire State Building," Krukar said. "It was beautiful!"

___

Contributing to this report from New York were David B. Caruso, Colleen Long and the AP News Research Center.

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Empire State Building Owner Disassociates Landmark From Shooting

The owner of the Empire State Building has released a statement disassociating the New York City landmark from the shooting that occurred Friday morning, in which Jeffrey Johnson, a former employee at Hazan Import Corporation -- a business that neighbors the historic building -- opened fire.

According to the New York Observer, Anthony Malkin, whose family controls the Empire State Building, released a statement saying:

Today, a disgruntled employee of a company which neighbors the Empire State Building fatally shot a former co-worker. Two police officers who are part of the NYPD’s normal coverage of the area around the Empire State Building approached and fatally shot the man. Nine others were injured in the shooting. This unfortunate event had nothing to do with the Empire State Building or with terrorism. The Empire State Building and its Observatories remained open throughout, and continue to be open and operating. At no time was there any related activity in the building. We express our deepest concern for those innocents who were hurt and our appreciation to the NYPD.

Only two other tragic incidents have been associated with the Empire State Building, the 102-story skyscraper completed in 1931.

In July 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the building after the pilot lost his way in a cloud of fog. Fourteen people died. In February 1997, a gunman man opened fire on an observation deck, killing one and wounding six others before shooting himself, CNN reported at the time.

Friday's shooting came as a shock to the city.

The NYPD identified Johnson, 58, as the shooter. Johnson reportedly shot and killed his former co-worker, Steve Ercolino, on Friday morning, according to The New York Times. He left the scene, walking down Fifth Avenue, before police caught him. Nine were wounded in the incident.

Johnson was previously employed with Hazan Import Corp., located at 10 W. 33rd St., according to Newsday. Johnson had been employed at Hazan Importas a women's accessories designer. He had worked at the company for six years before being fired about one year ago, The Times reports.

“During a downsizing at the company about a year ago, Johnson was laid off," Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said Friday. Kelly added that Johnson and Ercolino, a 41-year-old, had filed harassment complaints against each other regarding a workplace dispute, The Times notes.

“He was an incredible family man, loved his family,” a woman who identified herself as Ercolino’s sister-in-law, Andrea, told the Wall Street Journal. He did not have any children of his own but was a great uncle to her children and reportedly loved his job. “He had an incredible life ahead of him. He was an incredible person.”

Johnson was killed by police during a "wild Fifth Ave. gunfight," according to the New York Daily News.

“There was blood on the sidewalk,” witness Rebecca Fox told the paper. “It was like a scene out of CSI, but it was real. I was literally shaking."

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Empire State Building Shooter Quiet and 'Very Lonely,' Neighbors Recall

New York City police approach the lifeless body of Jeffrey Johnson near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012.

NEW YORK -- A laid-off women's clothing designer killed by police after shooting his former boss near the Empire State Building was a quiet and fastidious man who lived alone with his two cats in an apartment building on the Upper East Side, neighbors said.

Jeffrey Johnson, 58, was almost always dressed neatly in a suit and tie, even after losing his job as an accessories designer a year ago, according to Gisela Casella, 71, a neighbor who spoke with him often. The sound of vacuuming was frequently heard from inside his apartment, she said.

Guillermo Suarez, the building's superintendent, said Johnson was friendly but was always alone. "This guy was very mellow," he said. "Very mellow and very lonely."

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Johnson was fired from his job at Hazan Imports, a women's handbag company with offices near the Empire State Building, about a year ago, and that he shot and killed the firm's office manager, Steve Ercolino. The two men were involved in a dispute involving allegations of harassment, Kelly said.

Johnson was dressed in a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase when he opened fire with a .45 caliber handgun just after 9 a.m. on a crowded street in midtown Manhattan. After Ercolino was dead, Johnson aimed his weapon at police and was killed in a hail of gunfire by officers, the NYPD said.

The New York Fire Department said 8 people were transported to area hospitals for injuries related to the shootings. Many of those injured appear to have been hit by bullets or shrapnel from shots fired by police, Kelly said. All of the injured are expected to survive.

Chaos erupted on the streets in the seconds after shots were fired as hundreds of people sought to flee the area, witnesses said.

"People started running. Some people ran into the library, other people ran into nearby shops," Karaan White, 27, said. "We didn't know if it was a terrorist attack. We didn't know what was going on."

Hemant Asher was on his way to work at the Empire State Building when he saw people running in every direction. From the corner of 34th and 5th Avenue, Asher saw four or five people lying on the street.

"They were checking to see if they were alive," Asher said.

White said she also saw some injured victims.

"You could see the one guy with a brown sports coat, he was on the ground, he had blood coming from his head and his arms were out," she said. "He had brown skin. His head was really badly bleeding."

Asher and a colleague were stranded on 35th Street this morning for hours after the shooting. Neither could go to work at Middle East Airlines, even with building ID.

Immediately after the shooting, White said she sat in a nearby park to chain smoke and call her family. Though she felt lucky she wasn't hit herself, she said witnessing the event was traumatic.

"I'm also feeling kind of unlucky having been there at all," she said.

Madia Rosario, 43, a secretary from Brooklyn, was shot in the leg and was transported to nearby Bellevue Hospital along with several other victims.

"She was walking across the street from her job. She said she heard a gunshot," Rosario's sister-in-law, Auselis Rosario, said in front of Bellevue. "She said everything happened so fast, she saw people running but by the time she turned around to see what happened, she was already hit."

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