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Two Dead, Others Injured in Shooting Outside Empire State Building

By: Associated Press Email
Updated: Sat 5:05 PM, Aug 25, 2012
  • Two dead, nine wounded outside the Empire State Building at 9:00AM.
  • Gunman Jeffrey Johnson is among the dead.
  • Officials do not believe it to be terrorism related, think Johnson was a disgruntled employee.

NEW YORK -- New York City officials say a laid-off women's accessories designer fatally shot a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building, then was killed by police in a shootout that wounded nine bystanders.

Police say Jeffrey Johnson opened fire at about 9 a.m. Friday on the Fifth Avenue side of the building.

His victim was identified as Steven Ercolino, a vice president at Hazan Import.

That is the company where Johnson worked until he was laid off a year ago.

A man who answered the phone at Ercolino's parents' home in the city's suburbs says "he was a good son."

Police haven't released Ercolino's name, but a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed his identity.

Nine others were hit by gunfire, including some who may have been struck by police bullets. They are expected to survive.


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