Friday, August 24, 2012

2 killed, 9 wounded in economy-related shooting in Manhattan

(Yahoo! News) Nine people were wounded and two people were dead Friday after a shooting outside the Empire State Building in the Midtown area of Manhattan. The two victims included the gunman, who was shot and killed by police near the tourist entrance of the landmark skyscraper.

The shooting occurred at 9:03 a.m. ET at Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. The gunman, a 53 year-old women's accessories designer named Jeffrey Johnson, was fired from his job during a corporate downsizing at Hazan Imports and returned to his office Friday morning to target his 41 year-old boss.

The shooter followed his coworker down 33rd Street, and shot him outside of Legend's Bar, according to the New York Post. It is unclear if he fired into a crowd of pedestrians outside of the Empire State Building, or if pedestrians were caught in crossfire, reported the New York Daily News.

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