A man who had been fired from an apparel importer in the shadow of the Empire State Building shot and killed a former co-worker on Friday morning, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. The man then walked along the curb in front of the Empire State Building, where he “turned his gun” on two officers on duty at the main entrance “and tried to shoot them,” the mayor said.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said that nine bystanders had been “wounded or grazed” and taken to hospitals. The mayor said that some of the injured may have been hit by police bullets during the confrontation with the suspect, whom Mr. Kelly identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 53, a former clothing designer at Hazan Industries. Mr. Kelly said he believed that some of the shooting victims had been shot by the officers “based on the number of people shot and the capacity of”’ the shooter’s weapon.

The sudden spasm of violence shattered the calm of the morning near one of the world’s major tourist destinations and set off pandemonium at a busy intersection that was filled with pedestrians and cars. Visitors had begun crowding into the lobby of the building waiting to ascend to the observation deck, which had already opened.

A passer-by said that she had just come out of a nearby dentist’s office when she heard a burst of gunfire.

Read more at the NY Times