M*V 发帖数: 3205 | 1 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.
“Suddenly I heard two shots or three shots, boom boom boom, and I saw two
guys, they go to the floor,” said the passer-by, a woman who would give
only her first name, Monica. “I was really afraid.”
Andrew Pellenberg, 23, and a friend, both from New Jersey, were also nearby,
thinking about visiting the Empire State Building. “We heard 10 to 15
gunshots,” Mr. Pellenberg said, “and it was all in a 30-second span.”Mr.
Kelly, who joined the mayor at a briefing about two hours after the shooting
, said the officers had been alerted to the shooting by a construction
worker who had followed Mr. Johnson from 10 West 33rd Street — where he
shot the 41-year-old former co-worker — around the corner and up Fifth
Avenue. Mr. Johnson, the commissioner said, was carrying a .45-caliber
semiautomatic handgun “in a bag under his arm.” It had a capacity of eight
bullets, officials said, adding that Mr. Johnson had fired three at the
former co-worker.
Mr. Bloomberg said Mr. Johnson pulled out his gun “and tried to shoot the
cops and kill the cops.”
“They returned fire,” the mayor added.
Mr. Kelly said the two officers involved had fired a total of 14 rounds. He
said he believed that some of the shooting victims had been hit by bullets
from the officers’ guns, “based on the number of people shot and the
capacity of”’ Mr. Johnson’s own weapon.
Mr. Kelly said Mr. Johnson appeared to have no criminal record. He said that
Mr. Johnson had worked at the apparel company, Hazan Imports, for six years
. “During a downsizing at the company about a year ago,” Mr. Kelly said,
“Johnson was laid off.” He said that Mr. Johnson pulled the gun “in a
dispute with one of the former employees of Hazan in front of the building.
”
Before the briefing, State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, a Queens Democrat who
was in Manhattan for a meeting and went to the Empire State Building when he
heard about the shooting, said the mayor had told him the gunman was “a
disgruntled employee who came back to the store that he was working at and
apparently shot the manager.” He said the mayor indicated the manager had
been hit in the face.
Two law enforcement officials said investigators had concluded that the
shooting had no connection to terrorism.
A major traffic tie-up spread from the streets outside the area around the
Empire State Building, at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, after the police
closed surrounding streets. |
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