>> hazan imports. >> was he a designer? >> miss, we don't know. you're asking questions we don't -- i thing we've had enough. we've got to go back and do our job. yes, stan. -- >> we just don't know anything about it. you can't take no for an answer. as soon as we find out, we'll interview everybody, and the information with one out of 1 p.p. so, you know, it's a terrible thing, our first thoughts are for the murder victim, and then prayers that thank god nobody else was seriously injured, and that they will all recover and once again, there's an awful lot of guns out there. thank you very much. >>> mayor bloomberg finishing up the press conference look with christine quinn and commissioner ray kelly. let's recap the fact. the shooter is 53-year-old jeffrey johnson, a person fired from a local company here in new york city called hazan imports, a designer of women's apparel. the story itself is not in the empire state billing, but on the block, right somewhere 5th and 6th avenue, a bit outside of the garment district, but that's the part of new yo

imports, a women's accessories designer ...kelly says: "in a dispute with one hazan, johnsonnproduced a - pistol...johnson fired at close range...striking the victim in the head." police commissioner ray kelly says the alleged shooter took off on foot thru midtown ... a construction worker flagged down cops ...who then tracked down the suspectkelly says: "as the two officers approached johnson he pulled his 45 semi automatic pistol from his bag and fired on the officers." a gun battle erupted on newwyork city streets mos: "i heard multiple gunshots and i heard one single gunshot...pretty surreal....o screaming...like in slow motion" when the gunfiie stopped, cops say alleged suspect jeffrey johnson was dead ...nine others were injured, auuhorittes say some were inadvertently struck by police bulletsbloomberg says: "i ask everyone to keep the victims in their thoughts and in their prayers...this is a terribly tragedy...no doubt would've been worse without some extraardinary acts of heroism." police worked to cordon off the area ... new yorkers ...and tourists struggled to keep their ne

it was called "hazan importers," h-a-z-a-n. he was fired actually about a year ago. apparently he was a disgruntled worker, that's what he was described by the mayor and had an altercation with a former co-worker in front of the empire state building. the 41-year-old co-worker was shot in the head three times by the suspected shooter and killed. police are not releasing the name of that person yet because they still need to notify his family but again a disgruntled worker, that's who this shooter was, 53-year-old jeffrey johnson. what happened is, this is pretty incredible, a construction worker, working close by, saw this shooting happen, ran to police officers, some here are calling him a hero, ran into two police officers that were on active duty here, notified them, they went up to the suspected shooter, and they started firing. i should also note that we are being told that some of the individuals, the nine other people shot but not killed, they may have been shot accidentally by police bullets. that is something that the mayor pointed out. additionally, what we

imports, a woman's accessories designer. >> in a dispute with one of the formers employees of hazan in front of the building johnson produced a pi holiday weekend and fired at -- a pistol and fired at close range. >> reporter: a construction worker flagged down cops who then tracked down the suspect. >> as the two officers approached johnson, he pulled his 45 caliber semiautomatic pistol from his bag and fired on the officers. >> reporter: a gun battle erupted on new york city streets. >> i heard multiple gunshots and one single gunshot. it was pretty surreal because there was no screaming. it was just slow motion. >> reporter: when the gunfire stopped suspect jeffrey johnson was dead and nine others were injured. authorities say some of them were inadvertently struck by police bullets. >> i asked everyone to keep the victims in their thoughts and prayers. this is a terrible tragedy and there's no doubt that the situation would have been even more tragic but for some extraordinary acts of heroism. >> reporter: police worked to cordon off the area. new yorkers and tourists struggled

johnson was an accessories designer at hazan imports.id off a year ago but had a grudge over sales of his designs. witnesses say johnson used his .45-caliber pistol to shoot ercolino in the head and then kept firing. >> we hear pow, pow, continued it's a construction site, like metal fell. then we heard four more, like pow, pow, pow, we're like, okay, that's gunshots. we all scoot over and see a guy in a gray suit walking away. >> reporter: johnson's neighbors say he lived alone at this apartment building on new york's upper east side with his cat. one had recently died. >> i'm in shock! i can't believe this. he was the nicest guy. i think he snapped or something, i don't know. >> and jason carroll joins me now from new york. jason, good morning. so, do we know how this suspect got the gun? >> well, according to the mayor's office, johnson purchased the gun legally in sarasota, florida, back in 1991. however, the mayor's office says, randi, that johnson did not have a permit to carry the gun here in new york. and as you know, new york's

hazan imports. about 9:00 o'clock this morning.t person in the head on the sidewalk. that person later died on the way to the hospital. 41-year-old victim there. a construction worker then followed the suspect. jeffrey johnson, as he walked toward the empire state building. outside the empire state building, there were for a couple of cops on antiterrorism duty. the construction worker alerted them to this suspect. the cops then detain him. he is alleged to have pulled a gun out of his bag. the cops pulled their guns and all hell broke loose. the gunman was then shot dead by police in that spot. but nine other people, seven men into and two women were also shot on the streets of new york city in very crowded conditions in the middle of the morning rush hour. apparently, none of those injuries believed to be life-threatening, but yes, what a wild scene outside the empire state building. we will keep you updated as we learn more. arthel: it was a wild scene inside the courthouse. prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case today i

he was the former disgruntled employee of hazan imports.e was at that location early this morning when he opened fire on one of his former colleagues, an executive at that firm identified as steve irgalino. the short had with him another magazine, more ammunition and his weapon we are told by authorities was legal. martha: it seems that the bystanders that got hit by this crossfire. there is some question about whether they may have been hit in part by police. what is the investigation telling us about any of that? >> reporter: you are right. it does appear some of the bystanders were hit by police gun fire. here is the way things unfolded a few hours ago. after the initial shooting a construction worker followed the shooter up the street. the construction worker notified nearby police to what had happened. police commissioner raymond kelly picks up the story about that construction worker's heroic actions. >> a construction worker who had followed johnson from west 33rd street alert two uniformed police officers on post in front of the emp

that hazan imports as a designer of women imports.g a downsizing about one year of coach johnson was laid off. in a dispute with a former employee of hzan, johnson produced a pistol and fired at close range. striking his 45 year-old victim in the head. we are withholding the identities until family notification scan been made. the area of a around the empire state building is an active crime scene. fifth avenue is closed near 42nd street to 33rd street. 33rd street is) the madison avenue in the americas. 34th between seventh and madison is also closed. mr. mayor? >> bloomberg: let me stress that this is the beginning of the investigation. there are a lot of people are injured and there are two officers dead. the perpetrator is dead. and we are going investigation. there are -- the perpetrator is dead. he does not appear to have been a criminal record. but it is at the beginning of our investigation we do not know much about him. we are just beginning a were investigation because the public is concerned and they should be. but we do no

the gunman was killed. 58 year-old jeffrey johnson, who was fired a year ago from hazan imports, shot his former colleague three times with a 45 caliber handgun. witnesses describe the fear and chaos. >> all of a sudden they're these cops running down. it was a scene out of c s i accepted it was real. it was not that long ago that 911 happened and so it was scary. the nypd's trying to determine if the bystanders were wounded by the shooter or by police bullets. two 18-year old cousins now face murder charges in the death of megan boken. the star volleyball player from suburban wheaton killed in saint louis last weekend. keith esters is charged with first degree murder and attempted armed robbery. johnathan perkins is charged attempted robbery. 23-year old megan was killed on saturday while on her cellphone talking to her mother. the saint louis university grad was in missouri for a job interview and college volleyball reunion. prosecutors say the suspects intended to rob her when they saw her on the phone while sitting in her parked car. police believe boken resisted the robbery and s

in a dispute with one of the former employees of hazan in front of the building, johnson produced a pistol and fired at close range. striking his 41-year-old victim in the head. at the two officers approached johnson, he pulled his semiautomatic pistol from his bag and fired on the officers, who returned fire, killing him. >> it's a terrible thing. our first thoughts are for the murder slim, and then their prayers, thank god nobody else was seriously injured and that they will all recover, and once again there's an awful lot of guns out there. >> reporter: commissioner kelly says that johnson was laid off from his job about a year ago, traded harassment accusations with the victim identified at steven irkilino. nbc news is told they had? kind of confrontation in the past year. law enforcement says he bought his gun in florida back in 1991. he was not licensed to carry it here on the streets of new york. live in midtown manhattan, jim rosen field, back to you. >>> the security officer hailed as a hero for apprehending a gunman last week, is out of the hospital and we're hearing from him for

. >> johnson had been employed for six years at hazan imports as a designer of women's accessories.ompany about a year ago johnson was laid off. in a dispute with the former employees of hazan in front of the building, johnson produced a pistol and fired at close range striking his 41-year-old victim in the head. >> now people are taking note the time of mass shooting. just this morning mayor bloomberg talked about gun violence. >> it's too many guns on the street. the argument that guns don't kill people, people kill people is one of the most disingenuous things you can say. we are the only developed country in the world with this problem. >> the mayor giving his weekly address in new york city. >>> tropical storm isaac bringing torrential rain to haiti. chad meyers is keeping watch. storms on certain path has tampa and republican national convention leader making precautionary plans. that's ahead. plap >>> rick scott is ensuring republicans at the national convention in tampa won't be derailed by isaac. scott said this afternoon that tampa might get a little wind and rain but loca

who up till a year ago, anderson, worked at this hazan imports which makes women's jewelry and apparel was apparently laid off a year ago because of downsizing. and was, quote, disgruntled, according to the police. he worked with this victim, and they had this sort of spat, ongoing spat, about workplace harassment according to the nypd. it frankly led them to both issue legal paperwork against one another. so obviously, you know, there was a lot of tension between the two of them and johnson was there in front of the workplace which just happened to be right next to the empire state building. and then shot the victim in his torso and then in the head. what we do know from rebecca, the witness i spoke with early this morning, just about half an hour after this happened, she saw the shooter on the ground, laying on the ground, described him to me as a middle aged caucasian man, and she said she saw police tried to turn over the suspected shooter, tried to turn him over. when you see that amateur video also you showed in your piece, you can see he has shot the shooter and on the ground bu

johnson had been employed for six years at hazan imports as a designer of women's accessories.uring a downsizing at the company about a year ago johnson was laid off. in a dispute with one of the former employees of hazan, in front of the building, johnson produced a pistol and fired at close range, striking his 41-year-old victim in the head. we are withholding the victim's identity until family notifications can be made. the area in and around the empire state building remains an active crime scene with 5th avenue closed from just below 42nd street to 33rd street. 33rd street is closed between madison avenue and the avenue of americas. 34th street is closed between 7th and madison avenue. mr. mayor. >> let me just stress that this is the beginning of an investigation. there were a lot of people that were injured. two are dead, the perpetrator and his victim. nobody else, thank god. but the rest is we're doing an investigation. we'd be happy to take a few questions but i'm not sure we know any more than was just said. [inaudible question] >> he does not appear to have a crimin

johnson was laid off from his job at hazan imports last year and police say ercolino had filed a prior complaint claiming that he thought johnson would try to kill him. >> all right. a major storm and the possibility of violent protests, both significant concerns for organizers of the republican national convention. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie who dreamed she could fly. like others who braved the sky before her, it took a mighty machine, and plain old ingenuity to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ and she flew and she flew, into the sky and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪ to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! so why exactly should that be of any interest to you? well, in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the b

johnson was a women's accessories designer at hazan imports and laid off a year ago but had a long standingagainst the co-worker over sales of his designs. witnesses say johnson used his .45 caliber pistol to shoot him in the head then kept firing at him. >> we heard pop, pop. we think it's like construction site. we think metal or wood fell. it was loud. then we heard four more shots. po pow, pow, pow. okay, that is gun shots. we scoot over and we look an we see a guy in a gray suit walking away. >> reporter: johnson's neighbors say he lived alone at this apartment building in new york's upper east side with his cats, whun recently died. >> i'm in shock. i can't believe it. he was the nicest guy. i think he snapped or something. i don't know. >> reporter: and kelly also saying this morning that six of the victims were released from the hospital. there are three still hospitalized but none of their injuries are reported to be life let threatening. >> appreciate that from midtown manhattan. >>> our legal guys are going to be back and they have a couple interesting cases beginning with one ki

johnson had been employed for six years at hazan imports as designer of women's accessory.zing at the company about a year ago, johnson was laid off. in a dispute with one of the former employees of hazan, in front of the building, johnson produced a pistol and fired at close rage. striking his 41-year-old victim in the head. we're withholding the victim's identity until family notifications can be made. the area in and around the empire state building remains an active crime scene with fifth avenue closed from just below 42nd street to 33rd street. 33rd street is closed between madison avenue and the avenue of americas. 34th street is closed between seventh and madison avenue. mr. mayor? >> let me just stress that this is the beginning of an investigation. there were a lot of people that were injured, two are dead, the perpetrator and his victim. nobody else, thank god. but the rest is -- we're doing an investigation. we'll be happy to take a few questions but i'm not sure we know any more than what i've said. yes, sir. >> [ inaudible ]. >> there does not appear -- he does

johnson was an accessories designer at hazan imports and he had a long-standing grudge with ercolinosales of his designs. witnesses say johnson used his .45 caliber pistol to shoot ercolino in the head and kept firing at him. >> we heard pops, pops, and there are construction sites and we thought it was metal and we heard four more shots and we were, like, okay, that's gunshots and we all kind of turned over and we saw a guy in a gray suit walking away. >> his neighbors say he lived alone in this apartment building in new york's upper east side with his cat and one recently died. >> i'm in shock. i can't believe it. he was the nicest guy. i think he snapped or something. i don't know. >> there have been some questions about exactly where he got the gun from, where johnson got the gun from. he purchased it legally in sarasota, florida, back in 1991. however, he did not legally have a permit to carry the gun here in new york. fredericka? >> you mentioned there was some longstanding dispute between johnson and ercolino. what were some of the exchanges they may have had? >> reporter: we

johnson was a women's accessories designer at hazan imports. year ago but had a long-standing grudge with ercolino over sales of his designs. witnesses say johnson used his .45-caliber pistol to shoot ercolino in the head, then kept firing at him. >> we hear, pow, pow. so, we think it's, you know, construction site, so metal, wood falling. it was really loud. then we heard four more shots, like pow, pow, pow, we sores like, okay, that's gunshots. and we look and see a guy in a gray suit walkingway. >> reporter: johnson's neighbors say he lived alone in this apartment building on new york's upper east side with his cat. one recently died. >> i'm in shock! i can't believe it. he was the nicest guy. i think he snapped or something, i don't know. >> and randi, the investigation is still under way. detectives have been out at the empire state building this morning still interviewing witnesses. there have been a lot of questions about whether or not this shooting was justified given so many innocent people were hurt, but you have to look at what happ