Gunman in New York City kills 1, dies in shootout - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

NEW YORK -- Jeffrey Johnson hid behind a car in his business suit and tie near the Empire State Building, waiting for the man he blamed for costing him his job. He put a gun to the executive's head and fired five times, then walked off with his briefcase into the midtown Manhattan morning rush.

Minutes later, Mr. Johnson was dead in front of the landmark skyscraper, killed by police Friday in a chaotic confrontation that sent bullets ricocheting, wounded nine other people and left sidewalks near one of the world's best-known landmarks spattered with blood.

Police released dramatic surveillance video which showed that the confrontation lasted only a few seconds.

Mr. Johnson was walking rapidly down the street trailed by two police officers when he stopped, wheeled around and pulled out a gun. About a dozen people ran for their lives, including two small children who were just feet away from Mr. Johnson. He pointed the gun at the officers, who quickly fired at him. Mr. Johnson dropped his briefcase, fell to his knees and then collapsed on the ground.

The bystanders likely were hit by stray police gunfire, some of it bullets that rebounded off planters in front of the skyscraper and grazed pedestrians. The two officers fired 16 shots. The surveillance video shows Mr. Johnson pointing his gun at police, but investigators said it's likely he did not get a chance to fire.

Startled New Yorkers in the crowded business district saw people bleeding in the streets and a tarp covering the body in front of the tourist landmark.

"I was on the bus, and people were yelling 'get down, get down,' " said accountant Marc Engel. "I was thinking, 'You people are crazy, no one is shooting in the middle of midtown Manhattan at 9 o'clock in the morning.' " It was over in seconds, he said -- "a lot of pop, pop, pop, pop, one shot after the other." Afterward, he saw sidewalks littered with the wounded, including one man "dripping enough blood to leave a stream."

Mr. Johnson, who neighbors had seen leave his apartment in a suit every day since he was laid off a year ago, had worked for six years for Hazan Imports and was let go when the company downsized, said police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Police were looking into his relationship with the victim, Steven Ercolino, the company's vice president of sales, who had traded accusations of harassment with Mr. Johnson when he worked there. Mr. Johnson, 58, also blamed Mr. Ercolino for his layoff, saying he hadn't aggressively marketed Mr. Johnson's new T-shirt line, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

After waiting for Mr. Ercolino, 41, to come to work, Mr. Johnson walked up, pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and fired at his head, Mr. Kelly said. After he fell to the ground, Mr. Johnson stood over him and shot four more times, a witness told investigators.

"Jeffrey just came from behind two cars, pulled out his gun, put it up to Steve's head and shot him," said Carol Timan, whose daughter, Irene, was walking to Hazan Imports at the time with Mr. Ercolino.

A construction worker who saw the shooting followed Mr. Johnson and alerted two police officers, a detail regularly assigned to patrol city landmarks such as the 1,454-foot skyscraper since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, officials said.

Mr. Kelly said the officers who caught up to Mr. Johnson had "a gun right in their face" and "responded quickly, and they responded appropriately. These officers -- having looked at the tape myself -- had absolutely no choice."

A witness told police that Mr. Johnson fired at the officers, but authorities say ballistics evidence doesn't support that. Mr. Johnson's weapon held seven rounds, they said. He fired five times at Mr. Ercolino, one round was still in the gun, and one was ejected when officers secured it, authorities said. Another loaded magazine was found in Mr. Johnson's briefcase.

Mr. Johnson legally bought the gun in 1991 in Sarasota, Fla., but police said he didn't have a required permit to possess it in New York City.

"New York City, as you know, is the safest big city in the country, and we are on pace to have a record low number of murders this year," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "But we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence," he said of the shooting, following mass shootings a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Robert Asika, who was shot in the right arm, said he was "100 percent positive" a police officer had shot him. Mr. Asika, 23, sells tickets for the Empire State Building's observatory. "When I woke up this morning, I didn't even want to go to work," he said. "Something told me not to go to work."

The wounded victims were five women and four men, authorities said. All were from New York City, except a woman from Chapel Hill, N.C. They suffered graze wounds or other minor injuries.

Mr. Ercolino's profile on the LinkedIn business networking site identified him as a vice president of sales at Hazan Import. It said he was a graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta. He had recently moved to New Jersey after living for a time in Warwick, just north of New York City, said his eldest brother, Paul Ercolino. He grew up in Nanuet.

"He was in the prime of his life," Paul Ercolino said. He added that his brother had never mentioned to the family that he had any problems with a co-worker.

Hazan Import Corp. imports women's clothing and accessories, according to public records. Calls to its executives weren't immediately returned.

Internet records list Mr. Johnson as website administrator for St. Jolly's Art, a business that sold iron-on T-shirt art, including stylized drawings of fighter planes, muscle cars and ships.

NEW YORK -- Jeffrey Johnson hid behind a car in his business suit and tie near the Empire State Building, waiting for the man he blamed for costing him his job. He put a gun to the executive's head and fired five times, then walked off with his briefcase into the midtown Manhattan morning rush.

Minutes later, Mr. Johnson was dead in front of the landmark skyscraper, killed by police Friday in a chaotic confrontation that sent bullets ricocheting, wounded nine other people and left sidewalks near one of the world's best-known landmarks spattered with blood.

Police released dramatic surveillance video which showed that the confrontation lasted only a few seconds.

Mr. Johnson was walking rapidly down the street trailed by two police officers when he stopped, wheeled around and pulled out a gun. About a dozen people ran for their lives, including two small children who were just feet away from Mr. Johnson. He pointed the gun at the officers, who quickly fired at him. Mr. Johnson dropped his briefcase, fell to his knees and then collapsed on the ground.

The bystanders likely were hit by stray police gunfire, some of it bullets that rebounded off planters in front of the skyscraper and grazed pedestrians. The two officers fired 16 shots. The surveillance video shows Mr. Johnson pointing his gun at police, but investigators said it's likely he did not get a chance to fire.

Startled New Yorkers in the crowded business district saw people bleeding in the streets and a tarp covering the body in front of the tourist landmark.

"I was on the bus, and people were yelling 'get down, get down,' " said accountant Marc Engel. "I was thinking, 'You people are crazy, no one is shooting in the middle of midtown Manhattan at 9 o'clock in the morning.' " It was over in seconds, he said -- "a lot of pop, pop, pop, pop, one shot after the other." Afterward, he saw sidewalks littered with the wounded, including one man "dripping enough blood to leave a stream."

Mr. Johnson, who neighbors had seen leave his apartment in a suit every day since he was laid off a year ago, had worked for six years for Hazan Imports and was let go when the company downsized, said police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Police were looking into his relationship with the victim, Steven Ercolino, the company's vice president of sales, who had traded accusations of harassment with Mr. Johnson when he worked there. Mr. Johnson, 58, also blamed Mr. Ercolino for his layoff, saying he hadn't aggressively marketed Mr. Johnson's new T-shirt line, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

After waiting for Mr. Ercolino, 41, to come to work, Mr. Johnson walked up, pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and fired at his head, Mr. Kelly said. After he fell to the ground, Mr. Johnson stood over him and shot four more times, a witness told investigators.

"Jeffrey just came from behind two cars, pulled out his gun, put it up to Steve's head and shot him," said Carol Timan, whose daughter, Irene, was walking to Hazan Imports at the time with Mr. Ercolino.

A construction worker who saw the shooting followed Mr. Johnson and alerted two police officers, a detail regularly assigned to patrol city landmarks such as the 1,454-foot skyscraper since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, officials said.

Mr. Kelly said the officers who caught up to Mr. Johnson had "a gun right in their face" and "responded quickly, and they responded appropriately. These officers -- having looked at the tape myself -- had absolutely no choice."

A witness told police that Mr. Johnson fired at the officers, but authorities say ballistics evidence doesn't support that. Mr. Johnson's weapon held seven rounds, they said. He fired five times at Mr. Ercolino, one round was still in the gun, and one was ejected when officers secured it, authorities said. Another loaded magazine was found in Mr. Johnson's briefcase.

Mr. Johnson legally bought the gun in 1991 in Sarasota, Fla., but police said he didn't have a required permit to possess it in New York City.

"New York City, as you know, is the safest big city in the country, and we are on pace to have a record low number of murders this year," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "But we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence," he said of the shooting, following mass shootings a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Robert Asika, who was shot in the right arm, said he was "100 percent positive" a police officer had shot him. Mr. Asika, 23, sells tickets for the Empire State Building's observatory. "When I woke up this morning, I didn't even want to go to work," he said. "Something told me not to go to work."

The wounded victims were five women and four men, authorities said. All were from New York City, except a woman from Chapel Hill, N.C. They suffered graze wounds or other minor injuries.

Mr. Ercolino's profile on the LinkedIn business networking site identified him as a vice president of sales at Hazan Import. It said he was a graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta. He had recently moved to New Jersey after living for a time in Warwick, just north of New York City, said his eldest brother, Paul Ercolino. He grew up in Nanuet.

"He was in the prime of his life," Paul Ercolino said. He added that his brother had never mentioned to the family that he had any problems with a co-worker.

Hazan Import Corp. imports women's clothing and accessories, according to public records. Calls to its executives weren't immediately returned.

Internet records list Mr. Johnson as website administrator for St. Jolly's Art, a business that sold iron-on T-shirt art, including stylized drawings of fighter planes, muscle cars and ships.