At least two people have reportedly died and eight more have been injured as a shooting broke out outside the Empire State Building in Manhattan, say police. The suspected attacker is said to be one of the dead.
Two people sustained shooting wounds and six more were injured in what the local affiliate of ABC channel describes as "a workplace dispute that spilled out onto the street."
The suspected gunman was fatally shot by the police and died on the scene. A weapon has been found near his body. Witnesses decribe the suspect to NBC as a tall Caucasian male in his twenties wearing a grey suit.
People at the scene say at least seven shots were heard.
"By the time I got there that man was lying dead, I was three feet in front of him. I heard a noise of like seven shots go off I thought it was a truck delivering materials, like they do in the morning. But when I turned my head I saw a man fall and he had a helmet in his hand so I just ran and I told everyone to run," an eyewitness told the Guardian.
The other person dead is a by-stander. Images from the street show a dead body of a white man in his middle ages wearing jeans and a cheked shirt; a red and black backpack is lying near him.
Some of the victims were found inside the lobby of the Empire State Building, say US media outlets, while some others were found in the street. The FDNY says their conditions range from minor injuries to not urgent.
The shooting happened near the intersection of 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue around 9:00 am local time, says CBS 2 broadcaster. It is not yet clear what led to the shooting and whether it was pre-mediated or not.
So far there is no apparent link to terrorism, the NYPD tells Reuters. Preliminary findings show the suspect had been fired the day before. Friday, as he returned to his workplace, he was stopped by the security who knew he had been sacked, so he decided to wait for his boss outside.
Mayor Bloomberg has arrived at the scene.
The FBI and police have drawn multiple forces to the scene. The area is cordoned off with the law enforcers not allowing people either to enter or leave the scene.
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Image from Twitter/@minutounocom
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The body of a man lies on the sidewalk near the Empire State Building following a shooting in New York August 24, 2012. (Reuters/James Bolden)
New York City officials say several people have been shot outside the Empire State Building and that the gunman is dead.
City police say three or four civilians have been wounded in the Friday morning shooting and that the shooter is dead.
A fire department spokesman says it received a call about the shooting just after at 9 a.m. Friday and that emergency units were on the scene within minutes.
The spokesman had no information about how many people were wounded or their conditions.
The shooting occurred at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. Source
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