Saturday, August 25, 2012

An American tragedy. Downsizing. Unemployment. Anger. Revenge? Insanity? Suicide by Cops?




I am surprised that there was not more collateral damage to bystanders in terms of the cops going into top fifth gear in reaction to a killing on a sidewalk across the street from the Empire State Building.  Considering the density of the space, time of day, crowds, traffic and the stone, concrete and granite present, ricocheting bullets are a believable scenario. Glad I wasn’t there.

53-year-old Jeffrey T. Johnson has been identified as the gunman who opened fire at the Empire State Building Friday morning, shooting and wounding 9 people, and killing his former co-worker, before being gunned down himself by police ...
Jeffrey awoke alone Friday in his upper East Side apartment, put on his gray suit and grabbed his briefcase. On his way out the door, promptly at 7:30 a.m., Johnson said hello to the building’s super. 
Neighbors described Johnson as a loner who bought the same takeout meal each day at a McDonald’s near his home — and then dined alone in his room. 
Other than an occasional pop-in by his mother, Johnson never welcomed any guests to the simple apartment. 
Here are a few things you need to know about what happened when Johnson opened fired yesterday morning:   
-Johnson used a 45 semi-automatic caliber handgun.-He worked at Hazan Imports, a women's accessories design line, for 6 years.-Johnson was laid off a year ago due to downsizing.-Johnson shot his former co-worker, a 41-year-old named Steven Ercolino, in the head in front of the office building at 10 W 33rd street. Ercolino had been the Vice President of Sales at Hazan Import Corp. since December 2005.-After Johnson shot his former colleague, a construction worker followed him, then spoke to police nearby. Johnson turned his .45-caliber pistol on officers and they returned fire. Johnson was shot and killed by police.

Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/jeffrey-johnson-picture-empire-state-building-shooter-hazan-corp-photos#ixzz24ZNGAwww


http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/justice/new-york-empire-state-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t2


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