Two people have been shot dead and as many as 10 injured after a gunman opened fire outside the Empire State Building following a reported dispute with a fellow worker.A police source told Reuters two people had died and multiple others had suffered injuries after shots rang out just before 9 a.m. in front of the iconic New York City skyscraper.
It is believed at least four people were shot before the NYPD swooped on the scene and shot the gunman dead. Police said at total of 10 people were injured in the incident.
Chaos: Four people have shot by a gunman outside the Empire State Building in New York City
The New York Post reported that the gunfire came after a dispute between coworkers, while other reports added that the man had just been fired from his job.
It is unclear what sparked the deadly argument, yet witnesses recounted the chaotic scene during rush hour in an area swarming with workers and tourists.
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'The gunshots were like a movie scene, everybody running in every direction and you can hear the gunshots everywhere not knowing where to run,' witness Suzy El Ayoubi said on Twitter.
'Gunshots just flew over my head. A young man just died in front of me!' she added.
Dispute: Early reports suggested the gunfire was a result of a dispute between coworkers
Crowds: People on their way to work gathered around the crime scene on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue
Aliyah Imam told Fox 5 News that she was standing at a red light when a woman standing next to her fell to the ground after being hit in the hip. She said the gunman was 'shooting indiscriminately at people'.
Witness Kay Hudson, who said she was three feet away when a man was shot, said she heard seven shots then saw a man carrying an orange helmet lying on the ground.
Hudson said she began shouting for people to run and started fleeing down 33rd Street, according to Twitter.
Jill Greenwood, who works as an account supervisor at Prosek Partners in the Empire State Building, told the Wall Street Journal that she heard several gun shots beginning at 9:04 a.m.
She said that people inside the building began yelling because an echo from the shots made it sound like the shooting was happening inside the building.
Busy: It is an area busy with tourists and workers. Police have closed down the roads as they investigate
Fears: The 10 people believed to have been injured in the shooting have been taken to hospital
'We heard these gunshots, it sounded like fireworks. So, we both got up and went to the window and looked down,' Ms. Greenwood,30, told the WSJ.
Victims, some of whom were shot in the buttocks and legs, were taken to St. Luke's Hospital and Bellevue.
Helicopter footage apparently showed the gunman lying on a stretcher in handcuffs, before officers placed a white sheet over his body.
A fire department spokesman said it received a call about the shooting just after at 9 a.m. and that emergency units were on the scene within minutes. The FBI confirmed it is not terror related.
Traffic was diverted as police swarmed the scene at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Scene: The shooting took place outside the Empire State Building, pictured, during rush hour
via dailymail.co.uk
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