Jeffrey Johnson is the Empire State Building Shooter: Fifth Avenue Gunman Worked At Hazan Imports

Jeffrey Johnson is the Empire State Building shooter.

The shooter was a 53-years-old. He gunned down his ex-boss and wounded seven bystanders on the crowded sidewalks outside the Empire State Building in a Friday morning shooting spree, New York City police and witnesses said. Johnson apparently used a semi-automatic, 50 caliber weapon.

Johnson was fired on Thursday from Hazan Imports, where he was an employee for six years. He wore a business suit and carried a briefcase when he shot and killed his victim near the 33rd street entrance to the iconic Midtown New York building. The Empire State Building is home to a number of Midtown businesses.

Reports indicate that eight people were shot and one killed; witnesses on the ground were under the impression that two people were killed. ABC News was reporting that the gunfire erupted over a workplace dispute. 

The shooting occurred during the hectic morning rush hour, shortly after 9 a.m., when throngs of people shuffle to their Midtown offices. The shooter was killed by police. 

Witnesses say the gunman was firing indiscriminately. A witness, Aliyah Imam, told FOX News she was standing at a red light when the woman next to her fell to the ground after being shot in the hip. Friday morning's shooting comes on the heels of numerous public shooting in the United States this summer including the Aurora shooting and the Wisconsin shooting at a Sikh Temple. 

Though this shooting may pale in comparison in terms of the amount of victims, the event comes in the heart of America’s busiest business — and media — center. Media outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press, and PolicyMic all call Midtown home. Because major media outlets are located near the shooting, expect coverage to be disproportionately saturated.

See PolicyMic's LIVE coverage of the Empire Stare Building shooting here.