EMPIRE STATE BUILDING – SCENE OF A CRIME
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan
Tourists are always thrilled to visit New York City attractions and one of the most popular is the Empire State Building.
But on Friday morning, August 24th, events took a dramatic turn. It began as any normal morning with 5th Avenue and W. 33rd Street bustling with people on their way to work and excited tourists arriving at the Empire State Building to visit the landmark and snap photos.
At 9:00 a.m., a man in a suit casually was walking down the street but gave cause for concern as a construction worker heard shots and witnessed a portion of the shooting just minutes before.
This was not just a random act. The man was Jeffrey Johnson, 58 years old, described by his neighbor as “the nicest guy”. He had worked as a designer of women’s accessories at Hazan Import Corporation but was eventually laid off last year due to the company downsizing because of declining sales. The person shot and killed by Johnson was a co-worker, Steven Ercolino, 41 years old. He was identified as Vice President of Sales at Hazan Import Corporation. He was loved by many and will be greatly missed by friends and family. The confrontations between the two men was ongoing and dates back. Johnson felt that Ercolino was not selling as much of his product as he should have been and apparently held a grudge. The two men had physically fought in an elevator at one time with Ercolino pinning Johnson against the wall. Both men filed harassment complaints against each other in April 2011. Johnson continued to return to the company on a regular basis.
On Friday, Johnson, wearing a suit as he usually did and carrying a briefcase with a gun that he had bought in Florida in 1991 but did not have a permit to carry in New York City, waited outside the business for Ercolino to arrive for work. As soon as his victim appeared, Johnson shot him once in the head and once in the torso killing him immediately. He then walked away as if nothing had happened, however, by that time the construction worker who had witnessed the act had alerted nearby police officers.
As Johnson reached for his weapon, he was overcome by shots fired from police officers killing him on the spot with 10 bullet wounds in the chest, arms and legs. Ironically, the two officers had never fired their weapons before on a patrol.
Nine people were injured as they were in the line of fire and sustained shots by the officers. Officer Craig Matthews fired 7 times, Officer Robert Sinishtaj fired 9 times. Two women who have leg wounds and one man with wounds to his buttocks are still hospitalized after having surgery. Six people were grazed by fragments of bullets. A security videotape from the scene shows several civilians which includes 3 sitting on a bench just a few feet away, scattering as they saw the officers raise their guns.
The crime scene closed the street for a period of time but before long, everything was back to normal with just a hint of a morning filled with two fatalities. Today was a new day and with a new set of tourists who would not be deterred by what had taken place. They were eager to get to the 1453 foot tall skyscraper reaching up 1/4 mile into the skyline and begin this new day.
PHOTO CREDITS: Getty Images, A/P, New York Times
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