Deadly shooting near New York's Empire State Building

Nine others were hit by bullets, some possibly fired by police, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, BBC informed.

Those wounded suffered minor injuries and all were expected to survive.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly named the shooter as 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, who lived in Manhattan. His victim was Steven Ercolino, 41.

Among those wounded were four men and five women, aged 20 to 56, authorities said. They were all from New York City except one woman from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The shootout took place in the heart of Manhattan, in front of one of the world's most widely recognised landmarks, soon after 09:00 (13:00 GMT) when the area was packed with commuters and tourists.

"This was a terrible tragedy. We are not immune to the national problem of gun violence," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Commissioner Kelly said the suspect had lost his job about a year ago at Hazan Imports, located near the Empire State Building.

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