President of the NRA at today's conference (Washington Post)

Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut. Anyone who was hoping for anything less than usual b.s. about how the school system needs more guns should probably stop reading right here. Also, the NRA wants us to note, that it is our culture's glorification of Splatterdays (what?), Mortal Kombat and Natural Born Killers--specifically--that causes mass shootings, not military-style assault weapons that we can buy online.

From Mr. LaPierre's statement:

And here’s another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like “Bullet Storm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Combat,” and “Splatterhouse.”

And here’s one, it’s called “Kindergarten Killers.” It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all of yours couldn’t? Or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it? Add another hurricane, add another natural disaster. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like “American Psycho,” “Natural Born Killers.” They’re aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day.

That would be a very good point, Mr. LaPierre, and if you were anyone other than the guy telling us that everyone needs a semiautomatic machine gun with 20 magazines, we might listen. Unfortunately, Kindergarten Killers has not prompted anyone to go on a rampage, since, as you say, no one has ever seen that film outside of your office. Also, Patrick Batemen didn't really use guns, and Natural Born Killers came out 18 years ago. I'd also advise you to Google "Mortal Kombat death statics" and compare it to "gun death statistics." It's quite enlightening.

Not to worry though, because it looks like the travesty at Newtown has only caused an increase in gun sales. Thanks, Kindergarten Killers.

Mr. Tyler managed to get off approximately 16 shots, wounding several other victims. The two dead are thought to have been specifically targeted by the gunman, who then opened up random fire on two separate parts of the store before turning the gun on himself.

So far, police have not identified the two victims, nor any predicating incidents that may have caused Mr. Tyler to single out these two of his fellow employees.

More news as this develops.

Reddit user "Mebbeatroaway" took to the message board late last night to answer questions that have "cropped up due to last weeks [sic] shooting.”

Needless to say, he's got some pretty interesting things to say about Guns and The City. Emphasis ours ...

Who He Is:

Born and raised here, doing what I always wanted, but the politics is terrible. I don't think I could leave, all my family is here and despite what everyone sees, it's real easy to fall in love with NY. Hopefully something will change when our mayor leaves.

On the NYPD's Gun Training Regimen:

Any average CCW [concealed-carry weapon] citizen who practices more then twice a year pretty much has most of the department beat in terms of training.

On NYPD Bureaucrats Changing the Gun Training Regimen Due to Public Complaints:

I honestly don't think they will listen. Change has to come from within the department. Maybe a PC [police chief] more interested in tactics then sending detectives to New Jersey and middle America to hunt 'terrorist' college clubs.

On Whether or Not Anyone Pushes for Changes in the NYPD Training Regimen:

There are many that do, and they are ignored, because a majority don't care. Certain 'tactics' sessions we have involve bullshitting about deferred compensation or who went on disability. It's fucking disgusting. But anyone that speaks up is considered a 'buff'.

'Shouldn't we be discussing active shooter situations?'

'WHOA EASY THERE COWBOY. First let's look at some slides a chief in Queens made about preteens joining gangs, then take an hour break and come back and sit down playing on your iPhones some more'

To be fair, a lot of the people 'training' us are cops who have back problems from wearing gunbelts for too long & never exercising so they stuck them in some crap teaching gig. It's despicable.

On What Cops Make, and Whether or Not He Loves His Job:

Here's the thing, I honestly don't know. [The salaries] are all posted online ... All I know is I'm making around 70 this year and I'm six years in. I went in the academy at 21 because that's all I've ever wanted to do. I'd shovel shit for pay and do this for free if I had too. I don't love this job because of the shit training, but because I actually love dealing with people out there that might need my help. Living in the boroughs is expensive, but I make enough to be happy.

On Gun Training Standars:

The majority of the NYPD has never been trained on any of the M4's, MP5's or Ithaca shotguns we have. The last four academy classes were allowed to shoot 5 rounds each from an M4, and now they are all 'rifle qualified'. When I ever get an AR [assault rifle], it will be my own.

There's more where that came from.

If the thread and the user in question are in fact legitimate—and they certainly seem to be—at the very least, it's an enlightening and refreshing change of pace from the constant obfuscation of matters like these that typically emerges from the department (in the form of NYPD spokesman DCPI Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne). In other words, savor what little is there. What most New Yorkers know about their police force and the way they deal with guns is likely cloudy at best, and despite the slight light this may shed on the matter, there likely won't be more where this came from.

Or as the supposed cop in question, "Mebbeatroaway”—who hasn't provided verification that he is an NYPD officer—put it: "My job has a zero tolerance policy on officers making it look bad online."

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

The Empire State Building (ESB)

“Today, a disgruntled employee of a company which neighbors the Empire State Building fatally shot a former co-worker. Two police officers who are part of the NYPD’s normal coverage of the area around the Empire State Building approached and fatally shot the man. Nine others were injured in the shooting. This unfortunate event had nothing to do with the Empire State Building or with terrorism. The Empire State Building and its Observatories remained open throughout, and continue to be open and operating. At no time was there any related activity in the building. We express our deepest concern for those innocents who were hurt and our appreciation to the NYPD.”

The Empire State Building (ESB)

At least ten people have been shot at the Empire State Building this morning including an as-yet-unidentified shooter according to a spokesman for the New York City Police Department. The male shooter was killed, but the NYPD says further information about the gunman or his motivations is currently "unknown."

We'll update this post as soon as we know more.

Original Post (9:54 a.m.): At least four people have been shot at the Empire State Building this morning including an as-yet-unidentified shooter according to a spokesman for the department. The shooter was killed.

“At least four people were shot outside the building including the perp and the perp was shot dead-on-arrival,” an officer with the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Information told the Observer.

The NYPD spokesman said they had no further information about the shooter at this time. He also said they could not provide any information about how the incident began.

“We’re still gathering information on that,” he said.

Update (10:05 a.m.): According to the New York Post, the shooting stemmed from a "dispute between coworkers" and left "at least two dead including the gunman" and "a total of 10 people shot."

Update (10:21 a.m.): An NYPD spokesman, Sergeant Ryan, confirmed that ten people were injured in the shooting including the gunman, who was killed. Sergeant Ryan said it was a "male perpetrator" but that other information about his race, age or possible motivations is currently "unknown."

Update (10:33 a.m.): A Flick user, MCM Photography has posted a very graphic set of photos taken outside the building.

© Mickey C Marrero Photography Inc.

Update (11:04 a.m.): Intern-on-the-scene Jonah Wolf sends the below photograph of observers filling 34th Street.

The crowd outside the Empire State Building post-shooting

Update (11:12 a.m.): The shooting was apparently sparked by a dispute between co-workers at a business inside the Empire State Building, according to the Daily News. WNBC is reporting that the deceased victim may be the boss of the shooter. DCPI wouldn't confirm the report.

Update (11:21 a.m.): Hani Durzy, director of corporate communications at LinkedIn, writes to The Observer: "We are extremely relieved that we can confirm that all LinkedIn staff in our Empire State Building Office are accounted for and safe."

Update (11:25 a.m.): Mayor Michael Bloomberg just confirmed that the shooter was a fired employee. He was a 5356-year-old worker at Hazan Accessories Imports, and shot a co-worker three times when a .45 semiautomatic handgun.

Update (11:32 a.m.): More details from the press conference: there are one dead and nine shot; the shooter attempted to shoot at a cop on the scene, according to the mayor. Police have begun letting people in to the Empire State Building's 33rd Street entrance, The Observer's Jonah Wolf reports.

 Update (11:37 a.m.): Another gruesome photo from @StephLauren:

Victim in the Empire State Building shooting this morning.

Update (11:39 a.m.): The perpetrator has been identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 53 56, a former employee at Hazan Imports, where he designed women's accessories, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. The victim was 41.

Update (11:54 a.m.): The Observer's David Freedlander tweets that the shooting occurred by building's north entrance, near 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, according to Commissioner Kelly's post-press conference comments, and that one of the victims hails from North Carolina.

A receptionist at one building tenant, meanwhile, tells The Observer that building management told her company that workers could leave the building through the 34th Street entrance, but can only enter on the building's south side.

Update (11:57):

The shooter's car.

Update (12:17): Statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who commended NYPD and emergency responders: "Our state has no tolerance for senseless acts of violence that harm our people, and we will do everything possible to ensure that law enforcement officials have the tools they need so residents of the city and tourists can enjoy everything New York City has to offer without fearing for their own safety and security."

Update (1:16) After Mike Bloomberg's press conference, Ray Kelly briefed reporters on the shooting. He updated the shooter's age to 56--earlier accounts had him at 53--and said that there were multiple cross complaint harassment allegations between the shooter and victim that lasted a over a year. "There was an ongoing dispute between the suspect and the person that he killed." He added that it appears as if several of the nine shot were wounded by police responding to the scene.

Update (1:26): “Within a quarter of a second, it was mass chaos," an audibly upset Kim Levering told The Observer's Daniel Edward Rosen over the telephone from her Park Slope apartment. "

Ms. Levering, a senior writer and communications director at the nonprofit Autism Speaks had gone to work like any other day, exiting the Q train at 32nd Street and Sixth, and was walking east on 33rd Street when the gunman opened fire.

There was a "pop, pop, pop," Ms. Levering said, followed by mass hysteria. She turned to head back west to Sixth Avenue, but got caught in the crush of people trying to flee the chaos. "“I almost got trampled when I got up against the wall and tried top turn to go back,” she said. "You couldn't tell if the shooter was chasing us up the street."

Ms. Levering, who told The Observer that she was leaving New York tomorrow on a trip to Burning Man, made her way to Sixth Avenue, walked downtown to 30th Street and made her way east to her office—where she stayed for a few minutes before deciding to head home.

"The adrenaline was so intense that I was uncontrollably shaking for two hours," she said.

Update (1:33): The Wall Street Journal has identified the victim as Steve Ercolino, 41, a vice president of sales at Hazan Imports, according to his LinkedIn page, and a 1992 graduate from SUNY Oneonta.

Mr. Ercolino

Update (1:39) Tony Malkin, whose family controls the Empire State Building, released a statement expressing his sympathies to the victims and noting that the violence didn't spread to the interior of the building: "This unfortunate event had nothing to do with the Empire State Building or with terrorism," he said. "The Empire State Building and its Observatories remained open throughout, and continue to be open and operating." The Observer has the complete statement.

Update (2:03): The Times points us to a t-shirt art business that appears to have been run by the shooter, Jeffrey Johnson, a graduate of Ringling School of Art & Design in Florida.

The crowd outside the Empire State Building

Update 2:20pm Jonah Wolf reports from the scene at the Empire State Building:By 10:30 AM, a crowd had gathered at the police line on 34th Street and Broadway, just east of Herald Square. Employees of businesses on that block—ASA College, Aéropostale, Forever 21—were told to show their ID or call their managers in order to cross the police line. Onlookers watched as police cars entered and exited the block.

Mark Lee, visiting from Essex, England, said he and his family "heard the sirens when we were going in" to the Empire State Building, but were still able to ride up to the 88th floor unaware of the shooting outside. "You can even go up to the 102nd floor," added his younger son, Robert, after leaving the police barricade.

"I'm glad I was late. I didn't have to dodge any bullets. God works in mysterious ways," said an employee of tour bus operators City Sights who declined to give his name.

Brandon Thorpe, who witnessed the shooting on the way to work at Penn Station, said, "You know that was retaliation. That means we have to get guns not just out of his hands but out of everybody's hands."

"I heard five gunshots," said Maria Almodovar Ramos, who was at work in the building on 10 West 33rd Street when the shooting occurred. "The shooter then ran toward Fifth Avenue." Seeing the police on his tail, the shooter apparently abandoned his grey Nissan and ran up Fifth Avenue toward 34th Street, where he was shot.

At approximately 12:50, a medical examiner van was seen leaving the crime scene.

Update (2:33): Raymond DiGiuseppe, chair in the Department of Psychology at St. John’s University, writes in on the shooter: “Jeffrey Johnson is too old for this aggressive act to be from the onset of psychotic disorder; and he’s too old to have unusual aggression typically found in younger men," Dr. DiGiuseppe said in an emailed statement. "Most professionals in our field think of aggression as impulsive, but we find that the three R’s revenge, resentment, and rumination can also play an important role in triggering aggression. Bringing the gun to his previous work place shows some degree of planning. Without knowing if he has a history of psychotic behavior, personality disorder, or neurological condition, if I had to predict, I would hypothesize that he has been ruminating about getting revenge and harboring feelings of resentment for the past year since he lost his job and that he would view this event as the result of being treated unfairly.”

Via Eddie Huang.

Over the weekend, NYPD officers shot and killed a man in Midtown. Today, they did the same thing to a dog near Union Square.

While we've been on the topic of Eddie Huang, we just received a call from the Baohaus owner about the peculiar gunshot he and his staff just heard outside of his East Village restaurant on 14th Street. UPDATED (see below).

Huang just explained to The Observer by phone:

We heard the gunshot, and we all ducked, and saw people running and screaming. All of the sudden, our chef, Mitch, ran toward the gunshot. He was like Yo, it's that dog in front of KFC—because there's always this dog in front of KFC—and by the time I get there, I can see the dog whipping around and convulsing.

Everyone around was like: Put the dog out of its misery. The cops left this dog wiggling and flaying, blood coming out of its mouth. They shot it in front of a public bus.

Another one of our employees was 10 feet away from it, and he said what happened was: The cops tried to mace the dog, when they tried to mace it, the dog lunged at [the cop]. And this is the same homeless guy we see outside of KFC every day. He never bothers anybody. Today, the guy was passed out. Other people were saying he OD'd or whatever, but he was alive, he was just in a hole [passed out].

What we heard was: The dog was barking at people outside of KFC, and people called the police. Then the dog lunged, and another cop shot it.

You can see in the photo, the trail of blood. The dog traveled. People were really really vocal, harassing the cops to put the dog down, and they wouldn't do it. The whole thing just seemed really, really unnecessary. I don't know what the protocol is for this, I know they have to keep the peace, but it really seemed like an abuse of power, an unnecessary one, and not doing it the right way. They really should've put that dog out of its misery. We've all seen Old Yeller. We all know the right way to do this.

We see this dog outside of KFC every day. It's usually a nice dog. [The dog and its owner] don't bother anyone. Everyone in this restaurant [Baohaus] knows this. If it was a cop from the neighborhood, they would know that guy. He's there every day.

Again, this is the second shooting in broad daylight, in a highly-trafficked pedestrian thoroughfare of Manhattan in less than three days.

UPDATE: Apparently, the dog lived. Which is not, for the record, how Old Yeller ends.

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

Now, almost twelve years after the closing of the West 43^rd St. location, Club New York is set to re-open, with a new space and (hopefully) a cleaner image.

“I always had a plan to reopen,” drawled Michael Bergos in his thick New York accent. “This was always going to happen.”

The nightclub owner, who also owns a few other sleazy late-night locations in the Big Apple, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, told The Observer that he has been scoping out venues downtown, citing Meatpacking as a potential location for Club New York, part deux.

After some snooping, we discovered that in 2000, only a few months after three people were brutally wounded inside of his now-famous establishment, Mr. Bergos trademarked both the phrase Club New York (for bar and nightclub services) and Club NY (for clothing, and most specifically, t-shirts).

When asked why he chose to protect the rights to his defunct club’s name, the club owner said that title is “worldly recognizable” and that it was important to preserve the “history” of the Midtown lounge.

Has the club owner talked to Diddy about his plans for the new nightspot? Mr. Bergos was dismissive, saying simply: “He has nothing to do with me. He has no control over this.”

Let's hope there will be better security control at the new Club New York™.