# 10 reported shot in front of Empire State Building. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487 "2012-08-24T14:12:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/1 "2012-08-24T14:12:36Z")
[Breaking news.](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/shooting-reported-outside-empire-state-building/) [NBC link](http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/24/13455394-several-people-shot-outside-empire-state-building?lite) ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/2 "2012-08-24T14:20:25Z")
If more people had guns the people that got shot could have shot the shooter before they got shot. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/3 "2012-08-24T14:23:14Z")
Two co-workers shot each other? Where do they work where they would BOTH be carrying guns? I guess the bright side is that it’s not a random massacre… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/4 "2012-08-24T14:30:24Z")
> [@nogravity](#): > > If more people had guns the people that got shot could have shot the shooter before they got shot. First reply! Thank goodness this was posted before anybody had time to express sympathy for the victims or shock at the events. Great work. Thank you. It’s always refreshing when people have their priorities straight after something terrible happens. At least two people are dead, but fuck them and fuck figuring out what even happened, let’s blame New York’s gun control laws and speculate about what might’ve happened under other circumstances. You know what- I can’t tell if this post is parody or not, but it’s the same problem regardless. Pro-/anti-gun control snark doesn’t have to be the _first_ response. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/5 "2012-08-24T14:31:54Z")
No, one guy with a gun shot his (maybe) coworker and a bunch of other people before either the cops shot him or he shot himself. Good lord the internet has killed reporting and fact checking. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/6 "2012-08-24T14:32:42Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > No, one guy with a gun shot his (maybe) coworker and a bunch of other people before either the cops shot him or he shot himself. > > Good lord the internet has killed reporting and fact checking. I have not seen any reports saying two co-workers shot each other. That appears to be a reading error, not a reporting one. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/7 "2012-08-24T14:34:59Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > No, one guy with a gun shot his (maybe) coworker and a bunch of other people before either the cops shot him or he shot himself. > > Good lord the internet has killed reporting and fact checking. To be fair, this is breaking news. Nobody knows all the facts yet. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/8 "2012-08-24T14:35:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I have not seen any reports saying two co-workers shot each other. That appears to be a reading error, not a reporting one. New York Post say co-worker: > [@](#): > > A disgruntled worker stalked a colleague down a Midtown street, shot him dead and then turned his weapon on random pedestrians outside the Empire State Building — killing at least one innocent bystander and shooting up to seven others before he was cut down by a cop on foot patrol, sources told The Post. > > Read more: [Video: Cops kill Empire State Building gunman after he slays co-worker](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/shot_at_empire_state_building_Ycd08ZMPwDQf7r8qSKX3yO#ixzz24TTNITu6) ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/9 "2012-08-24T14:38:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > First reply! Thank goodness this was posted before anybody had time to express sympathy for the victims or shock at the events. Great work. Thank you. It’s always refreshing when people have their priorities straight after something terrible happens. At least two people are dead, but fuck them and fuck figuring out what even happened, let’s blame New York’s gun control laws and speculate about what might’ve happened under other circumstances. > > You know what- I can’t tell if this post is parody or not, but it’s the same problem regardless. Pro-/anti-gun control snark doesn’t have to be the _first_ response. It was meant as snark. And, at the same time, I’m fresh out of sympathy for pretty much anything these days. Also, I didn’t realize there was a first post rule. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/10 "2012-08-24T14:41:51Z")
> [@nogravity](#): > > It was meant as snark. And, at the same time, I’m fresh out of sympathy for pretty much anything these days. Also, I didn’t realize there was a first post rule. At least nobody said ‘automatic weapons’. I really don’t get the shock and horror at people not expressing shock and horror in a post about events like these. Is it really necessary to express sympathy for the victims on a message board? Is there a minimum number of ‘OMG, how horrible, I express my sympathy and shock’ posts before the thread can turn into the inevitable gun debate? > [@nogravity](#): > > It was meant as snark. And, at the same time, I’m fresh out of sympathy for pretty much anything these days. Also, I didn’t realize there was a first post rule. Oh, apparently [there is.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=661977) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/11 "2012-08-24T14:43:53Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > New York Post say co-worker: There’s nothing there about two coworkers shooting each other. The current story is that one person shot a coworker and then started shooting pedestrians and is shot by a cop or perhaps he shot himself. > [@nogravity](#): > > Also, I didn’t realize there was a first post rule. I didn’t say anthing about a rule. I thought basic decency dictates that maybe people express some sympathy or surprise before we start this bullshit gun cliche stuff _again_ since this same goes-nowhere discussion has already played out in several mass shooting threads this summer. Might as well hold off on reruns of the gun control bullshit while people discuss the actual current event. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/12 "2012-08-24T14:49:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I have not seen any reports saying two co-workers shot each other. That appears to be a reading error, not a reporting one. Sorry those two statements were unconnected. I wrote the first sentence to answer **Sicks Ate** and the fact that the story boiled down to “Gun, dead, EMPIRE STATE BUILDING” just made me roll my eyes a little. I think at this point I’d be happier to see someone post “Breaking news - Gunfire near the Empire state building. Gunman is dead, more details to follow” than the it could be this or that or something totally different. ---
**Author:** ![Whiteknight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whiteknight/32/4962_2.png) [@Whiteknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiteknight)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/13 "2012-08-24T14:55:43Z")
[TERROR AT THE TOWER!!!](http://www.foxnews.com/) says Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/14 "2012-08-24T15:08:07Z")
…and they haven’t ruled out Obama setting up the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/15 "2012-08-24T15:20:50Z")
Wow, another multiple-deaths gun incident. So what? I’d say that anyone sensitive enough (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that) to require a solemn moment of mourning and quiet reflection upon learning of such an incident might better serve their emotional requirement by not immediately attempting to put in their $0.02 regarding said tragedy on a high-traffic internet message board. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/16 "2012-08-24T15:21:01Z")
My friend and upstairs neighbor works across the street, so she’s pretty freaked out right now. She’s on a lower floor so she heard everything and is seeing all the aftermath (cops, ambulances, choppers hovering). I think she’s gonna need a stiff drink when we get home tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/17 "2012-08-24T15:24:37Z")
[There’s still some major confusion about why this actually happened.](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/nyregion/several-people-shot-one-fatally-outside-empire-state-building.html?hp) > [@](#): > > Two law enforcement officials said investigators had concluded that the shooting had no connection to terrorism and that it appeared to stem from a domestic dispute. A third said it might have been sparked by a robbery or dispute in the street. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/18 "2012-08-24T15:48:53Z")
Now they’re saying that two are dead, not three. It looks like the shooter was laid off a year ago, and went to his former place of employment to get the money he was owed. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/19 "2012-08-24T16:03:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I didn’t say anthing about a rule. I thought basic decency dictates that maybe people express some sympathy or surprise before we start this bullshit gun cliche stuff Yeah it is such a bullshit cliche to actually want to do something that might actually prevent this sort of thing from happening so much. Much better to express your condolences to the people involved, who are sure to read this message board and be comforted. Thank you for keeping our priorities straight. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/20 "2012-08-24T16:07:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I didn’t say anthing about a rule. I thought basic decency dictates that maybe people express some sympathy or surprise before we start this bullshit gun cliche stuff _again_ **since this same goes-nowhere discussion has already played out in several mass shooting threads this summer.** Bolding mine. The fact that there have been several mass shootings this summer indicates a systemic problem. I’m surprised that this shooting involved a famous landmark, but I can’t say I’m surprised that there was another workplace shooting in an American city. I’m sympathetic to the people who got shot in the course of an ordinary day, and to the survivors of the slain, but it’s not like we knew the victims personally. I think you can (and should) take some fellow-feeling for granted without requiring pro forma expressions thereof. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487.md?page=2)