# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/41 "2012-08-24T19:40:21Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > Granted, but the dude can’t stab me from 40 feet away, so he’s somewhat less lethal. How do you know he’s not the knife thrower from the local Ren Fest, or the butcher from the local supermarche’, out with a fuckload of cutlery? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/42 "2012-08-24T19:46:15Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > Granted, but the dude can’t stab me from 40 feet away, so he’s somewhat less lethal. Yeah, but if he shoots at you from 40 feet away, he probably won’t hit you, either. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/43 "2012-08-24T19:48:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > …I thought basic decency dictates that maybe people express some sympathy or surprise before … Seriously, unless there’s an unfrozen caveman pedestrian walking around, no one can be surprised about this kind of shit any more. I’m starting to wonder if we’ve reached and passed some kind of cultural “tipping point” and mass shootings will become almost as common as … car wrecks or date rapes. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/44 "2012-08-24T20:02:30Z")
Whenever something is in the media, it happens more because it’s in people’s minds. If there was a story about a bunch of kids licking toads, within a month there would be 50 stories about kids licking toads. If there was suddenly a story about someone being poisoned randomly by having something dropped in their drink at a bar, within a month there would be at least a dozen similar stories. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/45 "2012-08-24T20:05:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Yeah, but if he shoots at you from 40 feet away, he probably won’t hit you, either. So, if you shoot _him_ from 40 feet away… ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/46 "2012-08-24T20:08:51Z")
My cunning plan is to shoot him from 25 feet and totally confuse him. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/47 "2012-08-24T20:11:12Z")
> [@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. Sir, you have been on the SDMB for ten years. I am honestly shocked that this surprises/disappoints/arouses you at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/48 "2012-08-24T20:38:57Z")
I am SHOCKED that anyone on the SDMB is shocked by what other people are shocked about. and shit. ---
**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, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/49 "2012-08-24T20:51:00Z")
The definition of metashock: > [@Chimera](#): > > I am SHOCKED that anyone on the SDMB is shocked by what other people are shocked about. > > and shit. It’s a continuum. Horror-------------Shock-------------Metashock------------Recreational Outrage------------Meh ---
**Author:** ![CoffinMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@CoffinMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoffinMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/50 "2012-08-24T20:56:37Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > Granted, but the dude can’t stab me from 40 feet away, so he’s somewhat less lethal. Conceded that he was “somewhat less lethal” - though even so there were still nearly the same number of deaths in his incident, not to mention the number of injuries he caused by plowing his truck into the crowd. And all without the benefit of a firearm. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/51 "2012-08-24T22:34:14Z")
> [@CoffinMan](#): > > Conceded that he was “somewhat less lethal” - though even so there were still nearly the same number of deaths in his incident, not to mention the number of injuries he caused by plowing his truck into the crowd. And all without the benefit of a firearm. So very rarely, someone _without_ a gun succeeds in killing roughly the same number of people as many others _with_ guns do much more easily, effectively and frequently. The sensation of reassurance is like a warm blanket tucked up under my chin. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/52 "2012-08-25T01:50:22Z")
[According to this story](http://news.yahoo.com/civilians-hurt-nyc-gunfire-highlight-dangers-233856647.html), everyone shot out on the street except the disgruntled guy, was hit by the police. Not everyone was hit by direct fire, some may have been hit by ricochets, or by shrapnel (like shards of concrete chipped when a bullet hit the sidewalk). There is video of the shooting, and apparently the police hot him dead before he could fire his weapon at all. (Not including of course, at the ex-boss he shot to start the whole thing). ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/53 "2012-08-25T13:50:01Z")
Video of the cops killing the shooter: > **[NYPD Releases Footage of Shootout with Empire State Building Gunman](https://www.gawker.com/5937796/nypd-release-footage-of-shootout-with-empire-state-building-gunman)** > > Police tonight released video footage \[Warning: Graphic\] showing the moment two officers shot and killed 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, a former employee of Hazan Imports who a short while earlier gunned down former coworker Steve Ercolino near the... Looks pretty simple. The two cops fired 16 shots at very close range and ended up hurting a lot of people behind the murderer. If this were a TV show, I’d say the killer’s death swoon looked fake and over-done. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/54 "2012-08-25T14:21:19Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Video of the cops killing the shooter: > > [http://gawker.com/5937796/nypd-release-footage-of-shootout-with-empire-state-building-gunman](http://gawker.com/5937796/nypd-release-footage-of-shootout-with-empire-state-building-gunman) > > Looks pretty simple. The two cops fired 16 shots at very close range and ended up hurting a lot of people behind the murderer. If this were a TV show, I’d say the killer’s death swoon looked fake and over-done. It’s amazing how quickly the whole thing goes by - from the guy pulls the gun on the cops until he’s on the ground it’s just a few seconds. Also, notice how everybody instantaneously freaks out and runs the instant someone sees the gun - the area clears like a flock of birds from a tree when a loud noise goes off. So much for the advice I read yesterday about what to do when you’re near a shooting - namely, take cover, don’t run, as you can’t outrun a bullet. Yeah, right. By the time you’ve had time to remember that or even think, your fight-or-flight instinct has already gotten you on your feet and half a mile out of there. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/55 "2012-08-25T14:56:45Z")
It didn’t look like there was any place to take cover. It is surprising the cops got 16 rounds off in just a second or two. Panic shooting I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/56 "2012-08-25T15:13:59Z")
I was looking for a thread about this. I was there after it happened. I walked up the stairs from the 33rd street PATH with my 9yo yesterday and into a crowd with cameras and camera-crews everywhere. I thought people were shooting a movie. We crossed through the first camera crew camp at 33rd as we were trying to cross 6th. The barriers were up on 33rd on the far side of 6th and police weren’t letting anyone through. We were going to Toys R Us on Broadway, so I hailed a cab for us (it was the reason we needed to cross; you need to be on the east side of 6th to hail a cab heading north). Later in the day, a construction worker we were passing was relating how he’d seen the initial killing first hand. His statement matches the news: a guy in a suit walked up & specifically killed the other person. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/57 "2012-08-25T15:18:30Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > It is surprising the cops got 16 rounds off in just a second or two. Panic shooting I suppose. IIRC they are generally trained to empty the gun at the target, which is why shootings by police tend to involve a lot of bullets. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/58 "2012-08-25T15:20:11Z")
I saw it on TGN. The Gun Network. All guns, all the time. Only the places change. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/59 "2012-08-25T15:20:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > [According to this story](http://news.yahoo.com/civilians-hurt-nyc-gunfire-highlight-dangers-233856647.html), everyone shot out on the street except the disgruntled guy, was hit by the police. Given that none of the innocent bystanders’ wounds are life-threatening, do I have permission to laugh about that? Please? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487/60 "2012-08-25T15:25:13Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > IIRC they are generally trained to empty the gun at the target, which is why shootings by police tend to involve a lot of bullets. And on a related note, from the article **Boyo Jim** linked: > [@](#): > > He said officers are trained to fire only as a last resort and must fire multiple shots because only one in five generally hit the intended target. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-reported-shot-in-front-of-empire-state-building/632487.md?page=4)