Details Emerge About Empire State Building Gunman: A Quiet Birdwatcher, His Victim an Outgoing Family Man
- Posted on August 25, 2012 at 7:49am by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Officials examine the body of the shooter near the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. Police say Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a recently laid-off worker, shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly pulled his gun on people nearby before police shot and killed him. (AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — A gunman who killed a former co-worker in cold blood in the shadow of the Empire State Building and then was shot dead by police after he turned his gun on them spent long hours in the quiet of Central Park, photographing hawks and marveling over nature’s beauty.
His victim was a gregarious salesman, beloved by his nieces and nephews as the fun uncle who could talk with equal expertise about the New York Jets and the women’s fashion accessories he sold.
Investigators on Saturday were trying to piece together what caused Jeffrey Johnson, a T-shirt designer, to ambush Steve Ercolino, an apparel company vice president, a day earlier outside the Manhattan offices of the company where they once were colleagues.
Police said Johnson hid behind a car and then killed Ercolino with five gunshots as he arrived for work. Johnson then was shot by two police officers who confronted him on a busy sidewalk.
Security camera footage showed the officers had only an instant to react when Johnson suddenly turned as they approached and pointed his gun at them, his arm cocked as if to fire.
Their encounter was over in eight seconds. The officers, who had been standing nearly close enough to shake hands with Johnson and had no opportunity to take cover, fired almost immediately.
Nine bystanders were wounded in the 16-shot volley, likely by stray or ricocheting police bullets. None of their injuries was life-threatening, police said.
Police investigating Johnson’s killing of Ercolino were eyeing bad blood between them from when they worked together at Hazan Import, a garment district business where Ercolino was a vice president of sales.
Johnson and Ercolino had traded harassment accusations when they worked together, police said, and when Johnson was laid off from the company a year ago he blamed Ercolino, saying he hadn’t aggressively marketed his new T-shirt line.
After Johnson’s layoff, neighbors said, he continued to leave his apartment every day in a suit.
Internet records listed Johnson as the administrator of the website for a business called St. Jolly’s Art, which sold iron-on graphic art for T-shirts. Art for sale on the site included stylized drawings of fighter planes and muscle cars and whimsical “seafaring vignettes” featuring pirate maidens and tall ships.
In this June 30, 2012 photo provided by Jean Shum, Jeffrey Johnson uses binoculars to search New York s Central Park for the young offspring of popular red-tailed Hawk local birdwatchers know as Pale Male. (AP)
Johnson also was part of a community of bird watchers and photographers who document hawks and other wildlife living in Central Park, a few blocks from his home.
In one email to another bird watcher who works at The Associated Press, Johnson wrote tenderly about spending a winter night watching ducks in the park.
“Near midnight by the Harlem Meer I watched a little `flotilla’ of Mallards swimming and softly honking … fifteen degree temp and they were carrying on unfazed. Just remarkable,” he wrote.
His photographs of Central Park’s hawk population appeared regularly on blogs tracking the birds.
A neighbor who often saw Johnson, 58, said he was always alone.
“I always felt bad,” said Gisela Casella, who lived a few floors above Johnson in a modest apartment building on the Upper East Side. “I said, `Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?’ I never saw him with anybody.”
Ercolino, 41, was described by his relatives as the opposite of a quiet loner.
His eldest brother, Paul Ercolino, said he was a gregarious salesman who often traveled, had a loving girlfriend and was the life of any family gathering.
“He was in the prime of his life,” he said. “He would do anything for anybody at any time. … He was so wonderful with my children. At Christmastime, he was the one who always had the best presents for the kids.”
Paul Ercolino said his brother, known to nieces and nephews as Uncle Ducky because of his nearly blond hair, had followed his father into the garment industry after growing up in Nanuet, just north of New York City, then later worked in women’s handbags and accessories. He said his brother had never mentioned to the family that he had any problems with a co-worker.
Hazan Import Corp. executives didn’t return phone calls seeking comment Friday.
Johnson, after waiting for Steve Ercolino to come to work, walked up to him, pulled out a .45-caliber pistol and fired at his head, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. After Ercolino fell to the ground, Johnson stood over him and shot four more times, a witness told investigators.
“Jeffrey just came from behind two cars, pulled out his gun, put it up to Steve’s head and shot him,” said Carol Timan, whose daughter, Irene Timan, was walking to Hazan Imports at the time with Ercolino.
In security camera footage released by the police, Johnson can be seen walking calmly down the sidewalk after the shooting, distancing himself slightly from the other pedestrians, who appear to have no awareness that anything is wrong.
But when two police officers approach in a hurry, Johnson turns and pulls a handgun from a bag. Then, the scene explodes into action. People seated on a bench behind the gunman and pedestrians standing close to the two officers run for their lives.
Only a young child seems not to react, strolling out of view of the camera as adults all around leap away in terror.
Startled New Yorkers later looked up from their morning routines in the crowded business district to see people sprawled in the streets bleeding and a tarp covering a body in front of the tourist landmark.
“I was on the bus, and people were yelling `Get down! Get down!” accountant Marc Engel said. “I was thinking, `You people are crazy. No one is shooting in the middle of midtown Manhattan at 9 o’clock in the morning.’”
It was over in seconds, he said – “a lot of pop, pop, pop, pop, one shot after the other.”
Afterward, he saw sidewalks littered with the wounded, including one man “dripping enough blood to leave a stream.”
The officers who fired were part a detail regularly assigned to patrol landmarks such as the 1,454-foot-tall skyscraper since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, officials said.
Kelly, the police commissioner, said the officers who confronted Johnson had “a gun right in their face” and “responded quickly, and they responded appropriately.”
“These officers, having looked at the tape myself, had absolutely no choice,” he said.
A witness had told police that Johnson fired at the officers, but authorities say ballistics evidence doesn’t support that. Johnson’s gun held seven rounds, they said. He fired five times at Ercolino, one round was still in the gun and one was ejected when officers secured it, authorities said.
A loaded magazine was found in Johnson’s briefcase.
Johnson legally bought the gun in Sarasota, Fla., in 1991, but he didn’t have a permit to possess it in New York City, authorities said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said New York still is the safest big city in the country, on pace to have a record low number of murders this year.
“But we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence,” he said of the shooting, following mass shootings at a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
The nine people wounded outside the Empire State Building were all from New York City, except for a woman from Chapel Hill, N.C. They suffered graze wounds or other minor injuries.
Metal detectors and bag searchers have been standard at the Empire State Building since 1997, when a gunman opened fire on the 86th-floor observation deck, killing one tourist and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself.
The skyscraper remained open Friday throughout the mayhem, although its workers became witnesses.
“We were just working here and we just heard bang, bang, bang!” said Mohammed Bachchu, a worker at a nearby souvenir shop.
He said he rushed from the building and saw seven people lying on the ground, covered in blood.
Rebecca Fox said she saw people running down the street and initially thought it was a celebrity sighting, but then she saw a woman shot in the foot and a man dead on the ground.
“I was scared and shocked and literally shaking,” she said. “It was like `CSI,’ but it was real.”
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Comments (116)
conge44
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:28pmWhat is this county coming too, you can not even settle a work related issue without the cops showing up and shooting 9 people!!!!LOL
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:27pmWHAT the hell should they have done? It seems both the left and the right are singing the same haunting refrain: The cops screwed up by taking out the perp. Really? REALLY?! Surely, with the two great brands of crazy coming together, the end is nigh.
Report Post »We‘ll let’s be glad we finally get to see the video. There are claims that SWAT was involved and employed their special weaponry. Wrong. And people have been bellowing it was a posse of cops. Wrong. Looks like two guys with pistols to me. The cop on the left from the camera’s perspective seems to be a cool cat… proper stance and controlled shots. I don’t know what the hell that clown cop in the right of the frame was doing. It looks like an odd mixture of the ol’ one handed gansta technique along with some less than fresh dance moves.
I’m no cheerleader for cops, but it looks like this was a crap situation and they did there job. My money is most, if not all, of the stray rounds came from Suzy Twostep.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. By all means, play armchair tactician all you want. And, as usual, let’s ALL insist on making a bad situation worse.
Why this was, in my opinion, a successful takedown: You have a spontaneous running handgun battle with an armed target in THE biggest U.S. city during a heavy traffic time. Yes, it sucks some folks got hurt, but this event is not what it has been portrayed to be by ideologues from both sides with actual review of video.
CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:57pm@CONGE44 I think you were joking. If so, that was funny.
Report Post »@ The Gooch good comment. I don’t see a like button on this site!
rangerp
Posted on August 26, 2012 at 8:21am@ Gouch’
Awsome comments. Just last week, I spoke up on the blaze for the cop in Floridat that arrested the drunk driver female. You would have thought I declared myself a communsit.
I do not think folks realize the difficulty of a job like this, and that these men and women do not get paid all that much. It is no easy taks dispatching a shooting criminal in the middle of a crowded city.
Once again, well stated.
Report Post »NOT A CRAZY
Posted on August 26, 2012 at 11:42amGooch said “My money is most, if not all, of the stray rounds came from Suzy Twostep.”
By that I assume you are blaming the bird watcher for the “stray rounds.” He never fired a round at the cops. He pointed his pistol at him and they shot 16 times killing him and wounding 9 innocent people. These are called facts. The police are there to protect and serve right? So is shooting innocent civilians protecting or serving? I know they did what they needed to do to protect their own skin and it happened in a second but don’t try and blame someone else for what the cops did.
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:08pmWake up call folks! We have abandoned the faith of our fathers for faith in science and technology.
Return to God and He returns to you w/blessings!
Report Post »rednckpreacher
Posted on August 26, 2012 at 8:21amThe wake up is yet to come! When Americans are in desperate straits , and medicine ,Science, Lawyers , and Soldiers cannot help . MAYBE THEN folks will turn to God! But i doubt it Too Proud to repent!
Report Post »Mandors
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:55am“The nine people wounded outside the Empire State Building were all from New York City, except for a woman from Chapel Hill, N.C. They suffered graze wounds or other minor injuries.
The suspect did not get his own weapon out of the bag. So, the vast majority of the people wounded by gun fire were shot by police. Great training there. Don’t think the cops bought their guns in VA.
Where’s your gun control argument now Bloomberg? Up your backside with the rest of your brain.
Report Post »The_Cabrito_Goat
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:40pmThe reasoning is, if you give police an extensive marksmanship training, they will be itchy to practice what they’ve learned. So you give them a mere rudimentary training, and they aren’t as trigger happy.
Or so the rationalization goes.
This results in more bullets being fired.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:56pmThe_Cabrito_Goat
Report Post »That actually makes sense in a liberal sort of way.
Look4DBigPicture
Posted on August 26, 2012 at 11:20amBloomberg removes salt from tables, big gulps from restaurants, baby formula from new mothers, and now … drum roll … guns from the NYPD.
Report Post »SubHuman
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:22amAnother gay man attempting mass murder. Single guy in fashion with no history of girlfriends? The majority of homosexuals have joined the left. And the left are Nazis. They’ve gone from trying to bully people into accepting their views to killing those that disagree. Nazis. The vast majority of these shooting are by leftists. The left is always calling for a ban our right to guns. Why not ban their rights? Time to ban socialism. That includes islamofascism. Ban socialism and deport all dissidents. The time for playing nice is over. Half the country are leftists. That means half the country are either brain dead parasites looking for more free cheese or Nazis hell bent on tyranny. Let them set up the fourth reich in some third world cesspool. How can we allow a violent political faction to exist whose primary goal is the destruction of our country. Round them up and ship them out. It’s time to stop playing nice. Not when they resort to murder.
Report Post »Joe1123
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:44amI dislike the left too, but, sorry pal, you’re a nut case.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:10pmFree cheese? There’s free cheese? Why wasn’t I informed?
Report Post »The_Cabrito_Goat
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:42pmHe’s a militant homosexual? Not unless he says so, pal. We do not allow others to speak for our actions here, and we should extend the same principle.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:01pmJeffrey Johnson had artistic talent.
How much talent, I am not sure we’ll know. He went to an art institute& draws passable art. The big thing is how much range does he have to draw different styles. As an artist if his art isn’t selling, is he marketing correctly or is drawing good art in a crowded niche. So could he draw different styles & would that have been a better way to go.
http://www.stjollytshirtart.com/
I still would like to know what HR was doing.
Report Post »gosutag
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:26pm@SUBHUMAN: Wow, you’re brain is most certainly described your username: Subhuman. Just by that post you’re clearly messed up in the mind and require immediate medical attention, which hopefully consists of lethal injection.
Report Post »CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:54pmHow did you make a statement like that? Do you have more information than is in this article? Are all your comments based on fact or your perception? If it is all based on this article, without any further data, you are a very scary person. Furthermore, grouping all persons of a political party into one basic opinion is not only prejudice, it is uneducated and bordering on paranoid delusions. I am from neither party. I am a citizen for citizens. Although, I am a big proponent of free speech, your speech is bordering on slander, libel and flat out lunacy. The lunacy is your right and I support that. But if a lawyer can get a case against you for slander and libel, I would love that even more! Unless you have info I do not have, i.e. like you have talked to every person on the left and they concur with the crap you just printed, you have major mental issues that need to be addressed, for your sake as well as the general population!
Report Post »VVHITETEAPARTY
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:56amNanny Gloom&DoomBerg runs a virtual Police/Nanny State where the police department is the size of a small army. You‘d THINK they’d be better trained! Of course, ANY gun related incidents are the fault of Georgia, Florida, and other Southern states gun shop owners, so this is just another case of that! Maybe these cops were trained in the Keystone method, just like the DEA agent who said, “I’m the only one in the room professional enough, that I know of, to carry this Glock forty.. BOOM!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmRN00KbCr8
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:13amDidn’t even have to look at the video to know which one it is. That was hilarious to shoot his mouth off first like that.
Report Post »CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:00pmShot of his mouth, then his foot. Ba ha ha ha. I did not look at the video I am assuming it was the one in a room where he is giving a speech. That was sooo funny. How embarrassing to be him!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:36am“He said his brother had never mentioned to the family that he had any problems with a co-worker.”
All people edit what they tell family friends & coworkers. Chances are neither is blameless. But the appropriate venue was a lawsuit or to take it to HR. HR does what exactly?
Report Post »watersRpeople
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:59amAlmost sounds as if it was a crime of passion, maybe some kind of love triangle thingy. He shot him five times according to the article – sounds like maybe it ran pretty deep.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:26amwatersRpeople
Not going there.
Report Post »watersRpeople
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:31amOf course if it was a [Love Triangle] act of violence we probably won’t hear about, if but for only the reason that work-place violence fits the narrative better.
Report Post »watersRpeople
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:38amWalkabout,
Report Post »Yeah I know there‘s many places stuck in the mind’s box that many people won‘t let their minds go and that’s why controllers can pull the veil over your mind so easily. Water takes the easiest path even in thought – the channel your thought’s flow keep it locked in the confined box of thought. You like being a prisoner – because realization and thought’s are predetermined and you think you can claim to be guiltless but you can not as you hide your fruit to pull it out later saying “I still have what you have given me.”
watersRpeople
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:28pmI also feel the necessity to remind people that the suicide rate of gay youth is climbing dramatically, and as studies have shown if someone is suicidal they are also often homicidal.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:50pmI did not go there & it seems I was right. As far as I can tell it was a matter of existence. He had no job, no money & he blamed one person for it.
Report Post »CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:06pm@watersrpeople. WHAT? Love triangle? You got all that info from where? That was a pretty long rant about… what? Scary people making comments on this site.
Report Post »floradaze
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:35am“his arm cocked as if to fire.”
Report Post »What we need is arm regulations.
If guns kill people how does anyone get out of a gun show alive?
watersRpeople
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:06amApparently he ***** his leg back too when he was bird watching.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:09amIf guns kill people how does anyone get out of a gun show alive?
Report Post »***
So true
Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:11am“his arm cocked as if to fire.”
Reporter should have said he raised his arm as if to fire or something like that.
OMG think about, if reporters keep writing “his arm cocked as if to fire.”, Nanny Bloomberg will want to amputate everyone’s arms & we will be a nation of double amputees.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:32pmWALKABOUT
Report Post »“his arm cocked as if to fire.”
LOL, you have to consider the source. A reporter who is likely a full time resident of NYC and has no knowledge of handling weapons. Funny, if he was doing a story on nuclear power plants, he would more than likely ask the experts…
Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:52pmMadeleine Morgenstern, you need to take a NRA firearms safety course.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:20am“Johnson and Ercolino had traded harassment accusations when they worked together”
How well does HR do? HR has a long time to resolve this & they went out for a latte instead?
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:10am“A witness had told police that Johnson fired at the officers, but authorities say ballistics evidence doesn’t support that. Johnson’s gun held seven rounds, they said. He fired five times at Ercolino, one round was still in the gun and one was ejected when officers secured it, authorities said.”
So NYC PD wound 9 people (They are lucky they didn’t kill anybody). The gunman killed only 1 person. And an armed populace is the problem?
Report Post »Stelex
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:13amNot to mention the foolishly restrictive gun laws in NYC did not stop this man. So lets make some more laws criminals will ignore.
Report Post »Kilmerfan
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:09amI knew it they are going to make the shooter the “victim”. Now msm wants us to believe everyone else but the shooter is guilty.
It is the National Audubon Society’s fault how do they sleep at night? /sarcasm
Report Post »tommyr
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:59amThat one cop was practically on top of the shooter. How the hell do you miss someone at that range? These cops need to find another job because no amount of time at the pistol range will help them.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:40amThe headline could have been cops kill 9 bystanders & accidently shoot murderer.
How does that work Mayor Bloomberg?
Report Post »starman70
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:58amHave you ever been in a close up combat situation? No one knows how they will react. You are trying to protect yourself while eliminating the problem. Sure there were some stray shots because a cop doesn’t have time to carefully aim every shot like one would on a pistol range.
The second question is (Only an autopsy will answer this question) how many bullets actually passed through soft flesh and the traveled on to hit bystanders? NYC is crowded at nine in the morning. Some shots would have hit bystanders just because of the mathematics involved.
The cops did what they had to do!! How many more victims would there have been IF he had bypassed security and made it to his former place of employment.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:16am“how many bullets actually passed through soft flesh and the traveled on to hit ”
Point well taken.
StillIi bet there will be plenty of lawsuits. And there probably should be. Were the cops are spraying & praying (as much as they could with their type of gun)?
On a smaller a scale it is the same type of problems grunts face. But they get pilloried beyond belief.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:19amFor some reason I get the feeling that the perp was shot and hit by only one of the cops. The guy who was the better shot. The second cop was probably more distracted by the fact that he was staining his underwear while he it the pedestrians.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:41amRJJinGadsden
You bring up a good point. Ballistics may prove out your judgement, which I believe is informed by you prior service in the military & as police officer. I believe the lawsuits are coming & are justified.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:13pm@STARMAN
Report Post »The cops did what they had to do!! How many more victims would there have been IF he had bypassed security and made it to his former place of employment.
—
Well, they tried, which is not the same thing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the gunman was trying to run away from his former workplace when he was killed. I honestly don’t think this guy was a terrorist. He had a score to settle, period. If he had wanted to, he could’ve killed more people.
RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:26pmWALKABOUT, We may never really know what actually happened. those results will not be released to the public and if at all, not until after the lawsuits have reached fruition. By then, the press will have moved on forgotten this. At the same time I have to agree with STARMAN70 above too.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:45pmPolice: All Empire State shooting victims were wounded by officers
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/justice/new-york-empire-state-shooting/
Split second. We are not suppose to question police but are to question soldiers. The police being stationed at the Empire State building were probably wearing body armor. So can’t they take 2 split seconds considering the body armor, the training, & the serve & protecting part?
Report Post »tommyr
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:24pm@Starman70. Yes to your question first of all, I have been. I am not sure if the NYPD involved are using hollow points. I would think so knowing they are stationed at that particular location and many pedestrians in great numbers in the area. Once again from the distance those cops were firing from, there is no way they should hit anything but the core of the perp. I own several guns and my carry around gun is a ruger lcp380. It is a very small gun that can fit into anyone’s front pocket. I promise you that even with that gun I can hit a person even moving (and you will notice from the film that the perp is only walking or stopped) from twenty feet every friggin time in the core. These cops are incompetent and probably there as a result of thin standards to wear a badge in NYC.
Report Post »The Gooch
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:37pmShooting at an armed, moving target with a handgun in an urban setting in a running gun battle? This ain’t the movies, friends. This is reality.
Report Post »By all means, set up some test to see how well you’d do in a similar situation. The Saturday afternoon sharpshooters sure are a plenty. I’m wondering how many critics know how accurate pistols actually are… even when taking a controlled shot with no threat of your target shooting back. Run around a bit and fire off some rounds at close range. Let us know how accurate you AREN’T.
I’m not sure what would please people with this story. A dead cop? It appears the masses are demanding a pound of flesh. Not enough blood yet?
Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:58amMy 2nd though on the whole thing was from the movie falling down. This didn’t happen to a Defense Contractor worker. It happened in the bluest of blue cities in a very blue state.
I thought blue states were, where people talked things over & got along.
Report Post »hi
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:54amWhy is this not a “hate crime,” a gay guy shoots a heterosexual?
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:08amHe might not be gay but divorced. Who knows? I don’t expect the press to tell us or the gay community either.
I am more interested in the work place fracas. Was he laid off simply, because his line did not sell well enough?
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:45amI have a feeling they were both gay — or gay and bi.
Report Post »CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:23pmOK… What does a persons sexual preference have to do with any of this? Unless you have data I do not regarding these 2 men being in some kind of relationship, or they wanted the same woman, or there was a love triangle, or there was a sexual love dispute, what are you talking about? It is about emotional and personal disagreements here. Clue me in to the data you have to support this nonsense.
Report Post »cristo52
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:43amBlaze reports: Security camera footage showed the officers had only an instant to react when Johnson suddenly turned as they approached and pointed his gun at them, his arm cocked as if to fire.
“his arm cocked as if to fire.”
What the hell does that mean? He fired five rounds into the victim. He had seven rounds. One remained in the gun and the other was ejected by officers clearing the weapon. He did not fire on the cops. They fired 16 times, and wounded 8 or 9 bystanders. So I guess in this country we no longer arrest and detain suspects – unless the make offensive Facebook postings – we execute them on the street. This falls right in line with Obama’s oversea kill list and the creeping fascism of DHS.
Report Post »normbal
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:09amMayor Nanny Bloomberg was on the news bloviating about a construction worker that “saw something and said something” contacted the police “…and let the professionals do their job.”
“Let the professionals do their job.”
SHOOTING 9 BYSTANDERS IS PROFESSIONAL?
That’s right, kids, don’t try this at home. All you states that allow people to exercise their natural, civil, human, constitutional right to keep and bear arms, where citizen/militia have the best chance to put down these shooters as soon as possible, follow Nanny Bloomberg’s lead and disarm your citizens ASAP. Only the police should be armed and trained to shoot bystanders.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:40amAnother gay dude killing people, and the MSM will keep his sexuality hush hush
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:55amMy 1st thought about a male working in female fashion accessories was “Is he gay?”.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:17am@RANGERP
My thoughts exactly. But I also think maybe those two were tangoing at some point, and things went sour. Gays tend to have bad breakups, so the one guy refused to market the other guy’s T-shirt line… If it was just about work, why did the shooter show up a year later to exact revenge?
Just remember, military rules don’t apply here, so don‘t ask cause they won’t tell.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:56pmWent to Queerty after searching with the terms: Shooter +“Jeffrey Johnson” +gay
rhino has a point, but I still believe that the gay community would hush this up.
rhino79 ·”He wasn’t gay. The designs on his website are of classic cars, girls on motorcycles, old airplanes, etc. Definitely just a lonely, weird straight dude, angry that the hunky Italian Stallion emasculated him. Meanwhile, hundreds are dying daily in Syria…”
http://www.queerty.com/what-if-it-turns-out-empire-state-building-shooter-jeffrey-johnson-was-gay-20120824/#ixzz24Zsxeg42
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:57pmAnd another one.
mulletkitty
It’s perfectly acceptable to hypothesize, particularly to allow for discussion, as queers, of how to respond to the inevitable “gays gone wild” narrative that would have resulted had he been gay.
But the details emerging — a nerdy manchild who overestimated his job talent, expected too high a salary for his mediocre skills, and was obsessed with drawing cartoons of buxom women, hot rod cars, and fighter jets — suggests this is not gonna be the case.
Report Post »***
Still don’t like the gay community. See my post to gonzo below.
Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:05pmOf course I don’t feel bad about speculating as stingy as the press is with some facts but not others. That & I have seen how the Queer press endlessly speculated about Mark Kirk & others & came up with Nada!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:35pmPrior service. Well he only killed one person, the Conventions are here in 2 days, More Euro worries, more Syria violence so we have to wait for a book in 2 years that may or may not unravel why.
His colors, he wrote, were inspired by Florida sunsets he came to know in the armed services.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/killer_sexpot_doodle_fetish_f7OHFbtYTF1VuVnVQXRVeK#ixzz24a2nYBVn
Report Post »CitizenForFreedom
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:37pmat Kryptonite and others in this string… What is the difference if he is gay? you stated,
Report Post »“Gays tend to have bad breakups, so the one guy refused to market the other guy’s T-shirt line… If it was just about work, why did the shooter show up a year later to exact revenge?”
Really? I hear way more of straight breakups where one of the distraught dejected partner stalks and/or kills their partner. I realize their are way more straight relationships, so their should be more crazy break ups. I do not know the percentages. But, I do not think you know either. Saying you know how THOSE GAY people are, is just silly and uninformed. BTW, I am straight as they come, A Marine, EX Marine Drill Instructor, married and divorced twice and a Christian. But bashing people for their sexual preference is ignorant and irresponsible. How can anyone, intelligently say that gay break ups = shootings. Very stupid stuff!
kryptonite
Posted on August 26, 2012 at 3:50am@CITIZENFORFREEDOM
To answer your Q., if one of them was gay, it doesn’t matter to me. If both of them were, well then, I do want to know. In re this particular case, I gave a possible scenario, that’s all. The “gay breakups = shootings” is your generalization, not mine.
Here’s what I don’t like: Why is MOTIVE never analyzed when the perp is from the left? If the perp is perceived to be right-wing, he’s a Christian terrorist, but gay-on-gay violence is significantly underreported – if at all. The only narrative currently being forwarded in relation to this perp is gun control.
FYI:
“In their book Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence, Island and Letellier postulate that “the incidence of domestic violence among gay men is nearly double that in the heterosexual population.” http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS04C02
Also: http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2009/02/violence-and-homosexuality/
I am not going to comment further, since every time I try to expose the double-standard and hypocrisy from the left and its media using quotes and verifiable info, my comments are deleted. Recently I was banned.
You shouldn’t go by what you hear, marine. Not these days, anyway.
Report Post »Iusetohaveacatbutthedogatehim
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:03amOfficials examine the body of the shooter near the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. Police say Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a recently laid-off worker, shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly pulled his gun on people nearby before police shot and killed him. (AP)
As Usual the AP has it wrong. The Perp only shot one person. The cops shot him and God knows how many other people…
Report Post »Welcome Black Carter
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:02amGood point. The media first tryed to pin all the injurys on the perp. From what I’ve read they are not even sure if he fired on the cops.
Report Post »cal_105
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:58amPeople like this [introverted birdwatchers] should be rounded up by the FBI and local authorities and detained in mental institutions for at least 30 days or sent to reeducation camps. Oops, I forgot, that is only for people who disagree with Obama or his surrogates. As for not having a girl friend, That does make him suspect, but perhaps he is gay. Did he have a boy friend?
Report Post »ThePostman
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:45amWe must have a moratorium on birdwatching until I can find out who’s ass to kick.
Report Post »randy
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:40amFashion designer, bird watcher, artist…. Surely an an Obama voter…..
Notice the only thing they say about Steve Ercolino is…
His victim was a gregarious salesman, beloved by his nieces and nephews as the fun uncle who could talk with equal expertise about the New York Jets and the women’s fashion accessories he sold.
One sentence for the victim!
While they go on and on and on and on in their disgusting attempt to paint a picture of this monster as a wonderful guy?
Report Post »Hickory
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:30amWas the shooter gay? Did he have a relationship with the victim? Was this a lover’s rejection response?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:26amLooks like this was a case of murder followed by a ‘death by cop’ suicide on the gunmans part; or at least as I read the information on the matter.
God help the people and families of the victims in this case; now watch for insane Bloomberg and so many others of the anti-gun groups to use this for their own agendas.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:59amThe mayor already has NYC clamped down with his police state and foods approved by government for us serfs to eat. You‘re right we’ll hear more from the gun grabbers and their allies supporting UN agenda 21.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:26amQuiet man or not, it does not matter. What does matter is this man let his heart be filled with hatred toward his victim. It takes a lot of hatred to wait a year and then calmly shoot another in cold blood and then stand over his fallen body and continue to shoot.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:34amAll the homosexuals on TV are so funny, stylish and witty…I guess he didn’t get the memo.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:51amGonzo……..I didn’t know he was a homosexual but you are right. One would think all homosexuals are the happiest, sweetest, unable to have a bad thought people in the world if you believe the TV version of homosexuality.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:11amRead between the lines Mom. I have a feeling it wasn’t only the ducks in Central Park he was watching.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:44amGonzo
Yea, I think you are on to something. If the MSM knows him, or the Colorado movie shooter to be gay, they will never say a peep. If it is discovered that they are gay (and I would bet money on it), and you actually say anything about it, you will be called a homophobe.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:13amLike people suspect. If the shooters are gay the press will not tell us. Being gay is a social disease caused in part by societal pressures. It is at this stage of the gay movement more difficult to know they were made that way then to believe they were born that way or chose to be that way.
They have shown that on the margins homosexual activity is directly linked to economics.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:45amjust type Shooter Jeffrey Johnson into your search engine. You’ll find a lot of speculation by bloggers that Johnson is gay. One particular night club photo of his victim makes one wonder about him too. The full press is steering clear of that though.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:40pmRJJinGadsden
just type Shooter Jeffrey Johnson into your search engine. You’ll find a lot of speculation by bloggers that Johnson is gay. One particular night club photo of his victim makes one wonder about him too. The full press is steering clear of that though.
Report Post »***
Well I guess we have smoke, so we might as well look for a fire.
Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:55pmRJJinGadsden
I haven’t found the night club photo yet. Can you please link it.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:26pmWALKABOUT, This is the one that I meant. That looks very much like a man’s face with boobs by Rubbermaid attached below.
Report Post »http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/08/jeffrey-johnson-shot-steven-ercolino-once-in-the-head-and-then-once-again-as-he-lay-dead/
robroy33
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:16amKing Bloomberg…not immune to the “national problem of gun violence”…or maybe the “national problem of criminals being criminals”….violence with a gun, knife, bomb, etc. does the same thing, kills and injures people, enforce the current laws against the criminality of the action and not promoting “soap box” political speach on the object…sir King.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:14am“I said, `Doesn’t he have a girlfriend? My guess would be no Gisela, I don’t think he wanted one.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:15pmWe Are Not Born Gay, Swedish Twin study Shows
http://current.com/community/89099881_we-are-not-born-gay-sweedish-twin-study-shows.htm
Getting into the weeds the study said 40% was nature. Some of this being hormone influence while in the womb for example. One gay poster a while back said homosexuality is like Tay-Sachs disease or sickle cell anemia, so leave us alone. My response is that we cure those diseases. Something like hormones is not genetic but chance. With some psycho therapy these things can be cured.
Even epi-genetic factors could be cured. A scientists commented that epi-genetic coding was like writing in pencil while genetics was writing in ink. His point was that epi-genetic problems would likely be much easier to remedy.
Maybe some people do not want to be cured. Fine, but we don’t have to live their promoting homosexuality. Gays of the left recruit!
Confusing Grade Three Children with Six Gender Teaching is Wrong
Report Post »http://www.canadiantimes.ca/CMS/index.php/icv/858-confusing-grade-three-children-with-six-gender-teaching-is-wrong
RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:40pmWALKABOUT, Let’s not forget about those who are “recruited” by the likes of Jerry Sandusky, and yes, even those Catholic priests.
Report Post »Again, I will point out that I think the Boy Scouts of America handled their gay scout leader pedophile assaults far better than the Catholic Church. They expelled all scout leaders who were gay, and refuse to accept any others. At this point, the scouts will not accept any unmarried, and childless men as scout leaders. With the exception of former scouts upon reaching the age of 18 and can no longer be scouts. They are often asked to remain with their troops to assist. My son has been working on and off with the scouts the past five years. That is between his job and college classes.
N37BU6
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 7:59amIntrovert vs extrovert… introvert ends up doing something drastic because he internalizes so much for so long.
Report Post »Melika
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:40amYep, that’s right. Every person not running around braying their life to the world is a ticking time bomb. No body who was ever an “extrovert” killed anybody.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:08pmAccording to the NY Times, bullying was a factor. The victim would intentionally elbow Johnson, refuse requests, things like that. – Trompe loeil
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/jeffrey-johnson-nyc-shooter-details-harassment-steve-ercolino_n_1829977.html
Justice!
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