Police Identify Empire State Building Gunman (PHOTOS OF SCENE)

Police lean over a sheet covered body on Fifth Avenue as they investigate a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano) (Photo: )

The NYPD has identified Jeffrey Johnson, 58, as the gunman responsible for the shooting outside the Empire State Building in New York City on Friday morning.

Johnson reportedly shot a 41-year-old former colleague to death before randomly shooting others on the Fifth Avenue side of the building at about 9 a.m. At least nine people were wounded in the shooting but those injuries are not believed to be life threatening, police said.

SCROLL FOR PHOTOS OF THE SCENE

According to reports, Johnson was recently fired from his job at Hazan Imports, where he worked as a designer of women's accessories. He was shot and killed by police officers.

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Queens resident Rebecca Fox, 27, told the Associated Press she was near the landmark skyscraper when the shooting occurred. She said she saw people running down the street and initially thought it was a celebrity sighting, but then saw a woman shot in the foot and a man dead on the ground.

"I was scared and shocked and literally shaking," she said. She said police seemed to appear in seconds.

During a press conference after the shooting, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that it was still too early to know all the details of the tragedy. Bloomberg did mention, however, that some of the wounded may have been shot by police in the mayhem.

The mayor also tried to offer some words of comfort to the shaken city.

"New York City is the safest big city in the country," Bloomberg said. "But we are not immune to the national problem of gun violence."

According to witnesses, chaos ensued after the shooting, as police officers swarmed the tourist-filled streets.

Editor's note: Authorities initially said Jeffrey Johnson was 53 years old. He was 58. This entry has been amended to reflect that information.

For photos taken during the aftermath of the shooting, click through this slideshow:

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Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly speaks near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)
This photo posted to an Instagram account belonging to a person identified as paulnshapiro, an eyewitness at the scene, shows a victim of a shooting, with police standing by, outside the Empire State Building in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. The identity or condition of the victim was not immediately known. A disgruntled laid-off women's accessories designer shot a former co-worker to death in front of the Empire State Building, causing a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police killed the suspect and at least nine others were wounded, some possibly by police gunfire, city officials said. The shooting happened at about 9 a.m. Friday at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/paulnshapiro via Instagram)
An official inspects evidence near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talks to the media near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Officials examine a body near the Empire State Building following a shooting, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper and then randomly opened fired on people nearby before firing on police. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
An unidentified woman is treated by emergency medical technicians inside an ambulance following a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
This photo posted to an Instagram account belonging to a person identified as mr_mookie, an eyewitness at the scene, shows a victim of a shooting being tended to by pedestrians outside the Empire State Building in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. The identity or condition of the victim was not immediately known. Law enforcement officials in New York City say at least four people have been shot outside the Empire State Building in violence that stemmed from a workplace dispute, and that the gunman has been killed by police. The shooting happened at about 9 a.m. Friday at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/mr_mookie via Instagram)
Bystanders and a police officer stand on Fifth Avenue to view the scene after a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Rebecca Cox talks to media while recounting what she saw immediately following a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this photo made with a cell phone, officials examine the body of gunman Jeffrey Johnson, who was killed by police gunfire after he fatally shot Steven Ercolino, an executive at his former company, outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least nine bystanders were hit by gunfire in the confrontation. (AP Photo/Lee Weinstein)
New York City police stand near the body of shooting victim Steven Ercolino, 41, on a sidewalk near the Empire State Building in New York, Friday Aug. 24, 2012. According to city officials, Ercolino, a vice president of sales for Hazan Imports, was fatally shot by Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a woman's accessories designer whom Ercolino had laid off, outside the Empire State Building setting off a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police officers killed the gunman and at least nine others were wounded, some by stray police gunfire, authorities said. (AP Photo/Daniel Stevens/humanelectricblog.tumblr.com)
This cell phone photo taken by Brendan Gunn, shows the body of shooting victim Steven Ercolino, 41, in New York, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. According to city officials, Ercolino, a vice president of sales for Hazan Imports, was fatally shot by Jeffrey Johnson, 58, a woman's accessories designer whom Ercolino had laid off, outside the Empire State Building setting off a chaotic showdown with police in front of one of the world's best-known landmarks. Police officers killed the gunman and at least nine others were wounded, some by stray police gunfire, authorities said. (AP Photo/Brendan Gunn)
Evidence lies on the street near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say a recently laid-off worker shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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New York City police approach the lifeless body of Jeffrey Johnson lying on a sidewalk near the Empire State Building in New York following a shooting Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Police say 58-year-old Johnson, who was laid off from a nearby shop in 2011, shot a former colleague to death near the iconic skyscraper, then randomly opened fire on people nearby before firing on police. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets as police and the gunman exchanged fire. (AP Photo/Guillermo Ratzlaff)
Police surround a sheet covered body, lowser left, on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk as they investigate a multiple shooting outside the Empire State Building, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in New York. At least four people were shot on Friday morning and the gunman was dead, New York City officials said. A witness said the gunman was firing indiscriminately. Police said as many as 10 people were injured, but it is unclear how many were hit by bullets. A law enforcement official said the shooting was related to a workplace dispute. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.