Police: Man Shoots 2, Kills Self In Brooklyn As Violent Weekend Spills Into Monday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man walked into a Brooklyn building Monday morning and opened fire before shooting himself dead, in one of at least two more shooting incidents as a violent weekend of shootings across New York City has spilled into Monday.
As CBS 2's Emily Smith reported, the latest incident happened shortly after 11:15 a.m. Monday at C&A Ironworks at 13th Street and Hamilton Place, on the cusp on Gowanus and Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Police said a man walked into a yellow brick building and fired shots at employees before ultimately shooting himself. Witnesses said it was a miracle more people were not injured because the building was packed at the time.
Employees at C&A said a man was wearing a T-shirt and a fishing hat when walked in looking for a job, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported. When he went into the manager's office, shots were fired, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
"Just pointed the gun and started shooting," employee Zymitri Tabkin told Jones. "I ran and I just went from the shop and I called the police."
Man Shoots 2 People, Self In Brooklyn
Police confirmed the shooter used a handgun, firing at least five bullets. When police arrived, they found two victims with gunshot wounds lying at the foot of the door.
Barnes Saint is a shop worker who happened to be upstairs while the chaos went down. He said boss was screaming for everyone to get out.
Man Shoots 2 People, Self In Brooklyn
"Scary -- all I know is I deserve a pay raise," Saint said.
Witnesses and investigators said the perpetrator was denied a job when he came looking for one, and that prompted him to pull a gun.
But before killing himself, he barricaded into a back office -- facing hostage negotiators.
At one point while barricaded, the suspect tossed a homemade bomb – a flashlight packed with black powder, NYPD Chief of Patrol Jim O'Neill said.
"It was not capable of discharging the way it was set up," O'Neill said.
Afterward, the suspect turned the gun on himself, police said.
"About 45 minutes of dialogue, and then unprovoked, he just shot himself. We thought we had a positive dialogue going with him, but then finally, he just made the decision, and he pulled the trigger," said NYPD Lt. Jack Cambria, commanding officer of the Hostage Negotiation Team.
Police Monday afternoon were not releasing names, but said the alleged perpetrator had six prior arrests. His last was in 1995.
Both victims of the shooting were hospitalized Monday afternoon – one in critical condition, the other stable, police said.
The Brooklyn incident was one of at least three in the five boroughs of New York City Monday morning.
Around 1 a.m., police said a 55-year-old man was found on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his neck on Gunther Avenue in the Bronx.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. So far, no arrests have been made.
Monday's shootings came after 21 shootings over the weekend in all five boroughs. In all, there were five in Manhattan, five in the Bronx, nine in Brooklyn, one on Staten Island and one in Queens.
Among the victims were a 10-year-old boy and a 25-year-old man who were shot Saturday on Coney Island. They were both taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Earlier this week, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton addressed the spike in gun violence, saying more than 1,000 Police Academy graduates will be hitting the streets this week. About 600 new officers graduated on Monday.
"Actually, it turns out we're still significantly less shootings than we had at this time last year. We're still well behind what we had last year for this week," the commissioner said.
In the last week there have been 23 shooting incidents, compared to 37 in the same period last year.
Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-45th) and other elected officials and advocates held a news conference on the steps of City Hall Monday to discuss gun violence across the country.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
