Well, details are emerging about the Empire State Building shooting, and, as they often do with horrific crimes like this, they're only getting more depressing. Raymond W. Kelly, the New York City Police Commissioner, confirmed on Saturday that all nine people who were wounded in Friday's shootings were so by police bullets, bullet fragments, or shrapnel from ricochets. Jeffrey T. Johnson, the gunman, was not -- at least, directly -- responsible for injuring these bystanders. In fact, Kelly also confirmed that Johnson didn't fire another shot after killing a former co-worker of his, Steven Ercolino, moments before.
Yikes. Kind of makes you question police protocol.
Just two weeks earlier, New York City police officers killed a man wielding a knife after firing a series of shots at a him near Times Square. No bystanders were hit, but people began wondering if the shooting was necessary. After all, the scuffle began with the man getting caught smoking marijuana. Apparently, cops tried to futilely stop the man, who repeatedly threatened officers with a knife, with pepper spray six times.
Every time a terrible crime -- like a mass shooting -- happens, it seems like there's always a litany of questions and skepticism regarding law enforcement protocol afterwards. And there should be -- it's good to question things in order to ensure future occurrences will run as safely as possible. But also, I assume, there isn't always a "perfect" way for things like this to go down. I certainly don't wish harm on anyone innocent, but sometimes, better safe than sorry, right?
In the situation of the Empire State Building shooting, though, it definitely sounds like less people could have walked away unharmed. As Mr. Kelly said: "We had a witness that said that Johnson fired at the police. But the final count of the shells, it appears that that is not the case." Hopefully next time, since questions were raised, things will be even safer. Or better yet, hopefully there won't be a next time.
What do you think of this?
Image via Swami Stream/Flickr
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Comments 12
I would hope that police wouldn't take a shot they were not confident they could make :( Its very sad to hear that all others injured were by police. a few injured from people panicking and geting in the crossfire is understandable but its disheartening to hear the gunman never took another shot after he killed the man he was after and all this chaos still ensued. :(
Obviously he was fully capable of murdering someone in cold blood so I commend these cops for taking him out.
It's so easy to say what you would do in a situation like this when you are sitting safe in your home. When is the last time someone pointed a gun at you and tried to shoot you? I bet you wouldn't just sit there and try to negotiate with him.
I am so sick of hearing people bash the police and not one person is making comments about the psychopath that is responsible for this tragedy. I am willing to bet that everyone who is saying that the police did not react correctly have never been in a situation where they had about a second to decide how to react when a known killer was pointing a gun at them. These brave policemen should be commended, not villianized.
It wasn't stray bullets that hit the bystanders...it was bullet fragments. The bullets were hollow point bullets that shatter when they hit something solid (eg cement planters and concrete sidewalks). Police are human, not robots. I think that managing to take out the murderer and not hurting MORE people shows they had more than adequate training in reacting in a stressful situation.