Return to Transcripts main page

Breaking News

Three People Shot to Death in Office Near Times Square

Aired September 16, 2002 - 11:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get more on that developing story that we had breaking this morning earlier: a shooting at New York's Times Square. Three people dead this morning from that, CNN's Maria Hinojosa is at the scene, let's check in with her -- Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.

Well, we're expecting a news conference to start momentarily, and in that news conference the police department will probably announce that they suspect that this was a murder-suicide between three employees of the Empire Blue Cross building, which they have two floors rented here at 1440 Broadway, just two blocks south of Times Square.

Now earlier today, a lot of commotion when the call came in at about 8:25 this morning. Two men and one women were found dead. The police again have not confirmed yet that this was a murder-suicide. They are only saying now they have been searching for the floors, but are expected to say at any moment, that they are not looking for any suspects.

We do have someone who was in the building at the time of the shooting. Richard Restrepo (ph), you are an electrician and you were on the 9th floor, right?

RICHARD RESTREPO (ph), WITNESS: Yes, that's correct.

HINOJOSA: And what did you hear?

RESTREPO (ph): I heard what I thought it was at the time, thunder or a truck or something hitting the pavement downstairs.

HINOJOSA: And then you came downstairs once you saw the commotion outside and you had a conversation with?

RESTREPO (ph): With a guy that worked on the 11th floor, I am not exactly what his name is, but he had told me that he was coming to work about 8:20. He went upstairs, he saw blood on the floor, he followed the drops of blood into the office, it was a conference room, and that is where he saw a lady on the flood with a gunshot in the back of her head and two guys on a chair shot, one in the face, one in the head.

HINOJOSA: And that there were guns both on the table and on the floor?

RESTREPO (ph): There was one gun on the table and one gun on the floor, and he told me that the vice president and a manager of the company, the other guy I am not sure who he was but that's what he saw, blood on the wall and on the...

HINOJOSA: Now you are a New Yorker, Richard, how are you doing? I mean, this is not what you expect when you come into work.

RESTREPO (ph): I mean, it's a Jewish holiday today, so I was thinking it's going to be nice and easy, come in, not that many people, nobody on the train. I come in, I start working, an hour and a half later I'm running outside of the building thinking it is a bomb scare.

HINOJOSA: Thanks a lot, Richard. You take care of yourself. That's kind of the situation. Again, a lot of New Yorkers relieved that the week, last week passed. A lot of people expected this to be a calm day. Well, as you can tell here, just two blocks south of Time Square, a lot of commotion, three people dead.

We'll be expecting to hear more any time from the police department where they hold their news conference -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, Maria, thank you very much. We'll get back to you after that press conference to get some more on that story. Maria Hinojosa reporting live from just south of Times Square, New York.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com