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Continuing Coverage of Empire State Building Shooting; Tracking Tropical Storm Issac; People Dead In Syria

Aired August 24, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the gunman had been fired from his job a year ago, and he opened fire on a former coworker, killing that person. Police shot and killed the gunman.

Poppy Harlow joining us live from the scene. Poppy, what more are we learning about the suspect? We heard a pretty extensive press conference coming from Mayor Mike Bloomberg earlier, talking about this man, identified as Jeffrey Johnson, being from Manhattan, but they don't know much more about him.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

A few updates for you. We had previously been told that the suspected shooter, Jeffrey Johnson, was 53 years old -- NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly just told us they were mistaken, he is 56 years old, from Manhattan. Some interesting details that I was just given by the New York City police commissioner -- one being that the suspected shooter was wearing a suit. He was wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase, when the shooting occurred.

What also we know now that we can report is that there was a dispute going on for a year between Jeffrey Johnson, the suspected shooter, and the victim, the 41-year-old man that he shot and killed. Some sort of dispute was happening between them at their workplace, Hasan Imports, where they made jewelry and women's apparel. We know that there were actually legal complaints between the two of them going on for the last year. So that may have been a motive in this, and that is what we know.

We do also know that one of the other victims that was shot but not killed, again, the nine others shot are expected to make a full recovery -- one of them was from North Carolina. Police do not know yet where the rest were from. Police believe that the suspected shooter only had one gun -- a .45 caliber handgun with a magazine that could hold eight bullets.

Now the reason why police believe that some of the other victims that were shot and injured possibly were shot by police fire, is because they looked at the capacity of the handgun of the suspected shooter which could only hold eight bullet bullets, and they say that more were shot, all in they believe 14 rounds were fired by police officers. We asked if police knew if that gun was obtained legally or illegally by Jeffrey Johnson. They do not know that yet. What else we can tell you is that the two officers that fired after the gun was pulled on them -- the two police officers that fired and killed the suspected shooter -- are at the hospital right now, they are fine, they are just undergoing some observation at this point in time. But really interesting that we know that there was sort of ongoing legal complaints between the suspected shooter and his victim, the one man that he did kill, and that he was wearing a business suit and a briefcase, which I can tell you, Fredricka, here in central Manhattan at the Empire State Building in rush hour at 9:00 a.m., he is going to blend in with everyone else.

WHITFIELD: Sure. He blended in. And Poppy, help us for those who are just joining us, kind of revisit the sequence of events that were spelled out by Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Ray Kelly about how this unfolded.

You talk about Jeffrey Johnson heading to the location of his former employer, opening fire. But then, from that point on after he left that scene, a construction worker apparently followed him and that helped to lead to the confrontation between he and police. Give us other details on that.

HARLOW: That's right. What we are being told is that a construction worker on duty here by the Empire State Building saw what was happening, what was unfolding, notified two police officers that were on duty here, and then some here are calling him a hero, that he is the one who notified the police officers on duty. They subsequently found the suspected shooter, who pulled, you know, his gun on those officers and they started firing.

So we don't know the name, the identity, the age or the employer of the construction worker, but he is really the one who raised his hand and alerted authorities, and as Commissioner Ray Kelly said, he saw something and said something, he did exactly what he was supposed to do.

Just to rehash for the viewers just joining us, 9:00 a.m. this morning in one of the busiest parts of Manhattan, right outside the Empire State Building, a disgruntled worker, aged 56, Jeffrey Johnson, pulled a .45 caliber handgun with a magazine that can hold eight bullets on a former coworker, a 41-year-old, whom he shot and killed. He shot that person three times. We do not have the identity of that man who was shot and killed. Police are withholding that until his family is notified. Nine others were shot, either by the suspected shooter or by NYPD as collateral damage in all of this. We do not know that yet.

We do know that the suspected shooter, Jeffrey Johnson, was wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase. We also know, Fredricka, he had an additional magazine in the briefcase. So he had more bullets that he could use. He did not. And that is what we know at this point in time.

All of the other nine victims are expected to make a full recovery, but again, this was the busiest time of the day -- rush hour, Friday morning in a commercial part of the city that is also frequented by tourists -- 4 million tourists come here every year to go to the observation deck of the Empire State Building -- very busy, chaotic scene, and we know that wearing a suit, the suspected shooter would have looked just like a lot of other people here.

WHITFIELD: That is right, just blending in.

Thank you, Poppy Harlow, and keep us posted on the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, many streets there in midtown Manhattan are closed as a result of the investigation that continues.

And we are also hearing an awful lot of accounts from eyewitnesses, people -- as Poppy just underscored -- heading to work or in some cases waiting in line right outside of the Empire State Building to begin their tour. Among the eyewitnesses, or at least someone who was in the area who heard all that was unfolding was Anika Basu . She's on the phone with us right now. Annika, I understand you were on a bus, on a city bus that stopped right in front of the Empire State Building. And at that point, you heard the gun fire and then what did you see and hear?

ANIKA BASU, WITNESS TO SHOOTING (on the phone): We heard a bunch of rounds go off. I'm not sure, because the stories are unfolding, if it was also police fire. We saw a bunch of gunshots, heard a bunch of gunshots go off and then people fall to the ground. I did not see the gunman, himself. And it was just explaining to others that it was just absolute mass chaos, and then the street just went completely still and quiet for about a hot second. And then people started fleeing to the scene.

WHITFIELD: So, what's happening on the bus there? You and others - did you all, once you heard the gun fire, kind of hit the deck? What was taking place? Was there conversation? Did it fall silent or what?

BASU: It was silence. You know, in Manhattan, things like this, they, it is the scariest thing and it really rocks you to the core, especially when things are happening and first thing in the morning and you are on the way to work. Especially outside of the Empire State Building. You just - it brings you back down to reality after all of these things that happened in Manhattan.

But we -- people on the bus, it was silence. I don't think that a lot of us knew what was it really was a gunshot or not. And then we saw the witnesses - or the victims, rather, on the ground, and we knew exactly what happened. I was on the other side of the bus, but I had full view of it. And I was at like, at a low range, so I felt safe. But it is absolutely scary to see it happening right in front of your eyes.

WHITFIELD: And this is a route that you take all of the time, and on your way - bus -- to work, this is a bus route that is fairly familiar to you?

BASU: Yes. I take the bus to work, you know, because it just the crosstown bus that drives by the Empire State Building every morning. You know, normally every morning you kind of look up at the Empire State Building and say, wow, that is pretty awesome. But today it was a little bit different. It is just very scary that it can happen, you know -- it could happen anywhere, but it is scary when it happens to you on your morning, in the morning on the way to work.

WHITFIELD: Yes, frightening moments just after 9:00 a.m. this morning, the height of rush hour. Thanks so much, Anika Basu, for your account. Appreciate that.

We are hearing from more eyewitnesses as well, including Suzy Liuv. She is now on the phone with us. And I understand, Suzy, you're a tourist from Egypt and happened to be in New York City and happened to be in the vicinity when all this transpired. What do you remember happened this morning?

SUZY AYOUBI, SHOOTING WITNESS (on the phone): (INAUDIBLE) the U.S., a friend (inaudible) from Egypt, and I saw as you're entering the Empire State Building and (INAUDIBLE) we -- (INAUDIBLE) we heard the gunshots and we didn't know or believe it was gunshots. But people ran out to the side of the building (INAUDIBLE), and that is when we ran out and we saw a dead body falling on the ground. A guy falling on the ground, like young, maybe his mid-30s or something. And people running around saying call the police.

We ran this way and then we heard more gunshots, and we tried to take shelter so, again, go inside of the building - (INAUDIBLE).

Okay. Suze Ayoubi, thanks so much. Sorry, our connection is just too fuzzy there to try to understand all you are saying, but I do get the point. There was utter chaos, and then there was a real sense of calm just as these shots were being fired and people were witnessing this incredible melee that led to the deaths of two people, including the gunman.

We will have much more coverage of this shooting taking place near the Empire State Building in midtown Manhattan, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta, and updating you on the breaking news out of New York now. A shooting near the Empire State building, leaving two people dead and nine others wounded. Police say it started when a disgruntled ex-employee of Hasan Imports killed a former coworker. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke to reporters about the shooting just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK CITY: Earlier this morning, a little after 9:00 a.m., a man who had been fired from his job about a year or so began shooting near the Empire State Building but out on the street. He killed one person and at least nine other people were shot, and some may have been shot accidentally by police officers who responded immediately and while confronting the suspect and fatally shooting him. Unfortunately, there may have been other victims as well. All of those are not seriously wounded, and there is no expectation that they will do anything other than recover quickly.

I ask everyone to keep the victims in their thoughts and in their prayers. This is a terrible tragedy, and there is no doubt that the situation would have been even more tragic but for some extraordinary acts of heroism. Everyday as you know, our police officers put their lives on the line to protect us. They did so again today, responding immediately. They were joined by a number of civilians whose bravery and assistance probably also saved lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police were on the scene within minutes and were able to take down the suspect. Joining me on the phone is Lou Palumbo a former New York City police officer.

So, Lou, I understand that based on what the mayor said, because of counter terrorism patrols, the young man or the man who was a construction worker who followed this suspect after witnessing that first shooting was able to come across other NYPD, anti-terrorism on patrol. And notified them before they were able to actually take down this suspect.

LOU PALUMBO, FORMER NYC POLICE OFFICER (on the phone): That's correct. What maybe you are not aware of is that the Empire State Building receives particularly close scrutiny from the police department as well as the federal agencies. And that is primarily been driven fact that it has been at times been identified by the intelligence community as a target.

The two police officers as indicated by the mayor and Police Commissioner Kelly were assigned to actually the Fifth Avenue entrance of the Empire State Building as part of a counterterrorism unit.

WHITFIELD: This kind of cooperation - I mean, you know, people have been on heightened concern alert for a long time there in New York City. But this is evidence of how general citizens and authorities working together can ultimately bring some closure to a crime that is taking place as it is under way.

PALUMBO: You know, I have often said that, without the help of the public, many of the crimes that the police are able to solve or come to some type of resolution would never take place. The public is an invaluable asset to the police department.

The thing that is interesting here is that through witnesses, and we are learning here that people see sometimes what they want to see or think they see, it was identified, even conveyed to law enforcement that a long arm had been used. And that's where we came about with the notion that a shotgun might have been used as a tool here by the shooter Johnson.

WHITFIELD: And now, Lou, there are an awful lot of agencies involved here. The FBI has been on the scene, and ATF, and NYPD. How are all of the agencies working together with this investigation? Still a lot of, you know, unanswered questions. Some questions that may perhaps never be answered because the suspect is dead, but what kind of cooperation from this point forward between the agencies?

PALUMBO: I think that the cooperation in particular as a result of the police commissioner Kelly has been very good. There's always a bump and grind between the local law enforcement and federal agencies, and the bump even gets a little bit more intense as you deal with agencies like the CIA. But because of the nature of our city, and the acknowledged need that we need to cooperate -- cooperation has always been very good. The FBI has a good relationship with the police department. The Secret Service has an exceptional relationship with the police department. And as a rule, we don't encounter a lot of problems that maybe other cities encounter when it comes to cooperation with the federal agencies.

WHITFIELD: Now, this is clearly a targeted attack and just so happened that the place of business where this disgruntled former employee returned to and near the Empire State Building. But because it is one of the top tourist attractions of New York City, do you think that in any way this event is going to precipitate any heightened security around any of the other location there in New York City that is enjoyed by a number of tourists, particularly this time of year as we head into a big holiday weekend of Labor Day weekend?

PALUMBO: Well, I'm going to have to say that we have to seriously entertain that possibility, because if you observe the pattern of the police department and the mayor's office, when the Mumbai attacks occurred in India, we had uniformed police officers outside of all of the hotels. When the shooting occurred in Aurora, Colorado with the Batman premiere, we suddenly had police officers outside of the front of every movie theater.

So I think we could anticipate at least for a short window, a period of time a more heightened visual presence, to deter possibly -- you know, some of them might be a copycat, although this is not the type of copycat occurrence that would conventionally exist. But I think you might just sort of say to the public, making them feel better and have a little bit more visual presence at some more of the more populated tourist attractions.

The thing that is interesting about the Empire State Building - and I actually coordinated a security detail through my company in '98 after bin Laden had bombed the Tanzania and Kenya's embassies. We installed our own people there, all of them with a law enforcement background and screened people going up to the 86th floor observation deck as well as all of the points of ingress and egress on the street level of that particular facility. The Empire State Building has one of the most comprehensive camera systems along with Rockefeller Center where they know everything that is going on at every point of ingress or egress even the streets across the street from the entrances and exits.

WHITFIELD: And all of that we know that will continue to be very instrumental in the investigation as it moves forward. Lou Palumbo formerly of the NYPD. Thanks so much for your time and your perspective. Appreciate that.

Again, live pictures of the scene there. (INAUDIBLE) the streets around 34th, 7th, 5th and Madison all close as the investigation continues from so many different angles. We will continue to watch that.

We are also continuing to watch Tropical Storm Isaac. It is barreling through the Atlantic right now, and Haiti, Cuba and Florida are all bracing for impacts.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello, again. The investigation will intensify today after a shooting taking place outside of the Empire State Building there in midtown Manhattan. You are looking at live pictures. Many streets remain closed as investigators try to figure out the sequence of events. We understand two people are dead, including the gunman. And nine others are wounded.

The suspect, the suspected gunman is identified as 56-year-old Jeffrey Johnson. It is the police's understanding that he went to the former employer after a year having an exchange with the employer there being laid off approximately a year ago. Returning there and opening fire on a 41-year-old employee there, shooting that person to death. And then a construction worker in the area followed the suspect to a location, then identified to police officers working in the area. And that led to another gunfire exchange between the suspect and police. And that's where that gunman was killed.

So we continue to watch the developments there taking place in midtown Manhattan as they continue to try to piece together all that took place, and why.

Meantime, the other thing that we continue to watch, a pretty big thing, Tropical Storm Isaac. It is now on the move, and Haiti and Cuba are the first targets. Isaac is expected to hit Haiti in just a few hours with torrential rains and fierce winds. Then it barrels toward Cuba. It is a serious storm with potential for major devastation.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is here in the CNN Severe Weather Center keeping a close watch on this storm. Potentially, it could do so much.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It could. It could. It is a little bit farther to the south of Haiti than it was yesterday, at least the forecast track. That is some good news, but right now the big story is Puerto Rico, getting hammered with rain. And then Santo Domingo and then the Dominican Republic and then it will be Haiti. So we have all of the things lining up. It is going to be a very brutal day and night for the people that live in these areas.

Let me get right to where the radar is for Puerto Rico. This area - you're good, you're good. I was getting on this side, and the cameraman does not know where to go.

Here is the rain coming off of the storm right now. The storm is way down to the south, 200 miles away. Yet we always talk about how the arms can swing around, the arms of the hurricane, and now one getting very close to Ponce right there and up toward San Juan. Not quite raining in San Juan yet. But let me tell you when it rains in San Juan today, it is going to be really, really heavy.

Then the rain comes into the D.R. And there is Santo Domingo and here's Haiti. There's Port-au-Prince right there. Some of the spots in white will pick up 10 inches of rainfall before it stops.

Here is the real threat, I think, is does the rain get to Port- au-Prince? Do we get rainfall going sideways at 50 miles per hour, and you get five inches of rainfall in a tent city; 400,000 people still without a place to live? They live in tents. They live in canvas and plastic.

And then makes a run at Key West. I don't want you to take the eye off of the ball yet, Miami. I want Miami-Dade, you still have to watch this storm. There is not a model out there that couldn't just turn it to the right a little bit. We're only talking like one degree. So get it over there toward Miami, that's a possibility. Don't take your eye off of before it as we go to weekend, but the forecast does take it toward Panama City and maybe up toward Orange Beach and the like.

There is the storm. I just want to show you some of these things happening right now. You see these little whispy things that are kind of flying off of the storm at the last? That tells the us that the storm is truly getting its act together. That is outflow. Outflow is important to a hurricane, because at the surface, there's inflow. It all wants to be sucked into the eye, and then it all has to go up. Well, it can't be going up and keep going up, but it eventually goes out. When this out works, when this outflow, when this moving away from the hurricane aloft begins to work, the engine of the hurricane really gets going. And we have been only been running at about two of eight cylinders with this hurricane this entire time - it's a tropical storm.

But the two cylinders turning into a four cylinder, and when you see the outflow happening, it is now running on all cylinders and it is becoming a real force, a real force, a real event that is going to truly going to be bigger as it comes in. Comes across the point of Haiti, maybe very close to Guantanamo Bay. Gets torn up a little bit along Cuba and then runs into the Gulf of Mexico. This thing still could go to New Orleans -

WHITFIELD: Sure.

MYERS: -- because it's a very big storm.

WHITFIELD: These storms are known to wiggle and sway and change direction just on a dime. So that map that you are showing us where, you know, we can see that it could potentially brush by the Keys, just as you were showing the map earlier, we got a note from the Florida governor Rick Scott briefing local media there about this tropical storm, saying, quote, "We don't se the need right now to evacuate the Keys." However, the, you know, the Florida governor, is still going to be making his way -

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Chad, where are you?

MYERS: Over here.

WHITFIELD: Still making the way to Tampa for the convention. And we also know that the Florida Emergency Management has handed out information at hotels letting the people know what to do in case this storm comes.

But does this, you know, does it rest well with you that --

MYERS: No.

WHITFIELD: That the governor is saying not the evacuate at least not now? No need for that in the Keys?

MYERS: Well, what is today?

WHITFIELD: Seems so far today. Anything could happen, right?

MYERS: What's today? Well, today is Friday, right? And what do people do on Friday? They drive to the Keys. You go across and go to the stretch, you go to Key Largo and you make the right-hand turn and you go down to the Keys.

The issue is with when tourists go - the problem with tourists is that they stay. They don't want to leave, because they paid the money. But the homeowners in the guest houses and the hotels can't leave, because there are people who are tourists in their rooms. You need to get the tourists out of there first. I'd rather stop it today. Not say, hey don't go there on Friday because I don't want to move you all back out Saturday. But that is how it goes, though. It is about the tourist dollar, I'm afraid, at some point in time and they have to turn the people around to send them home.

The problem with the Keys, there's one road in, and one road out.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MYERS: Even if you have contra-flow, and essentially they will. (INAUDIBLE) And it will only go one way and eventually if it truly happens. But it is one road, and everybody gets jammed on that road, and it -- it's slow.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it is a headache. People just need to stay informed as best they can. That really is the key, because as you just underscored anything could happen with this storm. But I know you will keep us posted. Me and you both, and I know what you mean. Okay, Chad. We will continue to watch Isaac and what it does potentially.

We're also keeping a close watch in Manhattan about the shooting that happened this morning outside of the Empire State Building at the height of rush hour today. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

All right. Up to speed on the hour's breaking news from New York. A man pulled out a gun today on the sidewalk near the Empire State Building. He shot a man dead, and tried to get away and then was shot dead by New York City police who happened to be in the area, and nine other people are hurt, and the police commissioner Ray Kelly named the shooter today as Jeffrey Johnson, 56 years old, and the commissioner told reporters what happened to that suspect when he tried to get away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMM. RAY KELLY, NYPD: As the two officers approached Johnson, he pulled the .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol from the bag and fired on the officers who returned fire, killing him. And an additional nine individuals were either wounded or grazed during the exchange. Six of whom were removed to Bellevue hospital and three to New York Presbyterian Cornell medical center, and all are not likely to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's get a better idea of the investigation now and how all of this transpired. Mike brooks, law enforcement analysis for HLN's "In Session," our sister network, Trutv, joining us now, and before we talk about the scope of the investigation, talk about the fact that Commissioner Kelly said they are evaluating whether some of the shooting victims may have been shot by police officers accidentally and innocent bystanders and is this bound to happen or avoidable?

MIKE BROOKS, "IN SESSION" LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, there is a possible, because two women, seven men, and they were shot after the two officers who were on duty there in front of the empire state building as part of the anti-terrorism detail, because it is one of the icons, and construction worker says, hey, there's the guy over there who shot the guy around the corner on 33rd Street, and they approached him and he pulled the weapon, and then they pulled their weapons to defend themselves and shot him dead.

As they said, there were people who were slightly wounded, but when you are in a compressed area like that, and especially the midtown Manhattan right in front of the Empire State Building, and lot of tourists and this kind of thing, yes, it could happen, and people say they shouldn't -- look, I have been in situations like this, and it is not easy. You know, you try to --

WHITFIELD: It is difficult.

BROOKS: And you are in a small, small area, and they are doing the best they can to get some cover for themselves while shooting at them, but it is all caught on tape. Because of the surveillance cameras at the empire state building in and around that area and we heard the commissioner and Mayor Bloomberg say it was all caught on tape and he pulled the weapon on the officers as they approached him so he was the first one to make a move with the .45 caliber handgun before they shot him dead.

WHITFIELD: And all caught on tape and they can evaluate that quickly as they did and in addition to evaluating the handgun and seeing how many, you know, bullets would be accommodated in that gun, and given that, they were able to do a quick counting of some of the shots fired, and that is when they concluded or came close to the conclusion I suppose using that kind of word loosely.

BROOKS: Well you are right, somebody has been asking them, what is the capacity of rounds in that .45 caliber and he said that the magazine capacity was eight and then you can have one in the chamber which is a maximum for that handgun nine rounds. So there's a possibility that somebody could have been nicked or a ricochet, and there's all kinds of things, but where it was a total of 11, and two women and seven men wounded, and then you have the perpetrator and the person that the perp was going after the 41-year-old victim from Hasan imports shot and killed.

WHITFIELD: Now what in the investigation? The suspect is killed.

BROOKS: Right.

WHITFIELD: You didn't hear either the mayor or the police commissioner say, they were looking at whether there was anyone else involved so if this is the one suspect and that person is dead, where does the investigation need to go and why do they need to collect physical evidence?

BROOKS: Well, he was downsized from the company a year ago, Fred, so was he brewing and stewing for a year and had he come back there to the business between 33rd and 5th and 6th or contacted the person before? This is part of the investigation to find out what is going on in his mind, and had he given indications this could happen before this, and he lived in west Manhattan so they will go to the apartment and get a search warrant and see what else is in the apartment to lead them, what made this happen today at 9:03 there at the company?

WHITFIELD: Maybe he conveyed the plan to someone --

BROOKS: There is a possibility.

WHITFIELD: That is another arm of the investigation.

BROOKS: And why now? Was it because maybe the unemployment benefits were running out about a year, you know, so as I said, it has been about a year, and is this the reason why? This is all of the things that the investigators will look at as we move forward today, because it is early on in the investigation, but you want to speak to the friends, relatives, associates, anyone who knew him and what was the state of mind from the time he got fired up until today.

WHITFIELD: And fascinating that we heard from our Poppy Harlow reporting also details from Commissioner Kelly that he was wearing a suit as if he were going to work and briefcase and really blended into an area that is crowded because of people going to work and blended into an area that is crowded because you have a lot of tourists lining up outside of the Empire State Building.

BROOKS: Yes, you could be dressed in a suit or shorts and a t- shirt and still blend in, in that area, because it is Friday and beautiful day up there in Manhattan and people going to empire state building, and, you know, tourists and business people going about the business, because this does not happen. I was talking to somebody from New York, and this does not happen. You don't hear of things like this happening in New York. You heard an incident a couple of weeks ago where an emotionally disturbed person with a knife was chasing people through Times Square and NYPD had to kill him in the middle of the street, but for the most part shootings like this do not happen in New York City.

WHITFIELD: And law enforcement analyst, Mike Brooks, we appreciate that and we will keep tabs on the investigation, because still a lot of which questions to be answered. And investigators are working on that.

Meantime, we are keeping an eye on tropical storm Isaac and how it might disrupt the Republican national convention, and you are looking at live pictures right now in Michigan where Mitt Romney is on the campaign trail stumping before making his trip to Tampa. We will bring that to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: 56-year-old shooting suspect Jeffrey Johnson is dead after opening fire at his former employer's address right near the Empire State Building, killing one and then making his way just down the street before NYPD encountered him in an exchange of fire and he was shot dead and nine other people were wounded in this investigation. Police say that the suspect was laid off a year ago and had been disgruntled and many exchanges with that former employer over the last year. All right. We will continue to watch the investigation in midtown Manhattan.

Meantime, on the campaign trail as happened after the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, where you heard many challenging the presidency of the United States, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama to talk about the issue of gun control, well, today, Mitt Romney is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our hearts are touched by people who are suffering and you heard that there was a shooting in New York City at the empire state building and one person killed there and others injured and our hearts go out to those who are affected by that and the first responders there, we appreciate their service and the dedication. That is true all over to the country, and wherever the first responders are needed, they are there. We love and appreciate their sacrifice and the willingness to help our fellow Americans. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president of the United States was notified of the shooting shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning by the homeland security adviser John Brennan and continued to get updates throughout the morning. And New York, 34th Street and 5th Avenue is one of the busiest intersections in America. Hundreds of tourists and workers in that area this morning. Our Carol Costello spoke to a woman at the scene. Rebecca Fox was on her way to work across the street at the empire state building, and she heard that the gunman had been chased down, and this is what else she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA FOX, SHOOTING WITNESS: I saw people running. And I didn't actually hear any gunshots today. I had headphones in. But I -- somebody had said that there was a shooting and there were several shots fired.

COSTELLO: And --

FOX: So I walked across the street -- this was before they blocked off the crime scene -- and I saw a woman had been shot on the corner next to the Heartland (ph) brewery in the foot. And she seemed in shock, of course, you know, that she had been shot.

COSTELLO: What --

FOX: Then I looked over -- I looked in the middle of the street, right across -- right at the Empire State Building, in front of the doors where you enter, and there was a man lying on the ground. There was police all around him, like they had shot him down. And a lot of this I heard, just from the aftermath, that this man had been in pursuit of another man running down the street and he had shot the other man next to the Starbucks on 33rd Street towards 6th Avenue, shot him in the head. And someone had shown me a picture of him and it was just very gruesome.

My parents said I was crazy for moving up here after 9/11, but, you know, I worked across the street from the Empire State Building for about five years now and nothing like this has ever happened. And it's mayhem. And, you know, the detectives everywhere, they're trying to map out the crime scene.

I saw, you know, blood on the sidewalk. It was just a very surreal scene. Normally people are standing in line every morning and I'm cursing the tourists, you know, that are trying to get up to the top of the Empire State Building. I mean, I've never actually been to the top myself, but, you know, I'll never forget it.

COSTELLO: Oh.

FOX: So.

COSTELLO: So do you -- do you know that 10 people in all were shot? FOX: No. Wow. I only saw the woman who had been shot on the ground, and then I saw another woman getting carted away on an ambulance, but I actually had no idea that was 10 people. Wow.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That was eyewitness Rebecca Fox talking to our Carol Costello earlier today.

All right. Bombings, gunfire and destruction. That's what life is like right now in Syria's largest city. We'll take you inside the battle for Aleppo.

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WHITFIELD: To Syria now where least 146 people were killed just today in fighting all over the country. That's according to an opposition group tracking casualties in Syria. For the people in Aleppo, the biggest city in Syria, images exclusive to CNN inside a hospital just after a bomb went off in a food market. Scenes like this are no longer unusual in Syria. People living there are dealing with this every day. Here now is CNN's Jim Clancy.

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JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Screams of pain, pleas for help and prayers inundate an emergency room in Aleppo, Syria. A bomb exploded as these civilians waited in line to buy bread. Now, sprawled on the floor, they wait for someone to treat their wounds, to save their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, maybe 10. Maybe 10. And the cars go to bring more. There's many -- there's many wounded people.

CLANCY: In the heart of this chaos, the doctors and staff are beacons of calm. Take note of that as you watch these images. Because if any of them are arrested, they know they will be executed almost immediately by the regime. It's going be another record day for the al Sharra (ph) Hospital. Men, women and children of every age suffering from every kind of wound imaginable come here for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One hundred fifty.

CLANCY: They are keeping score here. Each patient treated is another small victory in a war where innocent civilians are the targets. Some will be quickly patched up and sent home. Others will undergo major surgery that will mean the difference between life and death. Spanish journalist Ricardo Garcia (ph) spent 20 days documenting the real life drama as the medical staff fights to keep this hospital open. People are depending on them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why all this? What's with this bad president? Aren't we his people?

CLANCY: On Aleppo's littered streets, atop shattered homes, Syrians denounce Bashar al Assad. Residents say they sleep in shelters, wait for the next bombing, in this their living nightmare. Others stand and fight. But there are times when even al Sharra Hospital cannot save them.

Near the hospital entrance, three Syrian army fighters bid farewell to a comrade in arms. "He's gone the paradise," the fighter shouts. "He's gone to paradise. There's nothing here."

These doctors and their assistants face risks every bit as dangerous as fighting on the front lines. If captured, execution. And they know well the regime is out to get them. Doctors recount how military intelligence agents came to the hospital to kill them. The Free Syrian Army thwarted that assassination.

But nothing stops falling bombs. A near miss with a 500-pounder shattered the windows. Jets later scored multiple rocket hits on the third and the fourth floors. But they are all here at work in Aleppo's al Sharra Hospital, and grimly preparing to treat the next victims of Syria's bloody civil war.

Jim Clancy, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And will cyclist Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles be stripped?

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WHITFIELD: He's endured tough battles, but today cyclist Lance Armstrong announced he is giving up the fight against doping charges. Armstrong has always denied them. But now he says, quote, "there comes a point in every man's life when he has to say enough is enough. For me, that time is now," end quote. The U.S. Anti Doping Agency has banned him for life. It will recommend Armstrong be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

The latest on the shooting in New York. We'll have more on that straight ahead.

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