photo credits Juliet Gerber
New York—Two were killed (one the shooter) and eleven injured in the shooting and following gun battle that took place at the Empire State Building Friday morning around 9 am. The shooter, identified as Jeffery Johnson, 53, was laid off last year and apparently killed a former co-worker using a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, before firing at police who immediately returned the fire, killing Johnson. Most subsequent injuries were due to the exchange of gunfire. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, arriving at the scene shortly after the shootings, attributed some of the injuries to shots fired by police officers.
No Stern students were injured or harmed in the shooting. Stern security reacted immediately, putting all students in the dorms on temporary lockdown. John Gorman, head of security for the mid-town campus, was deployed immediately to the Brookdale dorm to ensure security measures ran smoothly and efficiently. An email was sent out immediately to the student body, informing of the attack and the additional security measures that had been taken accordingly. Yeshiva University security has been in close correspondence with the NYPD following the attacks. All campus buildings are currently open and operating normally.
Speaking this morning to the Observer directly following the incident, Donald Sommers, Chief of Security at YU, ensured the student body that “everything is under control.” “We’ve been in contact with the NYPD all morning—just got off the phone with them now, actually. We don’t take chances with the security of our students. We are constantly reviewing strategies, and tuned in to any and all concerns.”
“The feeling around Stern now is actually quite calm,” said Chani Herzig, RA at Stern who witnessed the scene from her 6th story window on 34thStreet. “It is comforting to see the street literally streaming with police vehicles. Stern students are no longer under lock down, and can be seen wandering around taking pictures with their cellphones.”
First time on campus student, Nechama Dreyfus, at Stern for the Orientation proceedings, commented on the reaction among first-year students. “Mainly, people have been receiving frantic phone calls from parents—you survived Israel and now this! But the student body seems fully confident in the security measures that have been taken to ensure our safety.”