Mayor Mike Bloomberg confirmed at a press conference this morning that there's a chance some of the victims were accidentally shot by police who were trying to take out the initial gunman, 53-year-old Jeffery Johnson. We're told eight of those wounded were shot by police, who were returning fire at Johnson, who pointed a 45-caliber handgun at officers and witnesses say fired at least one round. However, it's unclear whether he actually fired the weapon. Before any alarm bells are rung, it should be noted that Johnson drew his gun on officers before fatally meeting the business end of a cop's service weapon, so the police were more than justified in taking him out. But the fact remains: eight people were shot by police this morning.

Jeffrey Johnson, 58, almost always wore a suit and tie, even after losing his job as an accessories designer a year ago, according to Gisela Casella, 71, a neighbor who said she spoke with him often. His suits were "immaculate," and the sound of vacuuming could often be heard from inside his apartment, she said. Guillermo Suarez, the building's superintendent, said Johnson was friendly but was always alone. "This guy was very mellow," he said. "Very mellow and very lonely."

In February 1997, a gunman man opened fire on an observation deck, killing one and wounding six others before shooting himself, CNN reported at the time.

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Kelly just came back and added some more details: it seems Johnson and the victim were involved in an "ongoing dispute"—they were cross complainants in some kind of harassment case.

Shooting at Empire State Building. Several gunshot victims, including Gray Line worker twitter.com/BicyclesOnly/s…