Two male New York City Home Depot employees are dead, including the gunman, after a shooting inside the store Sunday afternoon, WNBC confirmed with the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI).
An employee of the Home Depot in the Chelsea neighborhood entered the location, went into the lighting section of the store and began engaging in conversation with another employee of the store. At that time, shots were fired, Captain Steven Wren from the detective bureau of Manhattan said in a brief press conference that detailed preliminary information. The victim working at the store at the time, believed to be shot three times, was taken to Bellevue Hospital. No one else was injured.
EMS responded and pronounced the suspect, 31, dead upon arrival at the scene. He shot himself in the head. The victim, 38, was shot in the abdomen and the chest, and was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at Bellevue.
"We're deeply saddened by this tragedy. We are fully cooperating with the authorities on their investigation of what appears to have been an isolated incident," Home Depot Spokesperson Stephen Holmes said Sunday evening.
A witness at the scene reported that the shooter was described as a "disgruntled employee" by nearby workers. Police have not confirmed the relationship between the suspect and the victim.
"It sounded like really, really heavy fireworks," witness Emilio Pantero said. "I thought it can't be happening, it only happens on TV ... I can't be experiencing this."
"When I ended up next door, that's when I saw bodies on the floor," he said.
Police rushed to the scene just after the gunman entered at 2:45 p.m. ET. A crowd of about 15 people were running near the store shouting "someone's shooting, someone's shooting," according to a witness at the scene. The store was quickly evacuated and police were dispersing people on the sidewalk. A photo on social media showed someone being taken away from the scene on a stretcher.
Around 4 p.m., employees reentered the store. Police are still investigating the shooting.
This is a developing story.