14 DAY TRIAL // A shooting near Roosevelt Field Mall has prompted the lockdown of the shopping mall, several schools, and some highway exits near New York City. A man shot two people near the mall, one fatally.
The shooting took place on Wednesday at 10:10 a.m. Police are looking for suspect Sang Ho Kim, which they have identified as a disgruntled employee of a light fixture company.
Nassau County Chief of Department Steven Skrynecki describes that 63-year-old Kim has targeted the owner and CEO of Safe Energy.
He is a former employee with the electrical company, who has been fired on account of a dispute with the management.
“The company was occupied by about 4 employees at the time. [...] He entered one room where the owner CEO and an employee were. He opened fire immediately on those two individuals,” Skrynecki tells the NY Post.
Safe Energy is located next door to the Long Island mall, at 645 South St.
“This is terrifying. [...] After what happened in Kenya, everyone is already on edge,” a shopper recalls.
“People were running around. It was pretty chaotic. Cops were everywhere and people were running. [...] The cops came racing by a minute later and told me to get inside,” adds witness Jennifer Haber of Stamford, Connecticut.
Skrynecki reports that Kim killed the employee he fired at and sent the owner in hospital. The latter has been transported to Nassau University Medical Center in critical state.
“The motive here appears to be a work related motive. [...] There’s some disgruntlement between him and the company that he was attacking. [...] We have nothing to suggest that this individual is on a random shooting rampage,” he says.
Los Angeles Times writes that Kim has fled the scene in a Honda Pilot with New York plates.