According to the preliminary evidence of the NYPD the reason behind the attack was not linked to terrorism. The alleged gunman who was found shot in the head at the crime scene, Kevin Downing, a 68 year old veteran, shot Idrissa Camara, a security guard working an extra shift instead of leaving work at 4 p.m, then he shot himself in the head.
The ambulance rushed the first victim to Lenox Health Greenwich Village where his death was soon declared. The shooter acted by himself, and although the guard also had a weapon he couldn’t manage to act in time in order to save his life.
By early evening, the outdoors surrounding the scene were frightening, emergency vehicles were spurting over the streets of New York during the rush hour. A few hours after the incident, a few citizens were badly injured by cars when they were attempting to cross the street.
Later that day, the feds crowded at Downing’s home in the suburbs of Fort Lee, searching for insight that could help them understand why the shooting came into being. They found out that the federal building in which he killed the guard included the health administration office for US veterans and that Downing had previously written a letter of complaint in 2012 in which he had brought into discussion the decision of the Bureau of Labor to close their regional office.
Hours after the event, the FBI officials still don’t know who his target was. Head of the Bureau of Labor, Bill Pascrell Jr., declared that in all the interactions he had with Kevin Downing, the gunman didn’t reveal any sign of violence, and that in their most recent phone conversation the veteran was more composed than in their previous dealings.
Photo credits: 1 Man Shoots Guard in New York then Kills Himself
