CHAIN 3
LENGTH 2 REPETITION 0.5 SCORE 1.0
shooting 2
NEW YORK ( Reuter ) - A gunman killed one person and wounded seven others on the crowded 86th - floor observation deck of the Empire State Building Sunday before turning the pistol on himself , police said .
The dead person was the intended target and the gunman was in critical condition at Bellevue Hospital , according to police .
No further information about the victims and their relationship to the gunman was released .
The shooting occurred about 5 p.m. EST and sent hundreds of tourists on the 86th floor of the skyscraper scattering for safety .
Witnesses said they dived to the floor as bursts of fire rang out .
A St. Vincent 's Hospital spokesman said three people wounded in the shootings were being treated there .
He said two of them were French nationals , and that they were in serious condition .
The hospital spokesman also said witnesses to the incident were being treated for emotional trauma .
A one - block area surrounding the Empire State Building at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in midtown Manhattan was blocked off as dozens of ambulances from area hospitals , police and fire trucks converged on the area .
The Empire State Building , which opened in 1931, is one of New York City 's top tourist attractions , and at 1,250 feet high it ranked for years as the world 's tallest building .
It has been featured in hundreds of movies , including the famous climactic scene of the film classic , " King Kong , " in which the giant ape clung to its side as he battled a squadron of attacking planes .