Police line up outside the site of the incident. Amel Ahmed

The guard, Idrissa Camara, 53, was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead hours later, police said.

NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill told reporters in a press conference shortly afterward that no other suspects were currently being sought. He added that there is "no indication of a nexus to terrorism."

The incident occurred at the beginning of the evening rush hour in southern Manhattan's West Village area. A large number of police cars suddenly sped toward the busy intersection of Houston and Varick Streets from all directions.

Police, some brandishing automatic weapons, rushed from the cars and shouted at pedestrians, "Get out of here, there's an active shooter in the street."

A crowd of 100 or so scattered from the scene to take shelter in nearby buildings. Once inside, some ran into stairwells.

The building where the incident took place houses an immigration court, a passport application center and the Department of Labor.

O'Neill said the NYPD was in the "very preliminary stages of investigation," but that his department would engage with federal agencies, including Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

With The Associated Press