A disgruntled worker laid off by an import company was killed in a shootout with police near the Empire State Building today after he had killed a co-worker and fled into the street.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says at least nine people -- two women and seven men -- were injured in the incident, including bystanders caught in a crossfire as police shot and killed the gunman, identified as Jeffrey Johnson, 53.

Update at 12:46 p.m. ET: NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says there had been an earlier workplace dispute between the suspect, Jeffrey Johnson, and the victim. "They each accused each other of harassment," Kelly says.

Update at 11:52 am. ET: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking to reporters, says surveillance video of the scene shows that the suspect pulled a weapon from his bag and "tried to fire" at the officers, but that it was unclear whether he was able to get off a round.

Update at 11:48 a.m. ET: Mayor Bloomberg says the police who killed the suspect were at the Empire State Building carrying out their normal anti-terrorism duties.

Update at 11:46 a.m. ET: The dead co-worker was described as 41 years old, but police declined to release any additional information on the victim.

Update at 11:38 a.m. ET: NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says the suspect, Jeffrey Johnson, 53, had been laid off about a year ago from Hazan Imports, where he had worked as a designer of women's accessories.

Kelly says the suspect shot a former co-worker in the head with a 45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, killing the victim, at the site of the imports company on West 33rd Street.

Kelly says Johnson then concealed the weapon in a black bag and walked to Fifth Avenue. Kelly says police working outside the Empire State Building were alerted by a construction worker who had followed Johnson from the site of the shooting.

Kelly says the suspect, confronted by officers, pulled the gun from his bag aimed it at police, who then shot and killed him.

Update 11:25 a.m. ET: New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly identified the shooting suspect as Jeffrey Johnson, 53, from Manhattan, who shot and killed a former co-worker at an import company on West 33rd Street.

Update at 11:22 a.m. ET: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the suspect had been fired from his job at the address about a year ago.

He says some of the people injured in the melee may have been accidentally shot by police officers firing at the gunman.

Update at 11:18 a.m. ET: The New York Post has posted raw video of the scene on the street moments after the shooting, with victims collapsed on the sidewalk.

Update at 11:14 a.m. ET: Another witness, Jamal Yahaya, 36, works for New York Skyrise, a tourist operation in the Empire State Building.

He tells USA TODAY's Kevin McCoy that he saw the gunman, after the shooting, walking north on Fifth Avenue. The police were following him and told him to stop, Yahaya says. The man reached into his shoulder bag, pulled out a gun and fired at the police. The police fired back.

"I saw him go down after the police shot at him. I've never seen anything like this in my life," says Yahaya.

Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: Anthony Hayes, a cable technician for TriTec Communications, tells USA TODAY's Kevin McCoy that he was on the eighth floor of the Empire State Building at the time of the shooting.

"I heard the shot and ran to the window," Hayes says. "Pop, pop, pop, pop. Four shots. I looked down and a guy was lying there."

He says he could see someone wearing a tour guide-type uniform who was down on 34th St.

Update at 11:08 a.m. ET: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak to the news media shortly from the scene.

Update at 11:06 a.m. ET: The New York Daily News reports that the gunman, wearing a business suit, shot a person near the 33rd Street entrance to the iconic skyscraper, then walked away casually.

The suspect was then shot and killed by police in a confrontation on Fifth Avenue.

Update at 10:31 a.m. ET: The New York Times quotes an unidentified city official as saying that eight people were wounded, and that the gunman and one other person were dead.

Update at 10:23 a.m. ET: The New York Daily News quotes a construction worker, Chris Ogden, as saying he saw the gunman, who was carrying a briefcase, open fire. "He shot the guy in the head," Ogden tells the newspaper. "The guy went down. He took a second shot when he was down."

Update at 10:14 a.m. ET: A witness tells CNN that the gunman ran after and shot a man in the head. An unarmed guard chased the gunman away, the witness says.

Update at 10:10 a.m. ET: CBS2 New York quotes a witness as saying she heard three shots and saw three people running down the street. "Then we heard it again and it was like 10 to 15 shots at one time," she tells CBS2.

Update at 10:05 a.m. ET: The New York Post, quoting unidentified sources, reports that the shootings stemmed from a dispute between co-workers.

The Post says at least two people are dead, including the gunman and an innocent bystander, and that a total of 10 people were shot. Reuters also reports two dead.

Update at 10:04 a.m. ET: Aliyah Imam tells Fox 5 News that she was standing at a red light when a woman standing next to her fell to the ground. She says the woman was hit in the hip. She says the gunman was "shooting indiscriminately at people."

Update at 9:51 a.m. ET: Several media outlets are quoting New York City police as saying the incident is not terrorism-related.

Update at 9:50 a.m. ET: Reuters reports that at least 8 people were shot in the incident.

Update at 9:49 a.m. ET: The shooting occurred at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, just beside the city's iconic skyscraper and a massive tourist attraction.

Update at 9:45 a.m. ET: Reuters, quoting an unidentified New York City police source, reports two are dead in the shootings, but this has not been confirmed by other media sources.

Update at 9:44 a.m. ET: CNN reports that 5 people were injured in the shooting.