Jeffrey Johnson, the 58-year-old gunman who shot a former co-worker near the Empire State Building, had to vacate his apartment before he went on his shooting rampage Friday morning.
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In a note left to his co-op owner, Johnson left his apartment Friday morning with no intention of ever returning.
As reported by the New York Daily News:
The Upper East Side co-op Johnson was subletting was about to be renovated, so the owner needed him to move out temporarily, a police source said.
Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, Johnson, wearing the same gray suit he wore nearly every day since losing his fashion job.
He left his keys behind in an envelope, having assured the co-op owner that relocating posed no problem.
“I’m not going to be back after Friday anyway,” Johnson said, according to the police source.
Ninety minutes later, Johnson died in a hail of police bullets after executing the man he blamed for losing his job. Police say he pumped five bullets from a .45-caliber handgun into Steve Ercolino’s head.
Investigators later found a creepy trove of books in Johnson’s apartment, a source said Sunday, including “Techniques and Equipment of the Deadly Marksmen Snipers” and “Attack Proof — the Ultimate Guide to Personal Protection.”
A plastic case lay nearby, containing 15 rounds of ammunition — the same kind Johnson used to settle his grudge.
Police were still conducting a search in Johnson’s apartment, combing through computer files and other books and documents in hopes of finding out what led to Johnson to snap and go on his murderous shooting spree.
SOURCE: NYDN
Photo credit: NBC News
