A fired Home Depot employee reportedly returned to the New York City store where he worked in Manhattan's Flatiron District and opened fire, fatally shooting his supervisor before turning the gun on himself.
The New York Daily News identified the shooter as Calvin Esdaile, Jr., 31, who was found dead at the scene Sunday from a single gunshot wound. The supervisor's name was not released, but it was reported that a 38-year-old man, who had been shot three times and was rushed to an area hospital, was also reported dead.
Some Home Depot employees told the Daily News that the shooter and his former supervisor had a conversation before the shooting, which witnesses say happened in the lighting aisle of the store.
"It sounded like a big refrigerator had fallen over," Alexandra Pelosi—daughter of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who happened to be shopping at the store when the shooting occurred—told the Daily News. "A woman started screaming at the top of her lungs, howling. And then everybody, it was like the running of the bulls, everybody just took off."
Some witnesses believe that Esdaile Jr. came back to the store seeking revenge for his firing.
Calvin Esdaile Sr. told the newspaper that his son arrived in the United States from Jamaica in 2006 and lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. "If it's him, I'm sorry about this thing and I'm sorry someone has to die by his hand," the 52-year-old man, who the Daily News noted was visibly upset, said. "It's a shock to me. I don't know of him having a violent history."
Esdaile Sr. told the newspaper that he had just seen his son a few weeks ago and that he liked his job. "He was always telling me, 'I'm going to work,' " he said.
Read more the New York Daily News.