Security guard shot, wounded near NYC's Madison Square Park, police say
A 49-year-old security guard is hospitalized after he was shot Monday afternoon in New York City's Flatiron District, according to the NYPD.
The shooting happened steps away from the man's Midtown Manhattan workplace at Madison Avenue and East 28th Street, just two blocks from Madison Square Park.
The NYPD said the man was shot several times in the chest just before 12:30 p.m.
Police sources said the man knew the suspected gunman and the two were involved in a dispute, but the specifics of the argument were not immediately known.
The gunman has not been captured. Detectives said he was wearing a blue sweater as he ran from the scene.
Gunshots cause confusion, then panic
Flatiron residents said they heard the gunshots, but they weren't sure what the sounds were at first.
"I was on 29th and Madison with the two dogs, and I was walking and I heard shots. But there's also a movie set on 27th, so people said, 'Oh it's just a movie set.' And then all of a sudden somebody started yelling, 'It's not a movie! It's real life!" And the person was laying on the ground," Oksana Conley said.
Alfredo Garcea, a truck driver from Kearny, New Jersey, said he head two shots from inside his truck, but did not get out.
"I was scared," he said. "The guy started screaming, loud."
Victim identified as security guard
The shooting victim was an off-duty security guard at The Prince George, a building with affordable and supportive housing, according to the charity that operates it, Breaking Ground.
A man who lives there said he sees the guard on a regular basis.
"He's a nice person. He's one of the nicer guys," the man said. "He's only been here for a couple of years. I think maybe 2 and a half years."
"He takes his responsibility very seriously," another tenant said.
Breaking Ground said it was "deeply saddened by the incident involving one of our security guards near The Prince George."
"Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones, and the safety of our tenants, staff, and community is our top priority. We are working closely with the NYPD and cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing," the charity said in a statement to CBS News New York.
The man remains hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital and is expected to survive.
No arrests have been made at this time.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
