Supermarket shooter was an employee

2012-08-31 20:30

Video footage displaying the shooting in New Jersey. (Screenshot)

New York – A man that killed two people at a supermarket and then turned the gun on himself was an employee of the store, officials said on Friday.

The man was armed with a Kalashnikov-style automatic rifle and a handgun and shot two people at a supermarket in a town near New York, then killed himself, officials said.

The attack took place at a Pathmark store in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan told a televised news conference that the killer was 23 and his victims were an 18-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man.

"There are three dead individuals," Kaplan said. "Two of those individuals were innocent victims and the third deceased is the shooter who we believe killed himself."

Night shift

All three were employees at the supermarket, which had not yet opened to the public for the day.

Kaplan said the shooter finished his night shift then returned with the weapons and started to shoot, firing at least 16 shots.

About a dozen workers were in the store at the time and most were able to hide, Kaplan said.

The Asbury Park Press quoted Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry as saying that the killer was an ex-marine who arrived at the store wearing camouflage.

Employees were stocking shelves when the gunman entered, WABC television reported.

- AFP