Two people were killed and as many as 8 people were shot during a gun battle outside of the Empire State Building in New York today (August 24, 2012).

Jeffrey Johnson was all smiles on in the photo taken from his myspace page, but apparently an talk with his boss took him over the edge.

Johnson, 53, was shot dead on the sidewalk outside of the Empire State Building after he stalked the boss who fired him from his job shot him dead in the street.  He then turned his gun on police officers, who returned fire.

In the ensuing gun battle Johnson was killed, but at least nine pedestrians were struck in the process, many by police gunfire.

Gruesome details + photos below…

The incident occurred at the intersection of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York.

According to the NYPost, Johnson had been fired about a year ago from Hazan Imports at 10 W. 33rd Street, around the corner from the scene.

Johnson followed his former boss, identified as 41-year-old Steve Ercolino, down the street and opened fire with a .45-caliber pistol at close range.

After fatally shooting Ercolino in the head, he walked down 33rd Street with the gun concealed and was confronted by a pair of construction workers who gave chase, said Kelly.

At that point, cops on anti-terror patrol drew their weapons on Johnson and he opened fire.

The cops fired back, cutting down the suspect and possibly hitting some of the nine innocent bystanders who were caught in the mayhem.

One of the victims, a woman from the Bronx, in her 20s, was on her way to Dunkin Donuts for her morning coffee when she heard the gunfire and realized she’d been shot.

“She saw blood and said ‘Who got shot?’ and then she looked down and it was her.

She never saw the gunman,” said her pal, Chris Collins, a 44-year-old lab tech at NYU. (READ MORE)

<Are times really that hard where people are willing to die over a JOB?!?