One Dead and Another Hurt in Nassau County Shooting

The gunman, who fled the scene and set off a manhunt, was identified by the police as Sang Ho Kim.

Shortly after the shooting at 10:11 a.m. at a light fixture company at 645 South Street in East Garden City, N.Y., which is only blocks from Roosevelt Field mall, there was a strong police response.

Streets were closed down, shoppers were screened as they left the mall, schools were locked down and vehicles were stopped and searched. Coming on the heels of a bloody terrorist attack on a mall in Kenya and a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, many residents were alarmed when they saw the burst of law enforcement activity.

Steven Skrynecki, the Nassau County police chief, held an afternoon news conference to try to put to rest any fears that the shooting was a prelude to something larger.

“There is nothing to suggest that this individual is on a random shooting rampage,” he said.

While the investigation is in its early stages, Chief Skrynecki said, the police believe that Mr. Kim knew his victims and was angry about a business deal.

The victim who was killed was the owner of the light company, Safe Energy, and the other victim was also an employee. The police declined to identify them by name, pending notification of their families.

“The motive here appears to be a work related,” Chief Skrynecki said.

After the shooting, he said, Mr. Kim drove off in a white 2008 Honda Pilot.

He cautioned, “We believe that this suspect is armed and very dangerous.”

The police searched the campuses of Nassau Community College and Hofstra University. They were being assisted by the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Jasmine Alston, 20, who works at the Macy’s at the Roosevelt Field mall, said that she was let out of the building after her shift ended at 1:45 p.m., but that the mall itself was still closed to people seeking to enter. She described the shutdown as uneventful: no announcements were made, and workers at Macy’s learned of the lockdown from customers or colleagues who called from outside. Even after becoming aware, she said, “some people were still shopping.”

Sarah Maslin Nir contributed reporting.

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