Mr. Johnson, the commissioner said, was carrying a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun “in a bag under his arm.” It had a capacity of eight bullets, officials said, adding that Mr. Johnson had fired three at Mr. Ercolino, who was apparently a vice president at Hazan Imports. Mr. Bloomberg said Mr. Johnson pulled out his gun “and tried to shoot the cops and kill the cops.”
“They returned fire,” the mayor added. A law enforcement official said later on Friday that Mr. Johnson did not fire his weapon.
9 people were shot by the cops. It's quite possible that they did everything right here, except failing to be perfect marksmen. My point is not to criticize them, just to highlight the reality of what happens when several people pull out guns and start shooting them in crowded places.