Shortly after 9 a.m. this morning, a shooting erupted near the Empire State Building in New York City. At least two people are confirmed dead.
WABC was first to report the news at 9:16 a.m. Phil Lipof anchored coverage, aided by traffic reporter Shannon Sohn, who was in the station’s helicopter over the scene.
Mary Calvi first reported the news on WCBS at 9:20 a.m. The station went into continuing coverage around 9:33 a.m., with Dick Brennan reporting live from the scene of the shooting.
WNYW reported the news during a “Good Day New York” newsbreak with Tai Hernandez at 9:20 a.m. Dave Price anchored continuing coverage beginning shortly after 9:30 a.m.
WNBC first reported the news in a local update during the “Today” show at 9:26 a.m. Michael Gargiulo began anchoring continuing coverage at 9:37 a.m., with helicopter reporter Kai Simonsen contributing.
The stations’ coverage of the shooting was not immune to pranksters. During a phone interview on WABC, Lipof asked a witness what happened to the gunman. “Howard Stern came in and took him,” the caller replied.
Lipof moved quickly to disconnect and correct the information, saying, “It really is a shame and is pitiful that people have to do that.”