Two people were killed and nine were wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City on Friday, a New York police source said.

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Bloomberg on Empire State Building Shooting

New York City police are seen at the scene of a shooting near the Empire State Building in New York, August 24, 2012. Two people were killed and at least eight were wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City on Friday, a New York police source said. [Photo by Hu Haidan / China Daily USA]

The body of a man lies on the sidewalk near the Empire State Building following a shooting in New York August 24, 2012. Two people were killed and at least eight were wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City on Friday, according to a New York police source. [Photo/Agencies]

A woman identified as a victim is treated at the scene of a shooting near the Empire State Building in New York, August 24, 2012. Two people were killed and at least eight were wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City on Friday, a New York police source said. [Photo/Agencies]

One of the dead was the shooter, the source said, adding there was no apparent link to terrorism.

A white tarp covered what was believed to be a body in front of the entrance to the office building but police declined to confirm if it was the shooter.

"I heard the gunshots," said Dahlia Anister, 33, who works at an office near the 102-story Empire State Building. "It was like pop, pop, pop. It was definitely in a bunch."

The shooting started shortly after 9 am (1300 GMT) on the busy sidewalk on Fifth Avenue outside the Midtown Manhattan building.

It came at the height of the tourist season outside one of New York City's most popular attractions, startling tourists and commuters. Police cordoned off the area around the building, one of the most recognizable in the world.

The Empire State Building is two blocks from Pennsylvania Station and a few blocks from Grand Central Terminal, two of New York City's main transportation hubs.

"People started running, saying somebody has a gun, so I just ran the other way. I was scared," said Adrianne Lapar, 27, who works in the Empire State Building.

Diana collado, a dental assistant, told China Daily that she works across the Empire State Building. "I was in Starbucks and I even threw out my coffee. I heard the shooting 4 or 5 times. I know the guy was fired yesterday, and a colleague told me that he first shot his manager. And he went to 33rd Street and shot his co-worker and then he went out on 5th Avenue and starting shooting people. I don't feel safe here, I don't feel safe anymore."

The United States has had two other mass shooting cases this summer. On July 20, James Holmes, 24, is accused of opening fire at a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58.

On August 5, a gunman killed six people and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple outside Milwaukee before police shot him dead in an attack authorities treated as an act of domestic terrorism.

The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building for 40 years from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, it was again the tallest building in the city, though was recently surpassed by a new tower under construction at the World Trade Center.