Police and sharp have surrounded an abandoned building in Herkimer, New York where suspected shooter Kurt Myers is believed to be holed up.

John's Barber Shop. one location of shooting
John's Barber Shop. one location of shooting (Townsquare Media)
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Construction scaffolding has been set up and bright lights pointed at the building on on North Main Street in Herkimer and police are attempting to speak with Myers according to CNYNews.com.

New York state police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico said Myers' rampage started with a fire in his apartment in the nearby village of Mohawk at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that Myers’ apartment had guns and ammunition in his apartment.  D'Amico said Myers then drove to John's Barber Shop around the corner and used a shotgun to kill two customers, whom he identified as Harry Montgomery, 68, and Michael Rancier, 57. The shop's owner, John Seymour, and another customer, Dan Haslauer, were listed in critical condition at a Utica hospital.

D'Amico said the gunman then drove to Gaffy's Fast Lube in nearby Herkimer and used the shotgun to kill Thomas Stefka, an employee, and Michael Renshaw, a customer who was a 20-year veteran of the state Department of Corrections.

Home on North Main Street
Home on North Main Street (Townsquare Media)
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In the afternoon, at least six military-geared officers walked into a residence on Folts St. in Herkimer, following an armored vehicle. After nearly 20 minutes inside and surrounding the home, police stopped investigating that scene, according to reports from WIBX radio.

 

Gunshots were heard shortly after at a residence near the corner of Green and North Main St. in Herkimer,

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a press conference in Herkimer, called it "truly an inexplicable situation." The only police record he has is a 1973 drunk driving conviction.

"There's no apparent motive to the best of our knowledge at this time to provoke these attacks," he said.

Herkimer County Community College and local schools were on lockdown. The college sent an automated cellphone alert around 10:40 a.m., telling students and staff that there was an "active shooter" in the area. A text alert a few minutes later said the campus was on lockdown. Another alert advised people to remain inside buildings until further notice.

Amanda Viscomi, Herkimer's acting clerk-treasurer for the village of 7,700, told The Associated Press the shooting at Gaffey's happened a few blocks from village hall. She said she was told the shooter was at large and that state police, sheriff's deputies and other police were swarming the area.

"Everybody's on lockdown, all the schools, the college, the village," Viscomi said. "It's very, very scary."



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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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