Murder-Suicide In New York City Federal Building

A New Jersey man killed a guard, and himself, in a federal building in New York City on Friday.

Kevin Downing, 68, is said to have entered the federal building on Friday evening. That New York City building houses a passport processing center, an immigration court, and a Department of Labor regional office.

The Wall Street Journal reported that New York City law-enforcement is in possession of a video that displays the tragic scene.

“According to a law-enforcement official who said there is video of the entire incident, Mr. Downing entered 201 Varick St. at about 5 p.m. local time and approached the magnetometer and X-ray machine at the security station in the building’s lobby. As he entered the magnetometer, it signaled, prompting [Idrissa Camara], who was working an overtime shift, to ask Mr. Downing to back up for a bag search,” the official said.

“As Mr. Downing backed up, he pulled out a revolver, firing it once, striking Mr. Camara in the left side of the head,” the official continued. Mr. Camara was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

After the shooting, Mr. Downing continued to walk through the lobby toward the elevator bank at which point he came in brief contact with someone who knew him,” the law-enforcement official said.

The witness noted on the video was a 71-year-old man that worked with the New York City branch of the Department of Labor. The man heard the second shot caused by Downing, the shot that he used to take his own life.

“His fiancée died of breast cancer. His house was in foreclosure. He was in a really nasty automobile accident,” said Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat that had been attempting to aid Kevin Downing for several years. “This guy got a raw deal. This guy got shafted.”

Pascrell was trying to help Downing appeal the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ decision to fire him, using the argument that he was a whistleblower.

Allegedly, Downing informed Congress that the Bureau of Labor Statistics was closing its New York regional office for no reason. He called the act “unnecessary” and “expensive.”

His appeal was denied by a judge that stated he wasn’t a whistleblower just because he disagreed with management.

The security guard, Camara, was working as a contractor for a federal agency. Because of that, the FBI is aiding the New York City Police Department in the investigation.

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