The SUV belonging to a disgruntled vendor who opened fire inside a Garden City office Wednesday killing one and injuring another was discovered in upstate Putnam County nearly 12 hours after the shooting, authorities said.
A Nassau County police spokesman said the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department discovered 63-year-old Sang Ho Kim’s white Honda Pilot around 11 p.m. Wednesday. Kim was not inside the vehicle and police wouldn’t say if a gun or any other items were inside the SUV. Police are continuing the search, the spokesman said.
Kim’s SUV was discovered in a parking lot 70 miles north of where he allegedly gunned down an employee of Savenergy on South Street near the corner of Ring Road. The owner of the company was also shot and was taken to a local hospital.
The 10 a.m. shooting just south of Roosevelt Field Mall and in the heart of Garden City’s busy business and shopping district sparked a large police presence in the area. Surrounding roads were blocked off to drivers and Roosevelt Field mall was on lock down for several hours until authorities gave mall officials the go-ahead to allow shoppers back inside. Those inside the busy mall were bottled up inside as police searched the perimeter.
Law enforcement agencies including Nassau police, FBI and New York State police launched a massive manhunt for Kim soon after the shooting.
Authorities established a possible motive very early on.
Kim was a former Savenergy vendor who became involved in a “bad business deal” with the lighting company, Chief of Department Steve Skrynecki told reporters a press conference near the scene. Skrynecki added that the gunman didn’t appear to be in a “random shooting rampage,” as he tried to calm fears of local residents and businesses shaken up by the shooting.
The shooting victims’ identities haven’t officially been released.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Kim is asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
-With Timothy Bolger
