NEW YORK, Jan 26 — An armed man fatally shot an employee at a Home Depot branch in New York yesterday afternoon, sending panicked customers running for their lives.

The gunman, aged 31, entered the crowded Home Depot store in Chelsea, New York yesterday. Also an employee at the store, the shooter fired three shots at the store manager. The unidentified gunman then shot himself in the head, police said.

The gunfire prompted workers and shoppers to flee the scene.

The body of the shooter was still at the scene two hours after the shooting. Police said a .38-caliber revolver was found.

The shop manager was rushed to hospital but was declared dead. Authorities are investigating the motive behind the shooting. Police did not release the identities of the two men until their families were informed of the shooting. — Reuters

Police stand guard outside a Home Depot store following a shooting in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood of New York, January 25, 2015. — Reuters pic