HELL'S KITCHEN — A recently fired construction worker returned to his former Hell's Kitchen job-site and opened fire Monday morning, blasting his onetime colleague in the stomach, officials and sources said.
The suspect, whom sources said was recently let go from the Judlau construction site at Ninth Avenue and West 49th Street, walked up to Judlau maintenance foreman Louis Lamburini, 56, while he sat in a parked van just before 9:30 a.m. Monday and fired twice at point-blank range, officials said.
The shooter — described by police as bald with arm tattoos — then got back into a white car and fled west on 49th Street, police and sources said.
Lamburini was struck in the abdomen and rushed to Bellevue Hospital and expected to be released later Monday afternoon, company officials said.
"One of our employees was involved in an altercation where he received a gunshot wound to his abdomen and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Our hearts and minds go out to our employee," said Edward Conway, director of safety and quality at Judlau-Waterworks, a Queens-based construction company.
Conway said Lamburini was on duty when he got into an "altercation" and was shot.
"He is recovering, and is expected to recover fully," Conway added. "We are working with the police department and other law enforcement agencies to make sure that the perpetrator in this and the victim get the justice that they need."
Conway disputed police reports that the suspect in the shooting had been recently fired, saying that he was not terminated. He did not say whether the suspect was a current or former employee.
"We're a small family company. We care about our employees. I know the guy for years. This is really hard for me," Conway added.
Monday's shooting happened about 10 blocks from where a 31-year-old Los Angeles native was shot and killed in another brazen daylight shooting in December.
