A busy New York shopping neighbourhood became the site of America's latest mass shooting after five people were fatally gunned down during a botched robbery in a Wendy's fast food restaurant in the Flushing district late on Wednesday night.
Police swarmed over the murder scene yesterday as they hunted for two suspects after they discovered five dead and two more wounded, one critically, in the basement refrigerator of the fast food restaurant.
Wendy's International said in a statement it was offering a $25,000 reward.
All the victims were employees who had been bound and gagged before being shot execution-style, police said. The names of the victims were being withheld as police notified relatives.
"Two men walked into the Wendy's as they were closing late last night. They took them into the basement, they tied them up and then for whatever reason they shot them all," said police a spokesman, Sgt Victor Ramos.
Investigators believe the shooting came after an attempted heist, the New York detectives chief, Mr William Allee, told local media. Officers found two wounded in the restaurant area, and one of the victims led police to a basement walk-in refrigerator, where they discovered the grisly scene.