She was a secretary at a 270-member Atlanta law firm. He was a temporary worker in the records department. For a while, they had dated.

On Friday afternoon in Midtown, outside the Bank of America Plaza office tower where they both worked -- and with witnesses watching in horror -- Raven Buckley, 25, was shot and killed by Jermaine Acevedo, 30. Then, he committed suicide.

Saturday morning Atlanta police were still trying to piece together the tragedy that ended two lives, shook Midtown and brought disbelief and grief to co-workers at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

"We're in a crisis mode, it's an awful tragedy, and that's how we're handling it right now," said Arielle Lapiano, public relations manager out of the law firm's New York office.

Atlanta police gave out a few more details Saturday as the families of Buckley, who lived in Alpharetta, and Acevedo, from Snellville, were awaiting the release of the bodies from the Fulton County Medical Examiner.

According to Atlanta police, Acevedo had worked at the law firm as a temporary employee since January. Buckley had worked as a legal secretary there for about a year. Both were working Friday, said police.

They dated at one point, but it wasn't clear to police if they were still dating when the confrontation took place Friday afternoon about 3:30 p.m.

According to police, Buckley was in the courtyard in front of the Bank of America Plaza with a friend on break when they believe Acevedo encountered her, though police don't know the exact circumstances.

At some point, according to police, Buckley and Acevedo were talking while sitting at a picnic table in the courtyard when their conversation escalated into an argument.

Buckley jumped up to leave, according to police. Acevedo grabbed her and held her down. He pulled out a handgun and shot her three times, at least once in the head. He then shot himself in the head.

On Friday night, law firm spokesperson Lapiano released a brief statement that the firm was "deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' family and friends. Please be assured that we are cooperating fully with local authorities on this ongoing investigation."

Lapiano said Saturday the firm planned to bring grief counselors in Monday to help the staff deal with the killings.

The west entrance to the Plaza skyscraper, one of the most spectacular in the Midtown skyline, was cordoned off Friday afternoon in yellow crime tape.

According to Atlanta police, three or four people witnessed the shooting. Others, such as Terri Charles, 32, who works in a high-rise building across the street from the Plaza, were left to sort through the sounds and sights of the aftermath.

Charles heard the sirens and assumed they were ambulances and police cars just passing through as they sometimes do. "Then, they just stopped right outside the building," she said.

She and a co-worker then checked media sites on the Internet to find out what happened as they watched the scene below from a window.