Midtown skyscraper shooting leaves five dead, including NYPD officer

An area is cordoned off in New York with police
Reuters

A 27-year-old gunman armed with an assault-style rifle killed four people, including off-duty officer Didarul Islam, inside 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening before shooting himself dead, New York police said.

The fatal burst of gunfire began in the lobby of the Midtown Manhattan tower during the evening rush hour, then moved to a 33rd-floor office suite before the attacker turned the weapon on himself, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Monday night.

The gunman was identified as Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas resident who had driven across the U.S. in recent days. Tisch said he had a reported history of mental illness and appeared to have acted alone; investigators have yet to establish a motive. Preliminary checks showed no significant criminal record.

Tamura’s victims included Officer Islam, 36, a Bangladesh-born father of two whose wife is pregnant with their third child. Two men and a woman also died, while another man remains in hospital “fighting for his life,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, condemned the attack as “pure evil” that struck “innocent people and one of our police officers who were protecting those people.”

Witnesses described chaotic scenes as the building, which houses the National Football League headquarters alongside offices for Blackstone and KPMG, was locked down amid a heavy police and FBI presence. “I just saw a lot of commotion and cops and people screaming,” said Russ McGee, 31, who was exercising in an adjacent gym.

Kyle Marshall, 38, working in a nearby Morgan Stanley office, said staff were kept inside until after 20:00. “The police responded quickly,” he added.

Authorities recovered the assault-style rifle at the scene. Searches of Tamura’s vehicle and background are continuing, but officials cautioned that determining his motive could take time.

Tags