A police officer and three civilians were killed, officials said. The suspected gunman acted alone and died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said.
Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old Nevada resident wearing body armor and carrying an M4 assault rifle, shot and killed four people, including an off-duty police officer in a Midtown Manhattan office building, Monday evening before killing himself, officials said. He entered the lobby of the Midtown tower alone and immediately opened fire on an NYPD officer and sprayed the lobby with bullets. The deceased included NYPD officer Didarul Islam of the 47th Precinct in the Bronx, who came to the U.S. from Bangladesh and who Mayor Eric Adams said had been on the force for almost four years. He was working security in the building while off duty.
“Early tonight, I met with the officer’s family. I told them that he was a hero, and we admire him for putting his life on the line,” Adams said at press conference, joined by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney; and an array of high-ranking officials from the Police Department, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kaz Daughtry, the deputy mayor for public safety, Patrick Hendry, the head of the police officers’ union, as well as a white-coated hospital doctor. “He was doing what he does best, and all members of the police department carry out. He was saving lives. He was protecting New Yorkers.”
“He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice — shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Security video shows the gunman got out of a double-parked car with an M4 rifle and entered the building’s lobby, where he “immediately opened fire” on an NYPD officer, who was killed, the police commissioner said. “He then shoots a woman who took cover behind a pillar and proceeds through the lobby, spraying it with gunfire,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. The gunman shot a security guard at the elevator bank as the guard was taking cover behind a security desk. The shooter called the elevator to the lobby, a woman got out, and the gunman allowed her to exit unharmed. The shooter went up to the 33rd floor and “begins to walk the floor, firing rounds as he traveled,” Tisch said. One person was shot and killed on that floor, she said. “He then proceeds down a hallway and shoots himself in the chest,” she said.
Islam was married with two young boys, and his wife was pregnant with a third child. The officer and the surviving male civilian were taken to New York Presbyterian, where the civilian is in critical but stable condition. Two other civilians, one male and one female, both killed in the shooting, were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Police say another female was the victim found dead on the 33rd floor. The shooting occurred just before 6:30 p.m. in an office building at 345 Park Ave. at East 52nd Street, which contains the headquarters for the investment company Blackstone and the National Football League.
KPMG, an accounting firm that also has offices in the building, released a statement after the shooting, saying, “Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific act and their families. We are incredibly grateful for the bravery of building security and law enforcement,” the company said.
A National Football League employee was seriously injured in the shooting, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo to employees.
“One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition,” Goodell wrote in the memo, which was obtained by ABC News. “NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family. We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared.”
Goodell said in the memo that there would be “increased security presence” at the league’s offices “in the days and weeks to come.” He said employees based in New York should work remotely on Tuesday or could take the day off. “Every one of you is a valued member of the NFL family,” Goodell wrote. “We will get through this together.”
NFL employees were told to shelter in place at the time, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported. The NFL offices are on floors five through eight of the 44-story building.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and a Brooklynite, issued a statement calling for stricter gun laws: “Mass shootings are a plague. The gun violence epidemic continues to afflict our country and has now shattered lives in our great City. The time has come for decisive action.”
New York’s senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, posted on social media that they were praying for those affected by the shooting. “We must do more to stop gun violence in America,” Schumer wrote.
Candidates for New York City mayor responded to the shooting on social media. “Grateful to our first responders who run toward danger to keep us safe,” Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa wrote. “I’m grateful for the courage of our NYPD and first responders, and my prayers are with the victims and their families,” former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, posted.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City who has been visiting family in Uganda, posted on social media that he was “heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting.” He said: “I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer in critical condition in my thoughts. Grateful for all of our first responders on the ground.”
Tamura was the owner of the BMW that the shooter arrived in. Commissioner Tisch stated that the police discovered a backpack, Tamura’s prescription medication, a loaded handgun, ammo, magazines, and a rifle case with shots inside the vehicle. No explosives were present. He drove across the country in recent days, arriving in New York City today. Tamura was licensed to carry a gun in Nevada, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference tonight.
The assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office promised the “full force” of the agency in the investigation into today’s shooting.
“You have the full force of FBI New York and full force of FBI to get to the bottom of the answers,” said Chris Raia, the assistant director in charge of the office.
The investigation into the gunman’s motives and the shooting is ongoing. Raia said that “initial checks of our internal systems have not revealed any information about the subject.”
“We are deeply saddened to learn that NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, who was fatally shot in yesterday’s incident, was a member of our beloved Parkchester community. He was not only a public servant, but a neighbor – someone who dedicated his life to protecting others and made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. This act of violence has shaken families and communities across our city. As the investigation continues, my thoughts are with all those affected- the families grieving, the loved ones seeking answers, and everyone feeling the weight of this tragedy,” New York City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías shared in a statement on Tuesday.
Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on this developing story!
