A 27-year-old man from Las Vegas was identified as the gunman in Monday’s deadly Midtown Manhattan shooting that left four people dead, including a New York police officer.
The NYPD named the shooter as Shane Devon Tamura. He opened fire inside the 345 Park Avenue skyscraper around 6:30 p.m., during evening rush hour.
After killing four people and injuring several others, Tamura turned the gun on himself.
Highlights
- Shane Devon Tamura, 27, from Las Vegas, was identified as the Midtown Manhattan shooter who killed four people, including an off-duty NYPD officer.
- Tamura drove cross-country, arriving in NYC shortly before the attack, carrying an M4 assault rifle and ammunition in a black BMW.
- The off-duty NYPD officer killed, Didarul Islam, was working security and is being hailed a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice.
- Tamura targeted the NFL’s offices but mistakenly went to Rudin Management’s floor.
- The gunman had a history of mental illness, a concealed carry permit, and died by suicide.
Shane Tamura, 27, was identified as the gunman who killed four people in Manhattan
Image credits: Barry William/Getty Images
Among the deceased were NYPD Officer Didarul Islam and Wesley LePatner, Senior Managing Director of Real Estate at Blackstone.
Tamura drove across the country from Las Vegas before arriving in New York City on Monday.
He also had a documented history of mental illness and a suicide note in his pocket that alleged he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CET), a disease linked to head trauma.
Tamura parked a black BMW with Nevada plates outside the 44-story building between East 51st and 52nd streets. Surveillance video showed him walking calmly toward the entrance, carrying an M4 assault-style rifle.
Once inside the lobby, Tamura opened fire, shooting and killing 36-year-old NYPD officer Didarul Islam.
Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was off-duty at the time, but in uniform and working security in the building. The father-of-two and his wife were expecting their third child.
“He was doing the job that we asked him to do,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “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. He died as he lived, a hero.”
Image credits: Mayor Eric Adams/X
Tamura then fired at several others in the lobby, killing a woman who was hiding behind a pillar, and continued “spraying with gunfire,” Tisch said.
On his way to the elevator, Tamura shot a security guard who was taking cover behind his desk, and a second man in the lobby, who is currently in the hospital.
When the elevator arrived, a woman walked out, whom the gunman allowed to leave unharmed.
Tamura then went up to the 33rd floor, where Rudin Management’s offices are located, and fired multiple rounds, killing LePatner before fatally shooting himself in the chest.
LePatner, 43, is survived by her husband and children. In addition to serving as Blackstone’s Senior Managing Director, she was also the CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust.
Officers believe Tamura was aiming for the NFL’s offices and ended up on the wrong floor
Image credits: Barry William/Getty Images
According to a report by Bloomberg, two senior law enforcement officers said Tamura was targeting the National Football League but ended up on Rudin Management’s floor by mistake.
The officers said Tamyra picked the wrong elevator bank that took him to the investment firm’s office, rather than the NFL’s fifth floor. An NFL employee was seriously injured during the shooting, according to a staff memo.
In his suicide note, Tamura asked that his brain be studied after his death and blamed the National Football League for ignoring the condition.
“Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,” he wrote in the letter. “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.”
Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers player, died by suicide and was diagnosed with CTE.
Tamura had been a standout high school football player, and his social media feed showed that his football career ended after a head injury. He wrote that the NFL didn’t do enough for CTE.
Police say Tamura acted alone. “His motives are still under investigation and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch said.
345 Park Avenue is a commercial office building whose tenants include the NFL, Rudin Management, KPMG, and Blackstone. The business complex is also known as the ‘Blackstone Building.’
According to KPMG’s website, its New York office comprises 3,500 professionals.
Police found a loaded revolver, a rifle case, ammunition, magazines, a backpack, and prescribed medication in Tamura’s car.
A photo obtained by The New York Post showed Tamura’s Las Vegas concealed carry permit, valid through 2027.
Tamura’s vehicle was tracked across several states in the days leading up to the shooting. He was seen in Colorado on July 26, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27, and entered New Jersey on the afternoon of July 28. He reached Manhattan shortly before the attack.
Police found a loaded revolver, a rifle case, ammunition, magazines, a backpack, and prescribed medication in Tamura’s car.
A photo obtained by The New York Post showed Tamura’s Las Vegas concealed carry permit, valid through 2027.
Tamura’s vehicle was tracked across several states in the days leading up to the shooting. He was seen in Colorado on July 26, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27, and entered New Jersey on the afternoon of July 28. He reached Manhattan shortly before the attack.
The shooter had a history of mental illness and left a suicide note blaming the NFL for ignoring his condition
Photos from the scene showed blood smeared on the shooter’s AR-15-style rifle, which had a black scope and sling. Police confirmed it was made by Palmetto State Armory and fired .223-caliber rounds.
Tamura’s friends and former classmates from California expressed shock after hearing about the incident.
“He was a great teammate. He was just a guy that really enjoyed the sport, not problematic at all,” a former friend told ABC7.
According to retired NYPD Capt. John Monaghan, the gunman’s “quite brazen” entrance into the Park Avenue office tower suggests that he “knew he was going to die” and “was at peace with that,” CNN quoted him as saying.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“It’s clear from the picture [of the gunman’s entrance] he is not worried about getting caught,” Monaghan said, adding that the gunman’s apparent mindset is “an extreme place to be.”
“This is a guy who went into that building knowing, intending to kill someone, and probably knowing he was not going to come out alive,” Monaghan added.