- The gunman, identified as Shane Tamura, targeted the NFL headquarters in a Manhattan office building, officials say.
- Tamura had a history of mental illness and had a grievance with the NFL over a claim of CTE.
- Among the victims was a New York City police officer, Didarul Islam.
A gunman walked into an office building in midtown Manhattan on Monday, killing four people, including a police officer, and injuring others before fatally shooting himself. Authorities believe he was targeting the headquarters of the NFL.
According to CNN, Monday’s shooting was the deadliest gun attack in New York City in the last 25 years.
The shooter, identified as Shane Tamura, entered the office building at 345 Park Avenue armed with an M4 rifle and opened fire, per The Washington Post.
The New York Times reported that the gunman entered the lobby at around 6:28 p.m., where he shot and killed a police officer and struck two other people and a security guard. He then rode an elevator to the 33rd floor, where he killed one more person and took his own life.
Who were the victims of the shooting?
Police officer Didarul Islam, who was killed in Monday’s shooting, was a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh who had been with the police department for three and a half years, assigned to a precinct in the Bronx, per The New York Times.
He and his wife have two sons, with a third child on the way. Islam had been working at the office building during his off-duty hours in a private security role.
Wesley LePatner, an executive at the investment firm Blackstone, which has an office in the building, was also killed, per CNN.
A statement from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that one NFL employee had been seriously injured and was in the hospital, according to The New York Times.
CNN reported that Tamura had followed a woman into the elevator and allowed her to exit unharmed before continuing onto the 33rd floor.
Adams: Shooter targeted NFL headquarters
According to ESPN, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that the gunman was trying to target the headquarters of the NFL, but mistakenly took the wrong elevator.
Investigators believe that after shooting several people in the lobby, Tamura tried to get to the NFL offices in the building but he entered the wrong set of elevator banks.
Police reported that Tamura had a history of mental illness, and a note found on the shooter’s body suggested that he had a grievance with the NFL over a claim that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, per ESPN.
Tamura had played youth and high school football in California.
“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,” Adams said, per ESPN.
Instead of the elevator taking Tamura to the NFL offices, he was taken to Rudin Management, the company that owns the building, where he continued to fire his weapon, per CNN.
The NFL Players Association released a statement on Tuesday, extending condolences to those affected by the shooting at the league’s headquarters, saying that it is deeply saddened by the attack.
“345 Park Avenue is part of our football family, and we at the NFLPA extend our sincere condolences and support to the people who work in this building and to the families of those who lost their lives,” the association said.
“We also want to express our deep gratitude to the law enforcement and emergency personnel who responded to those impacted,” the statement continued.
What do we know about the shooter?
During a press conference on Monday, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that Tamura was a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident, per Fox News.
The shooter had traveled across the country, driving across state lines. His car was seen as recently as 4:24 p.m. on Monday in Columbia, New Jersey, just hours before the attack.
Fox News reported that Tamura had a concealed carry permit, which was issued in June 2022 and is valid for five years. The gunman also had a private investigator license and has a record of a misdemeanor for trespassing not amounting to burglary in 2023.
Tamura played football in high school at Granada Hills Charter in Granada Hills, California, located around 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles. He also worked at a Las Vegas casino as a security guard, per Fox News.
What Trump said about the shooting
In a statement following Monday’s shooting, President Donald Trump expressed his condolences.
“I have been briefed on the tragic shooting that took place in Manhattan, a place that I know and love. I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday.
The president continued to offer his sympathies to families of the victims.
“My heart is with the families of the four people who were killed, including the NYPD Officer, who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he wrote. “God Bless the New York Police Department, and God Bless New York!”