NYC shooting latest: NYPD teams descending on Las Vegas in search for gunman’s motive as all four victims identified

A New York City police officer and at least three others have been killed after a gunman entered a Midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire, according to officials.

Police said the gunman, who is now dead from a self-inflicted wound, was identified as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas.

Tamura is accused of strolling into the Manhattan skyscraper carrying an M4 assault rifle by his side on Monday at around 6:30 p.m and “spraying” ammunition inside the building’s entrance.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tamura exited a black BMW and walked toward the building’s entrance carrying the assault rifle. A loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines were found in the car, according to officials.

Rachel Dobkin and Josh Marcus have more:

Suspected gunman Shane Tamura is accused of opening fire in a Midtown Manhattan office building in New York City on Monday evening and killing four people, including a New York police officer, before turning the gun on himself.

“I want to extend my profound sympathies to all of the victims and their families, and to the brave NYPD cops who today lost a brother,” NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch said a press conference on Monday evening.

“There are still many questions that we have to answer and we will answer them. For now, our city is in mourning of the innocent lives lost. May their memories be a blessing.”

Here’s what we know about the shooting and the suspect:

New York City Police Department officer Didarul Islam was among four people gunned down in Monday evening’s shooting at the 345 Park Avenue office tower, officials say.

The 36-year-old U.S. citizen, born in Bangladesh, had been off-duty but was working a private security job in the building when he was shot dead by suspect Shane Tamura, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Monday press conference.

“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,” she said.

“He died as he lived, a hero.”

Didarul had served in the NYPD’s 47th precinct in the Bronx for three and a half years, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters.

Adams met with Islam’s family earlier Monday night and told them that “he was a hero and we admire him for putting his life on the line.”

Islam leaves behind his pregnant wife and two young sons.

After storming the Park Avenue skyscraper on Monday, suspect Shane Tamura immediately opened fire on NYPD officer Didarul Islam, before a volley of gunfire struck others, police said.

Among those killed was an executive at investment giant Blackstone who was shot in the lobby, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Other Blackstone employees are in the hospital receiving treatment, one source said.

Blackstone employees shared messages over email that there was a shooter in the lobby, an employee told the Journal, warning each other not to go downstairs. Others barricaded themselves in offices and bathrooms, they added.

In Shane Tamura’s pocket, investigators say they allegedly found a note claiming that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to head trauma, and asked that his brain be studied, a source told CNN.

In the note, he allegedly expressed grievances against the NFL – which has its headquarters in the building he attacked – and requested that his brain be studied.

“Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,” it read, according to CNN. “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.”

Former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Terry Long was diagnosed with CTE. The former football player died by suicide after drinking antifreeze in 2005.

“Study my brain please I’m sorry Tell Rick I’m sorry for everything,” the note reportedly said.

The gunman accused of killing at least four people inside a sprawling Park Avenue office block, home to offices for the NFL, was a talented high school football player, according to his former coach.

Tamura, 27, transferred to Granada Hills Charter School in Granada Hills, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, in 2015 when he was a senior, a former classmate told NBC News.

Former coach Walter Roby told the news station that Tamura was “a great” running back who was “real elusive, real agile.”

“He came in, worked hard, kept his nose down,” Roby said.

Anthony Michael Leon, Tamura’s former teammate at Granada Hills, said that he was shocked to learn of Monday evening’s mass shooting.

“I’m telling you, this was one of those kids who never exerted bad energy or a negative attitude,” Leon said.

Police said the motivations behind the attack are not immediately clear.

Shane Tamura, who police identified as the Park Avenue mass shooter, had a “documented mental health history,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Monday evening.

It was not immediately clear whether that played a role in the incident and police are working to understand why he targeted the office block.

Top New York officials have paid tribute to NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was shot dead during Monday’s mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan.

“Officer Didarul Islam represented the very best of New York,” Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on X late on Monday. “An immigrant from Bangladesh, he joined the NYPD to protect his city — and gave his life doing so.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams tweeted that Didarul “represented the best of New York City, an immigrant from Bangladesh who put on a uniform to protect and serve us all.”

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote: “May Police Officer Didarul Islam’s memory be a blessing.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is “praying hard for the brave NYPD officer impacted and all other victims of this tragedy.”

GOP congressman Mike Lawler tweeted: “I’m devastated by the senseless killing of an NYPD officer and innocent civilians in Midtown.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said an NFL employee was seriously injured in the Park Avenue mass shooting.

“As has been widely reported, a gunman committed an unspeakable act of violence in our building at 345 Park Avenue. One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition,” he wrote in a message to employees.

NFL staff were at the hospital supporting the worker’s family, he said.

Goodell added he believes that all other employees “are otherwise safe and accounted for.”