A gunman who shot and killed four people during an attack in New York City reportedly spared a woman's life during the rampage.
A lone gunman, later identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, traveled across the country before opening fire in the heart of Midtown, killing four people — including a heroic off-duty NYPD officer — and injuring a fifth.
The incident began around 6:30PM on Monday evening when Tamura stormed 345 Park Avenue, a towering office building housing some of the city’s most high-profile tenants, including the NFL, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank, and KPMG.
Dressed in dark clothing and sunglasses, Tamura entered the building armed with a semi-automatic rifle and launched a rampage that would end in his own death by suicide.
Authorities said the suspect, a Las Vegas resident, drove cross-country in the days before the attack. His route, according to police, took him through Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and New Jersey before he arrived in Manhattan.
After double-parking his BMW outside the building, Tamura entered the lobby and began firing.
Amid the chaos, emergency responders rushed to the scene as crowds of terrified office workers poured into the streets, hands raised.
One bloodied victim was seen being carried along a sidewalk while others tried to assist a person lying outside. Inside, employees from companies like Blackstone barricaded themselves behind furniture, trying to stay safe.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed Tamura’s identity and revealed that after shooting several people in the lobby, he took an elevator to the 33rd floor — occupied by Rudin Management, the building's landlord — and continued firing.
“He goes up to the 33rd floor... and begins to walk the floor firing rounds as he travels. One person was struck and killed on that floor,” Tisch said. She added that Tamura then shot himself in the chest, leaving his body sprawled inside the office.
One chilling detail that baffled investigators: Tamura let a woman walk past him unharmed just moments after gunning down another. “A female exits that elevator, and he allows her to walk past him unharmed,” Tisch said, per the Sun.
Among the four victims was NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was working security at the building in uniform despite being off-duty.
Islam, a married father of two with a third child due in just weeks, had served at the 47th Precinct in the Bronx since December 2021.
“He was doing what he does best and all members of the police department carry out, he was saving lives,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
“He was protecting New Yorkers. He’s an immigrant from Bangladesh, and he loved this city, and everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith and a person that believed in God and believed in living out the life of a godly person.”
Police Commissioner Tisch added: “He was doing the job that we asked him to do. 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 the city, he died as he lived: a hero.”
PBA President Patrick Hendry emphasized the fallen officer’s dedication: “He was a hardworking police officer who was proud we know from hearing from his family to put on that uniform and shield of a New York City police officer.
"Every day, he went out and did his job, and he went out every single day to provide for his family, whether it was overtime or whatever he had to do to provide for this family.”