People who got caught in the middle of the "rush-hour shooting" in New York City have described scrambling out of office blocks, as panic engulfed part of Midtown Manhattan when a gunman opened fire and killed four people today, Monday 29 July.
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A gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle walked into a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday evening and began firing, killing a New York City police officer and three other people, and critically wounding a fifth person before killing himself, officials said.
The rampage took place blocks from Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in a building owned by Rudin Management and housing offices for the National Football League and the investment giant Blackstone. The workplace mass shooting was particularly shocking in the center of New York City, where similar violence is almost unheard of.
The slain officer was identified as Didarul Islam, 36, who was assigned to a Bronx precinct. He had been with the department for three and a half years and was working at the building, at 345 Park Avenue, in a private security role, officials said at a news conference. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooter’s motives were unclear.
The N.F.L. said one of its employees, whom it did not identify, had been seriously injured in the attack. He was hospitalized, according to a statement from Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner. The authorities in New York declined to identify the three victims aside from Officer Islam, while their families were being notified.
The gunman burst through the lobby of the building in Midtown about 6:28 p.m., Ms. Tisch said. He shot Officer Islam first, then struck two people and a security guard in the lobby. The gunman allowed a woman to go unharmed as she exited an elevator, before he rode it to the 33rd floor, where he killed one more person.
Some workers fled the 44-story building onto the already harried streets of Midtown during rush hour, as others were trapped in their offices for at least two hours.
Ms. Tisch identified the gunman as Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas. He died in Rudin Management’s 33rd-floor offices, Ms. Tisch said. Mr. Tamura left Nevada and drove through Colorado on July 26, crossing New Jersey on Monday afternoon before entering New York City, Ms. Tisch said.
Law enforcement in Las Vegas had documented Mr. Tamura’s mental health history, and police officers in New York found medication as well as a revolver and ammunition in the vehicle he left on Park Avenue, Ms. Tisch said.
The shooter arrived in a BMW registered in his name, the police said. Inside the car, the police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, as well as a backpack and medication prescribed to Mr. Tamura, Commissioner Tisch said. There were no explosives.
The gunman who killed four people and then himself inside a Manhattan office building on Monday had arrived in the city just hours before, after driving cross country for days from his home in Nevada, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Monday night.
🚨#BREAKING: New Photo shows the weapon used by 27-year-old Shane Tamura who opened fired in Midtown Manhattan pic.twitter.com/swFGLXuRDL
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 29, 2025
Ms. Tisch identified the man as Shane Tamura, 27, and said it was unclear what had motivated him to drive from Las Vegas to unleash mayhem in the heart of Manhattan at the end of the work day.
As BBC reported, people poured out of skyscrapers and onto the busy streets of the US city, some with their hands in the air, while others sheltered in buildings nearby.
The violence unfolded in the early evening inside the 44-storey building at 345 Park Ave, home to the National Football League (NFL) office, as well as financial giants Blackstone and KPMG.
Nekeisha Lewis said she was eating dinner with friends on the plaza when she heard gunfire.
"I looked up and I saw the first wall of the first floor shatter," she told NBC News.
"I realised 'oh my God, this is a shootout'," she said. "It felt like you were in a warzone almost."
Ms Lewis then said she saw an injured man run out of the building.
"By the time he got to us he said: 'Help, help, I've been shot.'"
Ms Lewis said she and her partner helped the man get away from the building before police took over.
"It's been literally the most scary situation I've ever been in," she said.
Local TV footage showed lines of people evacuating the office building with their hands above their heads in the hours after the killings.
Another witness, Jessica Chen, told ABC News she was watching a presentation with dozens of other people on the second floor when she "heard multiple shots go off in quick succession from the first floor".
She and others ran into a conference room and barricaded tables against the door.
"We were honestly really, really scared," she said, adding that she texted her parents to tell them that she loved them.
Some workers from another nearby building were picking up food from a local outlet when they heard a loud noise and saw people running, AP reported.
This is how the employees in the Blackstone building barricaded themselves inside their offices while the shooter was active. pic.twitter.com/M7pMyWP9zJ
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) July 29, 2025
"It was like a crowd panic," said Anna Smith, explaining that she and others had returned to their place of work to find shelter. She said they were told they could leave after about two hours.
A BBC journalist at the scene reported seeing scores of police vehicles and at least one person with a bloodied chest being taken away on a stretcher.
Bystanders reported hearing what sounded like gunshots and police told those in the area to shelter in nearby buildings.
Mama Bouhenni, working at the nearby Sip & Scoop coffee shop as the incident unfolded, told the BBC she saw dozens of people from surrounding buildings being evacuated.
They held their hands above their heads, she said.
Ms Bouhenni said she recognised many of them as her shop's customers. "This is so terrifying for them, I hope they can go home safe."
