Midtown office shooter may have targeted NFL offices in building, Mayor Adams says

Authorities are looking into whether the gunman in Monday’s mass shooting in Midtown was targeting National Football League offices in the building where police say he shot and killed four people and critically injured another.

“We have reason to believe he was focused on the NFL agency that was located in the building, and we’re going to continue to investigate with our federal partners to ensure that we can find a reason,” Mayor Eric Adams said early Tuesday on MSNBC, stressing the investigation was still in its early stages.

Police identified the shooter as 27-year-old Shane Tamura and said he killed four people, including an NYPD officer, before fatally shooting himself Monday evening. He also critically wounded a fifth person, who city officials said was taken to the hospital and was stable.

Adams said on MSNBC that Tamura left a note discussing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma that commonly affects professional football players. A now-viral video shows Tamura playing on his high-school football team, but officials said he was not a professional athlete. An NYPD official said the note was discovered in Tamura’s back pocket and was three pages long.

In a video statement to NYPD officers, Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the suicide note.

Tisch said Tamura claimed to be suffering from CTE in the note and blamed the NFL for his condition.

He also implored doctors to “study my brain,” Tisch said in the message, and said he mentioned a Frontline documentary on the topic and players who suffered from the disease.

Tamura assembled the gun he used in the shooting using a lower receiver – a key component of a firearm – that a friend bought for him, Tisch added.

Tamura most recently worked as an overnight security guard at the Horseshoe Las Vegas, a hotel and casino in the Nevada city, Tisch said.

New York City investigators are traveling to Las Vegas to execute a search warrant related to Tamura and look into how he came to possess two firearms recovered from the shooting site, Adams said later Tuesday on CNN. The mayor said the incident “appeared to be connected to the shooter’s belief that he was suffering from CTE and he was an ex-NFL player.” There are currently no indications that Tamura was planning additional violence on Monday, Adams added.

The NFL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The shooting caused chaos around the large Park Avenue office building where it unfolded, as police blocked off streets and ordered people to shelter in place while officers searched the building. NYPD officials said Tamura was dead and the situation was contained shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, about an hour after reports of the incident first emerged.

Here’s what we know so far about the shooting and the ongoing investigation.

What happened?

Just before 6:30 p.m. Monday, Tamura got out of a black BMW double-parked on Park Avenue between East 51st and 52nd streets, wielding an M4 assault rifle, according to Tisch. She said surveillance footage showed him entering 345 Park Ave. and immediately shooting the police officer in the lobby.

Tamura went on to shoot and kill a security guard and a woman who took cover behind a pillar in the lobby, and shot and critically injured another man before taking the elevator to the 33rd floor, police said. There, he shot and killed another woman before shooting himself in the chest.

Adams said surveillance video showed Tamura allowed a woman who was exiting the elevator to walk past him unharmed before he took it upstairs.

Four other people sustained minor injuries while fleeing the scene, according to officials.

Who was the shooter?

NYPD officials identified the shooter as Tamura, and said he drove his BMW to New York City from his home in Las Vegas over this past weekend. Police said Tamura has a history of mental health issues in Nevada, but they haven’t shared details yet.

Authorities said Tamura acted alone and was licensed to carry a gun in Nevada.

Who were the victims?

Police identified the NYPD officer who was killed as 36-year-old Didarul Islam. Tisch said he was working a paid security detail at the building, meaning he was hired to provide private security while in uniform.

Islam, who normally worked in the Bronx’s 47th Precinct, was married and had two young sons, according to the police commissioner. His wife is currently pregnant with their third child. Officials said he was on the force for about four years and immigrated from Bangladesh.

“He was doing the job we asked him to do,” Tisch said at a press conference Monday night. “ He died as he lived, a hero.”

Blackstone said one of its executives, Wesley LePatner, was also killed in the incident. She is listed on the global investment firm’s website as a senior managing director who leads real estate investments and previously worked at Goldman Sachs.

In a statement, Blackstone called her a "brilliant, passionate, warm, generous and deeply respected” colleague and said she is survived by her husband and children.

The security guard who was gunned down was Aland Etienne, a member of the 32BJ SEIU union, according to union President Manny Pastreich.

“We have been in touch with Aland Etienne’s family, and are working with building management and the NYPD to support their investigation,” Pastreich said in a statement Tuesday. “We are ensuring our members in the building receive the free union counseling and support services they deserve and need to manage this unspeakable loss.”

Etienne’s family said he had a wife and two sons, 7 and 14, and worked hard to provide for them. They said he immigrated from Haiti and moved to New York City from Florida a few years ago.

“ He was a father, a good person, hard worker and he’s dying doing what he is doing, he’s working,” his brother, Gathmand Etienne, said. “It’s very sad and very frustrating to see somebody doing all the right things and then somebody just comes and takes him.”

Adams said the security guard was shot trying to prevent Tamura from using the elevator.

Authorities have not yet publicly identified the other person who was killed.

Which organizations are located in the building?

The skyscraper is home to a number of high-profile companies, including Rudin Management, the NFL and Blackstone, officials said. The attack sent some workers fleeing onto the streets while others barricaded their offices with furniture, according to photos posted on social media.

Did police search the shooter’s car?

Yes. Tisch said officers found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition, magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to him. The NYPD’s bomb squad searched the car and found no explosives, she said.

Tamura’s car traveled through states including Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey in the days leading up to the shooting, according to police. He entered New York City shortly after 4:20 p.m. Monday.

Ben Feurerherd contributed reporting.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Deutsche Bank does not have offices at the targeted building.