NYC offices add armed guards, dogs and new turnstiles after 2 Midtown shootings

New York’s corporate security companies say their services are in high-demand after a mass shooting two weeks ago on Park Avenue.

They’ve been tapped to provide services like armed guards and German Shepherds at Manhattan office buildings as “visual deterrents” to would-be attackers. They’ve also evaluated elevator and turnstile security at office towers, security executives told Gothamist.

The heightened measures come as the shooting touched off a panic in some corporations headquartered in office buildings across the city, the security executives said. The gunman parked his car just blocks from Rockefeller Center, walked into the building carrying an assault-style rifle, and shot five people in the lobby and on the 33rd floor. Four died, including a police officer, and the gunman took his own life.

The shooting came seven months after Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on West 54th Street in December. Prosecutors say Mangione killed Thompson in revenge for what he said was corporate greed – a message that seems to resonate with some Americans who have turned Mangione into a would-be folk hero. A similar ramp-up in security happened after Thompson's killing, and firms worked with CEOs to wipe their social media accounts for protection.

“My telephone has been ringing off the hook,” Ty Yorio, who owns Citadel Security, said last week.

Guard dogs and elevator swipes

Companies are requesting assessments about what they can do to keep their employees safe. For some, that means a security guard and a German Shepherd in front of a building. For others, it means better elevator security, the executives who spoke to Gothamist said.

Manhattan-based companies have requested a number of services from Allied Universal, one of the country's largest security firms, including armed guards and canine units, said Glen Kucera, Allied Universal's president of enhanced protection services.

“A canine is a great visual deterrent,” he said. “It can provide that visual deterrent that can buy you some time and make that suspect think two or three times before they decide to do the act.”

A large dog is one more level of deterrence, Kucera added.

“Even if a suspect may not have an issue dealing with the handler, they may not want to deal with a German Shepherd or a Belgian Malinois,” he said. “It may cause them to hesitate, right?"

Companies have also requested consulting assessments to gauge what they need to deter a gunman from gaining access to certain parts of a building, which Knight Security founder Edward Troiano said has become a sticking point.

Gunman Shane Tamura shot four people in the lobby of 345 Park Ave. during his attack at the building, killing three and wounding one, according to police.

He then headed for an elevator bank and got onto one of the lifts when a woman exited. He took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he killed his final victim and then fatally shot himself.

“One of the big things now is elevators should all have key cards. Nobody should be able to get on an elevator without one,” he said.

Troiano said companies are also assessing whether turnstiles are actually enough of a deterrent, or if they should be made stronger and taller.

Large companies requested similar assessments after Mangione allegedly shot and killed Thompson in December.

“In the case of Dec. 4, we did a ton of assessments for CEOs,” Kucera said, referring to the day Thompson was shot.

For executives, that means more than just keeping safe at the office. Allied Universal employees analyze security at their homes, offices and scrub their social media accounts, Kucera said. They also note levels of crime in a given area and travel habits of the executives and then generate a plan for when they might need more protection.

Four or five seconds for someone to react

Despite all these efforts, the security executives who spoke to Gothamist said it is difficult to stop someone who is armed and determined to kill.

“If somebody is hell-bent on doing this it's very, very hard because usually it ends up in a suicide mission,” Yorio said.

Shane Tamura, who authorities say drove from Nevada to carry out the Park Avenue shooting, likely would not have given up if he was blocked from entering the building.

“He would've not gotten back into his car to drive back to Las Vegas right?” Kucera said. “He was very determined to make his mark.”

Kucera added, however, that additional measures could buy even the smallest amount of time and allow for a security guard or a police officer to confront a suspect.

“All you're looking for is four-to-five seconds for somebody inside to react,” he said.

Panic may be short lived

The demand for increased security will likely cool off soon, according to Kucera and Yorio.

“We’re seeing a similar trend after last Monday as we did after Dec. 4,” Kucera added, referring to a rush of business after Thompson's killing, which ultimately dissipated.

“That'll last about another two weeks,” Yorio added. “And then everybody will go back to normal. We have a way of just forgetting about things like this that happened.”