A man carrying a rifle killed four people at a New York City office tower Monday, including an off-duty New York City police officer, and wounded a fifth before taking his own life, officials said.
The officer who was killed was Didarul Islam, 36, an immigrant from Bangladesh who had served as a police officer in New York City for 3 1/2 years.
“He died as he lived. A hero,” police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. He was married with two young boys, and his wife is pregnant with their third child, she said.
Police identified the gunman as Shane Tamura, of Las Vegas, and said he killed himself. He had a ‘documented mental health history,’ but the motive is still unknown, Tisch said.
“We are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch said.
Another man was seriously injured and remains in critical condition, Mayor Eric Adams said.
Adams said officials are still “unraveling” what took place. “Five innocent people were shot” along with the perpetrator, he said.
Surveillance video showed a man exiting a double parked BMW and carrying an M4 rifle before he walks toward the building. He immediately opened fire on the NYPD officer as he entered the building and shot a woman who tried to take cover and then began “spraying” the lobby with gunfire, Tisch said.
The man then made his way to the elevator bank and shot a security guard who was taking cover behind a security desk and shot another man in the lobby, the commissioner said.
The man took the elevator to the 33rd floor to a real estate management company and one person was shot and killed on the floor. The man then walks down a hallway and shot himself, the commissioner said.
Officers found a rifle case, a revolver, magazines and ammunition in his car, Tisch said.
The Fire Department of New York said emergency crews were called to the Park Avenue office building around 6:30 p.m. for a report of someone shot. The building houses some of the country’s top financial firms and the National Football League.
