NFL office was apparent target of gunman in New York shooting rampage

Boston Globe

15 hours ago

But his plan was thwarted after he entered an elevator bank that did not have access to the NFL's offices, Adams said. Tamura instead traveled higher in the building, to the offices of Rudin Management, the company that owns the building and many more in Manhattan.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
There, on the 33rd floor, he killed a young Rudin associate, and then shot himself to death in the chest. It was the deadliest mass shooting in New York City in 25 years.
Advertisement
The killings shook New York, and in particular the legions of office workers in midtown Manhattan, a citadel of American finance and power. The violence came during the evening rush hour, when streams of commuters crowd toward subways and buses and walk down Park Avenue toward Grand Central Terminal.
The skyscrapers of Manhattan typically have heavy security, but some employees found themselves feeling under siege, stranded dozens of floors above the street as they sheltered in place. In one image that captured the panic, a photo circulated of workers at Blackstone, one of the world's biggest financial firms, barricaded behind furniture piled against a door after hearing the gunfire. Offices around Manhattan on Tuesday said they were heightening security.
Advertisement
According to police accounts, surveillance footage, and interviews, Tamura double-parked his black BMW sedan on Park Avenue just before 6:30 p.m. Monday and strode toward the lobby of 345 Park Ave. carrying the rifle in his right hand. On a hot day, he wore a light jacket and sunglasses.
The shooting started immediately as he entered the lobby. He shot and killed Didarul Islam, 36, a New York City police officer who was working off duty as a security guard in the building.
He then killed a woman who had taken cover behind a pillar, Wesley LePatner, a senior executive at Blackstone.
He sprayed the lobby with gunfire before making his way to the elevator bank, where he killed an unarmed security guard, Aland Etienne, 46, who had ducked behind his desk. The mayor said that one of the building's defenses against a mass attack was a safeguard that stops the elevators. But Etienne was killed before he could activate it.
Darin Laing, another worker in the building, had just exited when the shooting began. He heard about 20 gunshots in rapid succession.
'My co-worker was like, 'Did you hear that, did you hear that?'' he said, adding that he had spun around to see what looked like smoke coming from inside the building.
Men and women in business attire burst out of the doors of the building, swarming the block. As they sprinted in every direction, some yelled: 'Active shooter! Active shooter!' Laing said.
Advertisement
At some point, Tamura shot an employee of the NFL, who was in stable condition on Tuesday, according to a statement from Roger Goodell, the league's commissioner.
When the elevator doors opened, a woman walked out and Tamura let her pass. He rode the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he killed Julia Hyman, 27, the associate at Rudin. He then shot himself.
A three-page note found on Tamura mentioned the NFL, as well as claims that he had suffered from the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, from playing football, the police said. The note asked that his brain be examined for signs of CTE -- apparently why he shot himself in the chest -- and stated that the league had concealed the dangers of the game.
It was not known whether Tamura, who did not play professional football, had the disease, which has been linked to repeated hits to the head in football and other sports. The disease can be definitively diagnosed only by examining the brain after death. Some people later found to have CTE, including former NFL players, are known to have experienced symptoms including impulsive behavior, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
The police said they found a loaded revolver, ammunition, and medication prescribed to Tamura inside his car.
In Las Vegas, law enforcement officials had documented Tamura's mental health history, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Tamura had also been charged with criminal trespass in Nevada, records show.
Tisch said Tamura had most recently worked an overnight security job at the Horseshoe Las Vegas hotel and casino. He was scheduled to work on Sunday but never showed up, she said.
Advertisement
Tamura had assembled the rifle that he used in the shooting, Tisch said. He bought a lower receiver, the central piece of the gun that other parts are attached to, from a man whom the police will question about the purchase, she said.
Last month, a person at a gun show in Las Vegas reported to the authorities that Tamura had purchased large amounts of ammunition and an aftermarket trigger, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter. It was unclear if officials followed up on the report.
Monday's shootings were the deadliest in New York City since May 24, 2000, when five people were killed and two injured at a Wendy's in Flushing, Queens, during a robbery. Two attackers were sentenced to life in prison.