
Gunman kills four in NY skyscraper shooting spree
On entering the building, he immediately opened fire on a police officer before 'spraying the lobby' with bullets, she said. The gunman then took an elevator to the 33rd floor of Rudin Management, which owns the building, and continued his spree before apparently shooting himself. He was later discovered by officers next to his weapon. The office tower block at 345 Park Avenue - home to the National Football League, hedge fund giant Blackstone, and auditor KPMG - was apparently targeted by the gunman, who is believed to have acted alone, Tisch said.
The police commissioner identified the shooter as Shane Tamura from Las Vegas and said a revolver, ammunition and magazines were found in his vehicle. Tamura had a history of mental health
issues, she said. The incident began around 6:00 pm when reports of gunfire prompted hundreds of police to swarm a busy office district on Park Avenue, an area popular with tourists and businesspeople. A worker from a nearby office building wept as she left the area after a local lockdown was lifted.
'Senseless'
Another office worker described the gunman going floor-to-floor as staff prepared to leave for the day. 'We lost four souls to another act of senseless violence,' the city's mayor said, excluding the shooter, who died by an apparently self-inflicted gunshot. Adams said the fallen police officer was a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh. Two other males and a female died and another man remained in a critical condition, officials said without giving any preliminary motive for the shootings. An NFL employee was stable after being 'seriously injured' in the attack, ESPN reported, quoting an internal memo from league commissioner Roger Goodell.
CNN and NBC cited unnamed officials as saying the shooter had a grievance with the NFL and its handling of CTE, a brain condition linked to head trauma. The gunman had a note in his pocket saying he suffered from CTE, the news channels said, quoting a source with knowledge of the investigation. Office worker Shad Sakib told AFP that he was packing his things to leave work when a public address announcement warned him and his colleagues to shelter in place. 'Everyone was confused with like, 'wait, what's going on?' And then someone finally realized that it's online, that someone walked in with a machine gun,' the witness said.
'Floor by floor'
'He walked right into a building right next door. We saw the photo of him walking through the same area that I walked through to get lunch here. 'You would think it won't happen to you, and then it does.' Another witness, a woman who declined to give her name as she left the vicinity of the shooting, told AFP: 'I was in the building. He went floor by floor.' A second woman wept as she left the scene.
There have been 254 mass shootings in the United States this year including Monday's incident in New York, according to the Gun Violence Archive - which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot. Police deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan.
The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters and financial and law firms. The United Nations headquarters is nearby. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the shooting. Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the forthcoming New York mayoral race, wrote on social media that he was 'heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in midtown and I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer... in my thoughts.' - AFP

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Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Gunman kills four in NY skyscraper shooting spree
NEW YORK: A gunman with mental health issues opened fire in a central Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, killing four people including a policeman before apparently taking his own life, officials said. A fifth victim was in critical condition after being shot, Mayor Eric Adams told a late-night press briefing at a nearby hospital. The gunman was caught on surveillance footage leaving a black BMW and carrying an M-4 rifle, police commissioner Jessica Tisch told the news conference. On entering the building, he immediately opened fire on a police officer before 'spraying the lobby' with bullets, she said. The gunman then took an elevator to the 33rd floor of Rudin Management, which owns the building, and continued his spree before apparently shooting himself. He was later discovered by officers next to his weapon. The office tower block at 345 Park Avenue - home to the National Football League, hedge fund giant Blackstone, and auditor KPMG - was apparently targeted by the gunman, who is believed to have acted alone, Tisch said. The police commissioner identified the shooter as Shane Tamura from Las Vegas and said a revolver, ammunition and magazines were found in his vehicle. Tamura had a history of mental health issues, she said. The incident began around 6:00 pm when reports of gunfire prompted hundreds of police to swarm a busy office district on Park Avenue, an area popular with tourists and businesspeople. A worker from a nearby office building wept as she left the area after a local lockdown was lifted. 'Senseless' Another office worker described the gunman going floor-to-floor as staff prepared to leave for the day. 'We lost four souls to another act of senseless violence,' the city's mayor said, excluding the shooter, who died by an apparently self-inflicted gunshot. Adams said the fallen police officer was a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh. Two other males and a female died and another man remained in a critical condition, officials said without giving any preliminary motive for the shootings. An NFL employee was stable after being 'seriously injured' in the attack, ESPN reported, quoting an internal memo from league commissioner Roger Goodell. CNN and NBC cited unnamed officials as saying the shooter had a grievance with the NFL and its handling of CTE, a brain condition linked to head trauma. The gunman had a note in his pocket saying he suffered from CTE, the news channels said, quoting a source with knowledge of the investigation. Office worker Shad Sakib told AFP that he was packing his things to leave work when a public address announcement warned him and his colleagues to shelter in place. 'Everyone was confused with like, 'wait, what's going on?' And then someone finally realized that it's online, that someone walked in with a machine gun,' the witness said. 'Floor by floor' 'He walked right into a building right next door. We saw the photo of him walking through the same area that I walked through to get lunch here. 'You would think it won't happen to you, and then it does.' Another witness, a woman who declined to give her name as she left the vicinity of the shooting, told AFP: 'I was in the building. He went floor by floor.' A second woman wept as she left the scene. There have been 254 mass shootings in the United States this year including Monday's incident in New York, according to the Gun Violence Archive - which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot. Police deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters and financial and law firms. The United Nations headquarters is nearby. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the shooting. Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the forthcoming New York mayoral race, wrote on social media that he was 'heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in midtown and I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer... in my thoughts.' - AFP


Arab Times
4 days ago
- Arab Times
Gunman kills 4, including police officer, in shooting at NYC office tower
NEW YORK, July 29, (AP): A man stalked through a Manhattan office tower firing a rifle Monday, killing four people, including a New York City police officer, and wounding a fifth before taking his own life, officials said. The shooting took place at a skyscraper that is home to the headquarters of both the NFL and Blackstone, one of the world's largest investment firms, as well as other tenants. The gunman, identified by authorities as Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, had a 'documented mental health history,' according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, but his motive was still unknown. "We are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,' Tisch said. The rampage happened at the end of the workday in the same part of Manhattan where the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down outside a hotel late last year. Surveillance video showed the man exiting a double-parked BMW just before 6:30 p.m. carrying an M4 rifle, then marching across a public plaza into the building. Then, he started firing, Tisch said, killing a police officer working a corporate security detail and then hitting a woman who tried to take cover as he sprayed the lobby with gunfire. The man then made his way to the elevator bank and shot a guard at a security desk and shot another man in the lobby, the commissioner said. The man took the elevator to the 33rd floor offices of the company that owned the building, Rudin Management, and shot and killed one person on that floor. The man then shot himself, the commissioner said. The building, 345 Park Avenue, also holds offices of the financial services firm KPMG. The officer 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, Tisch said at a news conference. "He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm's way. He made the ultimate sacrifice,' Tisch said. "He died as he lived. A hero.' One man was seriously wounded and remains in critical condition, Mayor Eric Adams said. Four others got minor injuries attempting to flee. Adams said officials are still "unraveling' what took place.


Arab Times
25-07-2025
- Arab Times
This Brave Indian Expat's Story Will Make You Think Twice About Buying a Kuwait Visa
KUWAIT CITY, July 25: A long-term Indian resident in Kuwait has come forward with a harrowing personal account of alleged visa trading, fraud, and exploitation — revealing how he was trapped for over two years without a valid residence permit, income, or legal recourse. The man, who first arrived in Kuwait at the age of five and has lived in the country for decades, claims he became a victim of a widespread visa racket run under the guise of a legal trading company based in Farwaniya. His story begins in 2019, when he joined (M-A-A) General Trading & Contracting Co., hoping to start a small business under their commercial license. The Indian caretaker manager of the company, identified as A.K, allegedly struck a deal with him and several others — offering use of the company license in exchange for fees. But what began as a business arrangement quickly turned into a financial trap. "He took money from us — for salaries, stamping, insurance, office rent — but never gave receipts or proper documentation. We trusted him because of his age and his promises," the expat recalled." He and three others signed agreements, but they were never registered with the Chamber of Commerce. When asked to involve the Kuwaiti owner, the manager reportedly dismissed the request and assured them there was no reason to worry. The Pandemic Turned Exploitation Into a Full-Blown Racket According to the victim, the real trouble began after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With businesses shutting down and work drying up, A.K allegedly began openly selling visas, demanding between 500 to 1,800 Kuwaiti Dinars from desperate job seekers. 'He took KD 1,250 from me when my residence expired in August 2022. He kept my passport, told me lies, and left me jobless for two years. I was borrowing money just to eat.' He claims the manager used his access to the company bank accounts and personal documents to manipulate him and others, even making them sign fake salary receipts to keep the company's labour files active. "He had everyone's bank cards, withdrew the salary himself, and gave nothing to the workers," he alleged. 'He Held My Passport for Two Years' Perhaps the most disturbing element of the complaint is the claim that the manager deliberately withheld his passport for over two years, using it as leverage to prevent him from meeting the Kuwaiti sponsor or seeking legal protection. When he finally approached Kuwait's Public Authority of Manpower (Shoun), he managed to get in touch with the actual sponsor, who reportedly agreed to help — but by then, the passport had expired. The expat was forced to apply for an emergency passport from the Indian Embassy, incurring additional costs and months of delay. 'He told me to declare my passport lost just so he could use my residency slot to bring in someone else and collect more money. Then he mocked me for applying for the special passport,' the victim said. 'Nothing Was Done' – Call for Accountability Although the company's file was eventually closed and the victim was released from sponsorship in October 2024, he says no further action was taken against the company or its manager. 'Shoun closed the file. What about the bank account? What about the money taken from others?' He claims that even today, visa trading continues from the same office located in Farwaniya, near Metro Cinema. The company board still reads the company name, and the same Indian manager is allegedly still operating there. 'How Many More Will Be Cheated?' The whistleblower says he aims to warn others (particularly new expats) who are lured by promises of legal residency and a better life, only to find themselves trapped in a system with little oversight and almost no justice. 'There are many such offices in Farwaniya, Jleeb, Fahaheel, and Mangaf. Reputed Kuwaiti names on the board, but inside it's a racket run by greedy managers. Why is there no audit? No punishment?' He has called for stricter regulation of company sponsorships, transparency in labour transactions, and urgent action against visa trading, which remains a criminal offense under Kuwaiti law.