
Gunman kills at least 4 people, including officer, in mid-Manhattan skyscraper
Police did not immediately make details of the shooting public, but the source told Reuters that one of the four victims confirmed to have died was an off-duty New York Police Department officer. The three other victims known to have been shot to death were civilians.
Separately, the NYPD said on the social media platform X that the gunman turned up dead.
Other news media outlets reported that the slain NYPD officer was working paid security detail for the building at the time.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a video message posted on X there were "multiple injuries" in the shooting.
A short time later, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X: "At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized."
The New York Post newspaper, citing law enforcement sources, reported a gunman wearing a bullet-resistant vest and carrying an AR-style rifle had opened fire inside the Park Avenue skyscraper, killing five people, including an NYPD officer, before turning the weapon on himself. The Post said six other people were injured.
At one point during the violence, the gunman had barricaded himself inside the office tower, possibly on the 32nd floor of the building, according to the Post.
CNN reported the police officer and three civilians were slain, in addition to the shooter.
Several news outlets, including CNN, the New York Post and NBC News, said the suspect was tentatively identified as a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas.
A photo of the suspect that CNN said was shared by police showing a gunman walking into the building carrying a rifle was published by a number of major news media outlets. Preliminary checks of the suspect's background did not show a significant criminal history, the report added, citing officials.
The skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue houses offices of a number of financial institutions, including Blackstone and KPMG, along with the NFL headquarters.
Authorities have said nothing about a possible motive for the shootings.
A large police presence converged on the area around the tower, according to Reuters journalists near the scene.
'I just saw a lot of commotion and cops and people screaming,' said Russ McGee, a 31-year-old sports bettor who was working out in a gym adjacent to the skyscraper, told Reuters in an interview near the scene.
The FBI said agents from its New York field office were also responding to provide support at the scene.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Puppy prison: Inside Ghislaine Maxwell's new home
When Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking underage girls to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in December 2021, her victims rejoiced, no doubt imagining the British socialite under lock and key, wearing orange overalls. But the reality of Maxwell's life behind bars is very different. Having been transferred to a minimum security prison in Texas from Florida, Epstein's ex-girlfriend can spend the rest of her 20-year sentence cuddling puppies and pampering herself with anti-ageing face creams. Similar to the upmarket retreats she no doubt grew accustomed to during her former life of luxury, the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Texas offers yoga classes and a fully-stocked gym. Described as a 'luxury' facility by her victims, Maxwell will be rubbing shoulders with other wealthy inmates and can spend the earnings from her prison jobs on cosmetics. Bryan grants its female prisoners the freedom to roam the facility's expansive grounds with limited to no perimeter fencing to pen them in. There are gardening opportunities for the green-fingered criminals. The 37-acre all-female facility, located 100 miles outside of Houston, is home to 635 inmates, according to the prison's website, most of whom are serving time for non-violent offences and white-collar crimes. Inmates sleep in bunk beds with four people per room. Julie Howell, 44, who self-surrendered in July to serve time at Bryan, said that the prison is 'nothing like you see on TV or in the movies because it's a camp, which only houses non-violent offenders'. Since arriving, she has enroled in the 'puppy programme', which involves playing with a 12-week old labrador all day and even sleeping in the same room as each other, she wrote on Facebook. The prison has a partnership with Canine Companions for Independence, which allows prisoners to train dogs to become service animals and is said to 'boost the inmates' morale, provide them with a sense of responsibility and improve overall behaviour', according to the programme's website. 'We do water and mud play and keep them busy from morning until night with some kennel rests in between,' Mrs Howell said. 'This is my 'job' while I'm here and it's literally 24/7 as the puppies stay in the room with us. It's me, my bunkie, and a puppy and we have to supervise the puppy at all times…I absolutely love it.' Besides Maxwell, the prison's celebrity clientele includes Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, who is serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors by falsely claiming her company's blood-testing technology was revolutionary. Jen Shah, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, is also doing a six-year stretch for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Other high-profile inmates include Michelle Janavs, the Hot Pockets heiress, who served five months in Bryan for bribing university officials to inflate her daughters' exam scores. Lea Fastow, the wife of Enron chief executive and fellow convicted felon Andrew Fastow, also spent 11 months at the facility in 2005 for tax fraud after the Texas energy company collapsed. Holmes and Shah have each been pictured exercising in the prison camp's grounds, with the latter's team sharing an image of her skipping in May while wearing grey workout gear. 'I am in great spirits and well,' she captioned the post. 'I wanted to share a personal image that I mailed to my team of one of my shah-mazing workouts.' The facility is among the best in the country for convicts to serve time in, according to multiple lists compiled by inmates' rights groups. According to the prison handbook, life at the prison is centred around work, with prisoners earning up to $1.15 an hour for their jobs – many of which involve food service and factory work. These can even be off-site opportunities, for the best behaved prisoners. They can spend up to $360 a month of their earnings during assigned shopping days at a commissary, which sells beauty products including L'oreal Revita anti-ageing cream for $26.00, a Kerasal nailcare product for $20, and chest binders for trans prisoners for $26. Beyond work, inmates may take classes on foreign languages, gardening and beautification. They can play sports, watch television and attend religious services. They are also granted freedoms not available in most low security prisons, including more relaxed visiting hours and more time outside, and lower guard-to-inmate ratios. For inmates trying to trim down, the prison has a gym kitted out with treadmills, elliptical trainers, stairmasters and a range of weights. Outside, convicts can take part in sports including football, table tennis, softball, volleyball, weightlifting, yoga, Pilates and the Jumpstart weight loss programme. There are also picnic tables, bleachers and televisions available for prisoners to wind down. The Bryan prison camp also subscribes to rehabilitation programmes, such as one called 'assert yourself for female offenders', where 'women learn to be assertive without trampling the rights of others', according to a DoJ document from 2020. As she embarks on life at the new facility, Maxwell will rise at 6am each day for a roll-call with the other female inmates and will have to dress in a prison-issue khaki shirt and fatigues, according to the handbook. Inmates are permitted to have one approved radio or MP3 player and can wear minimal jewellery, such as a playing wedding band or a chain worth under $100. Breakfast consists of a choice of a hot or continental-style breakfast, while the lunch and dinner menu offers standard federal prison fare consisting of chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, macaroni and tacos. Inmates are also allowed visitors during weekends and holidays, but along with other inmates, Maxwell would be allowed only limited physical contact with friends and family. Maxwell's victims blasted the decision to allow her to move prisons, saying the move 'smacks of a cover up'. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas,' the statement said. 'The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. 'The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better.' The reason for her move to the less secure facility remains unclear, but comes a week after she was interviewed by Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's deputy attorney general, about information she holds on the Epstein Files. Capitalising on the recent attention her case has drawn, Maxwell's legal team have said she is willing to testify before Congress in exchange for a presidential pardon or having her sentence commuted – a possibility Mr Trump has not ruled out.


Sky News
27 minutes ago
- Sky News
US manhunt for 'dangerous' murder suspect who dropped off baby after four relatives found dead
A car has been found during the search for a man suspected of killing the parents, grandmother and uncle of a baby girl found abandoned in a US state. Austin Robert Drummond, 28, is suspected of having murdered four relatives in Tennessee - James M Wilson, 21, Adrianna Williams, 20, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15, who were identified on Wednesday. Mr Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the parents of the infant found alive in a car seat in a front yard on Tuesday afternoon. Police say Drummond then dropped off the baby and made people aware of the child, in an act of "compassion". However, officers added Drummond remains on the run and should be considered "armed and dangerous". Ms Rose was Adrianna and Braydon Williams' mother, according to District Attorney Danny Goodman. No details have been given on how they were murdered. Drummond dropped off the seven-month-old infant and brought attention to people nearby to come get the child, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said during a news conference. The baby is safe and being cared for, according to Stephen Sutton, a spokesperson for the Lake and Dyer county sheriffs. "While this was an extremely tragic and violent event... there was a sign of compassion, if you will," Mr Rausch said. "That tells us that there's a possibility that Austin may have a sense that there is hope for him to be able to come in and have a conversation about what happened." Mr Rausch said he believes it was a targeted attack by Drummond, who had a relationship with the victims and their family. A relative of the victims posted on Facebook after the deaths, saying the suspect has "literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids", according to our US partner network NBC News. "We all trusted him," the relative added. The unoccupied car that police said Drummond had been driving was found on Friday in Jackson, Tennessee, about 70 miles from where the bodies were found and some 40 miles from where the baby was left in a car seat in a front yard. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has said it obtained warrants for Drummond. He is wanted on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, and weapons offences. Authorities offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Drummond was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, according to public records. His sentence ended in September 2024, according to Tennessee Department of Correction records. He was charged criminally for activities inside the prison, including attempted murder, after he completed the sentence that put him behind bars, District Attorney Mr Goodman said. Drummond was out on bond on the other charges at the time of the killings, he added.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
World 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson arrested on alleged domestic violence charge
Reigning 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Richardson was charged on Sunday with fourth degree domestic violence, according to the police report obtained by The Associated Press (AP). On Thursday, she ran in the opening round the women's 100m at US track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, before withdrawing from the semi-finals. She has an automatic bye to the world championships in September in Tokyo as the defending champion. 'USATF is aware of the reports and is not commenting on this matter,' USA Track and Field said in a statement. Richardson's agent did not immediately reply to an email request for comment by AP. The police report said an officer at the airport was notified by a Transportation Security Administration supervisor of a disturbance between Richardson and her boyfriend, sprinter Christian Coleman. The report said Richardson was detained on Sunday 27 July and released the following day. In the police report, the officer said: 'I was told Coleman did not want to participate any further in the investigation and declined to be a victim.' Richardson won the 100m at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and took silver at the Paris Games last summer. She also helped the 4x100m relay team to an Olympic gold.