2 days ago
Gunman Fatally Shoots Officer and 3 Others in Midtown Office Tower
A gunman armed with an assault-style rifle walked into a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper on Monday evening and began firing, killing a New York City police officer, fatally shooting three other people and critically wounding a fifth before killing himself, officials said.
Three of the four people killed were shot in the building's lobby as the gunman sprayed the area with bullets, Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, said at a news conference. The fourth was killed on an upper floor after the gunman took the elevator there, Ms. Tisch said. He then shot himself in the chest, she said.
Tenants of the building where the shooting occurred, 345 Park Avenue, went into lockdown mode as fear and anxiety coursed through their offices at what should have been close to the end of another sweltering summer day.
Darin Laing, who works in the building, said he had walked out with a colleague at about 6:30 p.m. to grab dinner nearby before heading back to work. Within seconds, 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.
Then he heard screams and saw men and women in business attire bursting through the doors, swarming the block and sprinting in every direction, crying out as they ran.
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