Report: Blackstone executive identified as victim in NYC shooting

A Blackstone executive was among those killed by a gunman in midtown Manhattan on Monday. Three others including NYPD officer Didarul Islam were also killed when a gunman identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura walked into 345 Park Avenue and opened fire in the lobby.

Tamura also shot dead an unnamed security guard who tried to take cover behind a security desk, as well as an unidentified woman who tried to hide behind a lobby pillar. The Blackstone executive, who has not yet been named, was killed in the lobby, according to the Wall Street Journal which reported that other Blackstone employees are in the hospital receiving treatment.

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. After spraying bullets in the lobby, the gunman took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where real-estate management firm Rudin Management is based, and killed another person before turning the gun on himself.

The Rudin family - a New York real estate dynasty - owns the building. 'We lost four souls to another senseless act of gun violence,' said Mayor Eric Adams . The gunman had a ‘documented mental health history,’ according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, but his motive was still unknown.

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. Tamura's motive for the massacre remains unclear as of Tuesday morning. Blackstone employees shared messages during the rampage saying there was a shooter in the lobby and warning not to go downstairs, an employee told the WSJ.

Some started barricading themselves in their offices and bathrooms. One of those injured is an NFL employee, commissioner Roger Goodell said in a letter to staff. The employee was reportedly seriously injured but is in stable condition at the hospital. Surveillance video showed the man exiting a double-parked BMW just before 6.30pm carrying an M4 rifle, then marching across a public plaza into the building. Then, he started firing.

Slain NYPD officer Islam (pictured), 36, was 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 one of two NYPD officers working paid detail at the building. '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.'

Tisch said an initial investigation shows the gunman's vehicle traveled across the country, passing through Colorado on July 26, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27. The car was in Columbia, New Jersey, as recently as 4.24pm Monday. He drove into New York City shortly thereafter, she said.