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4 dead, including officer, in midtown Manhattan shooting

Police officers and paramedics respond to a shooting on Park Avenue Monday evening in New York. A police officer was killed and at least two other people were shot in a Midtown Manhattan office building that houses several financial and other firms, according to law enforcement officials. (New York Times)
By Ed Shanahan, Chelsia Rose Marcius, Maria Cramer and Francesca Regalado New York Times

NEW YORK – A gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle walked into a midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday evening and began firing, killing a New York City police officer, and three other people. He also critically wounded a fifth person before killing himself, officials said.

The slain officer was identified as Didarul Islam, 36, who was assigned to a Bronx precinct. He had been with the department for 31/2 years and was working at the building, at 345 Park Ave., in a private security role, officials said at a news conference.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooter’s motives were unclear. “We believe this to be a lone shooter and there is no longer an active threat to the public,” she added.

The gunman burst through the lobby of the building in midtown, which is owned by Rudin Management and houses offices for the NFL and the investment giant Blackstone, about 6:28 p.m., Tisch said.

Some workers fled the building onto already harried streets of midtown during rush hour, as others were trapped in their offices for at least two hours.

Tisch identified the gunman as Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas.

He died in Rudin Management’s 33rd-floor offices, Tisch said. Tamura left Nevada and drove through Colorado on Saturday, crossing New Jersey on Monday afternoon before entering New York City, Tisch said.

Law enforcement in Las Vegas had documented Tamura’s mental health history, and police officers in New York found medication as well as a revolver and ammunition in the vehicle he left on Park Avenue, Tisch said.

Authorities in New York declined to identify the three other victims, aside from Islam, while their families were being notified.

Here’s what to know:

– Officer’s family: Islam and his wife have two children and were expecting their third, Tisch said. He was working off duty as a security guard at the building. Islam immigrated from Bangladesh.

– Office tower: The tower at 345 Park Ave. occupies a whole block and has its own ZIP code. Rudin is one of the largest real state firms in the city and the Rudin family continues to be heavily involved in the city’s political life today.

– Gunman history: The shooter arrived in a BMW registered in his name, police said. Inside the car, police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, as well as a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura, Tisch said. There were no explosives.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.