Srinagar, July 29: A 27-year-old man named Shane Tamura has been identified as the gunman responsible for a deadly shooting at a midtown Manhattan office building on Monday evening, local time. The incident left at least four people dead. According to the Fire Department of New York, emergency services responded to a call at 6:28 p.m. reporting gunfire inside a Park Avenue high-rise that houses major financial institutions, including private equity firm Blackstone and the National Football League (NFL).
According to reports police recovered Tamura’s rifle, a Palmetto State Armory AR-15 assault rifle, which was smeared with blood. A vehicle with Nevada plates registered to Tamura was found at the scene. Inside that vehicle, the police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. The vehicle was searched by bomb squad and found to be clear of explosives.
The initial investigation shows Tamura’s car travelled across country through Colorado on July 26 and Columbia New Jersey as recently as 4:24 pm on Monday. The vehicle entered New York city shortly after.
He was armed with a long rifle and wearing a bullet-resistant vest entered a 44-story office tower on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, not far from Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, and the Museum of Modern Art. He reportedly began shooting shortly after entering the building.
At a press briefing, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that the suspect first shot an NYPD officer, then targeted a woman who had taken cover behind a pillar. He continued through the building’s lobby, shooting a security guard hiding behind the front desk. A fourth male victim was also shot in the lobby area.
Tamura has a documented history of mental health issues, said the New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a press briefing.The investigation so far reveals no criminal background. The motives are still under investigation.
