Gunman Opens Fire in Midtown Manhattan, Killing Five, Including NYPD Officer

A quiet Monday evening in Midtown Manhattan turned into a scene of chaos and tragedy after a man armed with an M4 rifle stormed an office building and killed four people — including a police officer — before dying at the scene.

It happened just after 6pm at 345 Park Avenue, a building that houses big-name financial firms and even the NFL’s headquarters. The NYPD says the suspected shooter, identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura from Las Vegas, pulled up in a double-parked black BMW and walked into the building with the rifle in hand.

According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, security cameras caught him entering the lobby and immediately opening fire on a police officer, 36-year-old Didarul Islam, who was stationed there. Islam, a father of two with a third child on the way, was killed on the spot.

From there, the gunman shot and killed a woman and a security guard on the ground floor, then took an elevator up to the 33rd floor and killed a man there as well. Another victim is reportedly being treated at a local hospital.

Tamura was also found dead, though officials haven’t yet confirmed whether he was killed by police or died by suicide. “His motives are still under investigation,” Tisch said at a late-night press briefing.

Mayor Eric Adams, standing beside her, spoke emotionally about Officer Islam.

Streets around the building were immediately locked down as federal agents and NYPD units swarmed the area. A photo of Tamura holding the rifle, captured on building surveillance and released to major outlets, quickly circulated online.

This latest shooting adds to the grim tally of gun violence in the U.S. — and has left yet another city rattled.

With input from Al Jazeera