By Hannah Nightingale – The Postmillennial
An active shooter situation was been reported in Manhattan on Monday evening and the shooting suspect has been identified as Shane Tamura, the New York Post reports. He killed four people at the Blackstone building on 51st Street and Park Avenue, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, per Fox News. Another person was critically injured.
The building houses offices of the National Football League and financial services.
Several others are injured, one critically from gunfire. The others are suffering not life threatening injuries sustained while attempting to flee the scene.
“The scene has been contained, and the lone shooter has been neutralized,” Tisch said. The motive at this time is not yet known. Tamura killed himself and was found on the 33rd floor of the building. It was reported that he was not an employee at Blackstone.
Tamura was 27-years-old and was identified as the shooter by sources on the scene, per the Post. He is from Las Vegas. Speaking to Jesse Watters, retired Las Vegas police lieutenant Randy Sutton said that Tamura had a permit to carry a firearm.
Tisch gave an update to press on the incident.
Tamura was a high school football player, a running back, in California with Granada Hills. He was working as a private investigator in Las Vegas.
He arrived in New York on Monday by car and walked to the Blackstone building on 51st and Park. Officers beleive that the shooting was targeted and that he knew he would not come out alive. Authorities do not believe that Tamura had accomplises.
Per Fox 5, a heavy police presence was seen in the area of 51st Street and Park Avenue at about 6 pm. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots. Police sources told ABC 7 that an officer and a civilian were shot in the street outside 345 Park Ave at 51st Avenue, where the suspect fled. The suspect was reportedly seen wearing a bulletproof vest and had a rifle.
Sources told the New York Post that at least four people were shot by the gunman before he reportedly shot himself. He barricaded himself inside the 33rd floor of the building, sources said, and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Some reports have indicated that the number of people shot could be as high as six. Four have been killed, including the officer.
One witness on the first floor of the building said, “it sounded like a barrage of shots …Like an automatic weapon. Like a high-capacity weapon.”
Sources told the outlet that the officer who was killed had been working in the building on a paid detail.
The NYPD said in a statement, “Due to police activity, please avoid the vicinity of East 52 Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Expect emergency vehicles & delays in the surrounding area.”
Video taken by Oliya Scootercaster showed authorities taking a person into custody near the scene. It is unclear what relationship, if any, they have to the shooting.
The building in Midtown Manhattan holds the offices of several financial firms. The NFL also has offices in the building, as does KPMG, Rudin Management real estate, Blackstone, and others. Workers in the building were told by email to evacuate the building.