Terrified workers at Blackstone in New York were seen piling up dozens of sofas against their office door, while gunman Shane Taumra stormed the building and opened fire
Staff captured the terrifying moment they were forced to barricade their office door with piles of furniture after a gunman opened fire and killed four people.
27-year-old Shane Tamura, from Las Vegas, stormed a Manhattan office tower on Monday, killing four people, including a New York City police officer, and wounding a fifth, before taking his own life.
Workers at the Blackstone office were seen piling dozens of sofas up against their door until they reached the ceiling.
Panicked office workers pulled apart wood desks to add more furniture to the barrier, according to pictures provided by a Blackstone employee.
The gunman, identified by authorities as Shane Tamura, had a ‘documented mental health history,’ according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, but his motive was still unknown.
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“We are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch said.
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.
CCTV showed the man exiting a double-parked BMW just before 6:30 p.m. carrying an M4 rifle, then marching across a public plaza into the building. Then, he started firing, Tisch said, killing a police officer working a corporate security detail and then hitting a woman who tried to take cover as he sprayed the lobby with gunfire.
The man then made his way to the elevator bank and shot a guard at a security desk and shot another man in the lobby, the commissioner said.
The man took the elevator to the 33rd floor offices of the company that owned the building, Rudin Management, and shot and killed one person on that floor. The man then shot himself, the commissioner said. The building, 345 Park Avenue, also holds offices of the financial services firm KPMG.
The officer killed was Didarul Islam, 36, 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 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.”
One man was seriously wounded and remains in critical condition, Mayor Eric Adams said. Four others got minor injuries attempting to flee.
Adams said officials are still “unravelling” what took place.
Officers found a rifle case, a revolver, magazines and ammunition in Tamura’s car, Tisch said. They also found medication that belonged to Tamura, she said.
She said an initial investigation shows his vehicle travelled 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 4:24 p.m. Monday. He drove into New York City shortly thereafter, she said.
For mental health support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch
