It was a Monday evening that felt like any other in Midtown. The humidity was hanging heavy over Park Avenue, and the usual 6:00 p.m. rush was in full swing. People were trickling out of the glass towers, thinking about dinner or the subway ride home. Then, at 6:28 p.m., the rhythm of the city just... broke.
The New York City shooting July 28 2025 wasn't a random street scuffle. It was a targeted, violent incursion into 345 Park Avenue—a 44-story skyscraper that serves as a nerve center for global finance and sports, housing the National Football League (NFL) headquarters and Blackstone.
The Timeline of the 345 Park Avenue Attack
Surveillance footage later showed a black BMW double-parking outside the building between 51st and 52nd Streets. A man stepped out. He wasn't hiding. He was carrying an M4-style rifle in plain sight.
He walked roughly 50 to 100 feet from the curb to the entrance. Honestly, in a city as busy as New York, it's chilling how quickly someone can transition from a face in the crowd to a mass shooter. He entered the lobby and immediately opened fire.
The first person he hit was Officer Didarul Islam. Islam was 36, an off-duty NYPD officer working a corporate security detail. He was in uniform. He didn't have a chance to draw his weapon before he was shot in the back. After hitting Islam, the gunman—later identified as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura—began "spraying" the lobby with bullets.
A woman trying to take cover behind a pillar was killed next. Then, Tamura moved toward the elevators. He shot Aland Etienne, a 46-year-old security guard who had worked at the building for years.
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A Strange Moment of Mercy
In the middle of the carnage, something weird happened. Tamura reached the elevator bank and encountered a woman. Instead of shooting, he let her walk away. He then boarded the elevator alone.
He took it to the 33rd floor. That floor houses the offices of Rudin Management, the firm that owns the building. Tamura stepped out and continued firing. He killed Julia Hyman, a 27-year-old employee, before walking down a hallway and turning the rifle on himself.
By 8:00 p.m., the NYPD posted on X that the scene was "contained." But for the families of the four victims, the world had already ended.
Who Was Shane Devon Tamura?
Police eventually pieced together a disturbing cross-country trail. Tamura lived in Las Vegas but was originally from Hawaii. He had driven his BMW through Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa just days before the attack. He arrived in New Jersey at 4:24 p.m. on the day of the shooting. Two hours later, he was on Park Avenue.
Inside his car, investigators found:
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- A rifle case and extra ammunition.
- A loaded revolver.
- Prescription medication.
- A three-page note in his wallet.
That note is what changed the narrative of the New York City shooting July 28 2025. It wasn't about politics or religion. It was about his brain.
The CTE Connection
Tamura’s note reportedly mentioned Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma. He had played high school football in California nearly twenty years prior. One line in the note allegedly read, "CTE study my brain please. I’m sorry." Another blamed the NFL for concealing the dangers of the game.
It seems he was targeting the NFL headquarters specifically, though he ended up on the 33rd floor—Rudin Management's office—instead. The NFL offices are also in the building, but he likely took the wrong elevator bank in his confused or focused state.
The Victims: Faces of a Tragedy
The city mourned Officer Didarul Islam as a "true blue hero." He was a Bangladeshi immigrant, a father of two, and his wife was pregnant with their third child at the time of his death. The community eventually raised over $200,000 for his family, and he was posthumously promoted to Detective First Grade.
But he wasn't the only one lost.
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Wesley LePatner, a high-level executive at Blackstone and a Yale graduate, was a titan in the real estate world. Her colleagues described her as "brilliant and warm." Then there was Aland Etienne, the security guard just doing his job, and Julia Hyman, a young professional with her whole life ahead of her.
One man, an NFL finance employee named Craig Clementi, survived but was critically wounded after being shot in the back. He actually managed to alert other staff members despite his injuries.
What This Means for NYC Security
The 2025 Midtown Manhattan shooting is the deadliest the city has seen since the Wendy’s massacre in 2000. It happened in a year where NYC was actually seeing record-low crime rates.
People are now looking at "gun-free" zones differently. Some critics, like columnist Armstrong Williams, pointed out that once the only armed officer (Islam) was down, there was nobody left in the building to stop the shooter. This has reignited the fierce debate over private security and the right to carry in high-density corporate environments.
Practical Steps for Corporate Safety
If you work in a high-rise or a major corporate hub, the reality of "active shooter" protocols has shifted from "if" to "how."
- Audit Your Elevator Access: The fact that Tamura was able to reach a high-security floor like the 33rd reveals a gap in most "open" lobby designs. Modern buildings are now moving toward destination-dispatch systems that require badge swipes before you even enter an elevator.
- Mental Health as Security: The shooter had a "documented mental health history" in Nevada. Many are calling for better interstate communication regarding red flag laws, especially for individuals with a history of mental illness who own firearms.
- Run-Hide-Fight is Not Enough: Companies are increasingly investing in trauma kits and "stop the bleed" training for employees, as the first few minutes before EMS arrives are often the difference between life and death.
The New York City shooting July 28 2025 left a scar on the skyline. It serves as a grim reminder that even in the most secure buildings in the world, the combination of a cross-country grievance and a high-powered rifle can change everything in seconds.
Moving forward, the focus remains on the medical examiner’s study of Tamura’s brain. If CTE is confirmed, it won't excuse the violence, but it might provide a chilling explanation for a Monday evening that turned into a nightmare.