ASTONISHING pictures show how office workers tried to protect themselves from the gunman who stormed into a swanky high-rise building and killed four in a crazed rampage.
Staffers at the investment management company Blackstone stacked piles of furniture against the door as they sought shelter.
Blackstone workers barricaded themselves in room and stacked furniture against the door
Gunman Shane Tamura was armed with a rifle before walking up to the buildingShutterstock Editorial
Tamura’s gun, later recovered by cops, was found covered in blood
Crazed gunman Shane Tamura stormed the building 345 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, which is also home to the NFL, killing his victims before turning the weapon on himself.
Pictures obtained by the ABC affiliate WABC-TV showed furniture stacked on top of each other.
Sofas and chairs were just bundled together as a barricade was created.
Some staffers even used the wooden desks as defenses.
Blackstone workers sent messages on Teams warning people not to go downstairs.
Other staffers are said to have locked themselves in bathrooms as the shooter went on his rampage.
Tamura, of Las Vegas, Nevada, traveled cross country as he made his way to New York City.
The drive, which is more than 2,500 miles, takes approximately 37 hours.
Tamura was reported driving through Colorado on Saturday, and Nebraska and Iowa on Sunday.
He failed to show up at the Las Vegas casino where he worked as a security guard.
Tamura had a license to carry a concealed gun in Nevada.
Just two hours before the first 911 calls were reported, he was seen in Columbia, New Jersey – located around 70 miles from Midtown.
Jessica Tisch, the New York Police Commissioner, said his car was then clocked entering New York City.
He was armed with a rifle when he parked on Park Avenue before heading to the building.
Tamura, who was sporting a bulletproof vest, shot dead police officer Didarul Islam before spraying the lobby with gunfire.
Islam, from Bangladesh, was a married dad-of-two and his wife was pregnant with their third child.
He was off-duty but working as a security officer in the building, and he was wearing uniform.
Timeline of NYC shooting
A gunman stormed 345 Park Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, on Monday night killing four before turning the gun on himself.
Cops are now investigating why the suspect Shane Tamura carried out the brutal attack and have released a preliminary timeline and are tracing back through his movements.
July 26 – Tamura drives through Colorado in his black BMW
July 27 – Tamura drives through Nebraska and Iowa. He also doesn’t show up for work as a security guard at a Las Vegas casino
July 28, 6.28pm – Reports of the shooting are first made to NYPD. Tamura had moments earlier double parked his car and walked across a plaza into 345 Park Avenue
Once inside, Tamura shoots off-duty officer Didarul Islam working as security dead
He guns down a woman cowering behind a pillar as he sprays the lobby with bullets
Tamura walks towards the elevators where he shoots dead a security guard crouching at his desk
Gunman spares woman’s life after she walks out of elevator in front of him
He travels up to the 33rd floor to Rudin Properties’ office and fires as he walks the floor killing one
Tamura shoots himself in his chest ending his life and ending the rampage
7.52pm – NYC Police Commissioner Tisch posted on X: “the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized.”
Tisch said Islam made the “ultimate sacrifice.”
“He died as he lived, a hero.”
Tamura shot and killed a woman, who was desperately trying to shield herself behind a pillar.
Cops revealed Tamura shot a security guard as he trooped over to the elevator bank.
He then shot another man in the lobby.
Tamura then took the elevator to the 33rd floor and killed one person.
He then shot himself and died from the self-inflicted wound.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Blackstone chief was among those killed.
And, other staffers were hospitalized.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that one of the organization’s staffers had been injured.
“He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition,” Goodell wrote in a memo seen by CNN.
Goodell described the shooting as an “unspeakable act of violence.”
Cops are still probing the motive behind the shooting.
But, they found a loaded revolver, rifle case, backpack and medication in his car.
Obtained by NY PostTamura was caught on surveillance footage entering 345 Park Avenue[/caption]
InstagramTamura had a license to carry a concealed weapon in Nevada[/caption]
Cops also combed the car for explosives, but didn’t find anything.
Tamura was carrying a M4 style rifle, according to Tisch.
Tamura, a former football player, is believed to have been carrying a note, sources told CNN.
He claimed he had been suffering from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE.
“You can’t go against the NFL,” the note reportedly said.
“Study my brain please.”
Terry Long, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan favorite, suffered from CTE. He died by suicide in 2005.
Phillip Adams, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was diagnosed with CTE after killing six people in an April 2021 rampage before taking his own life.
What is CTE?
CHRONIC Traumatic Encephalopathy is known as a brain condition that is often linked to repeated head trauma.
The condition is diagnosed after death and is commonly found in pro-sports players due to concussions.
Some symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and progressive dementia.
These signs can begin to appear after years or even decades after the last brain trauma.
A CTE scan is used to diagnose the brain disease after someone has passed away as there is no test to run while someone is alive.
Doctors often slice brain tissue and use special chemicals to make the abnormal tau protein visible to examine for patterns related to CTE.
Tamura’s friends and former football coach have spoken out at how it wasn’t in his character to carry out such a massacre.
School pals thought he wasn’t capable.
Walter Roby, Tamura’s ex-football coach, said he was a “real agile” player.
“He came in, worked hard, kept his nose down,” he told NBC.
“He was a quiet kid, well-mannered, very coachable. Whatever needed to be done, he would do.”
The shooting unfolded as swathes of staffers were about to head home and to bars and restaurants after work.
One woman, Neikesha Lewis, had just had dinner with her friends when she saw the commotion, according to the Associated Press.
“Help, help, help, I’m shot,” she heard one man say as he scampered from a building.
“It was like a crowd panic,” Anna Smith, who sought shelter in a finance building, said.
She and other staffers were inside for two hours before they were allowed to leave.
Jessica Chen was on the second floor of 345 Park Avenue when people in the presentation she was watching heard gunfire.
“Some went out in the back door, out onto the street,” she told ABC News.
“Other people, including me, we ran into the conference room and then eventually barricaded the tables across the doors and just stayed still.”
Chen revealed she sent a message to her parents, saying she loved them.
The shooting happened just five blocks from where Luigi Mangione allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare exec Brian Thompson.
In a Truth Social post, US president Donald Trump described the shooting as a “senseless act of violence.”
He described Tamura as a crazed lunatic.
The US has seen more than 250 mass shootings already this year, according to The Gun Violence Archive.
The organization defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot, not including the perpetrator.
Tamura is a former football player and is believed to have been carrying a note in his back pocket, according to sources
GettyBarricades remain in place near the building that Tamura carried out his rampage[/caption]
APNYPD officers stand guard as they pay tribute to Didarul Islam, a cop who was killed[/caption]
GettyIslam was a married dad-of-two and his wife was expecting their third child[/caption]
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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