Shane Tamura and the 2025 Midtown Manhattan Mass Shooting
Background
Shane Devon Tamura was a 27-year-old former high school football player and casino surveillance employee who carried out a mass shooting inside a prominent Midtown Manhattan office tower on July 28, 2025. Armed with a semiautomatic AR-style rifle, Tamura entered 345 Park Avenue in New York City during the evening rush hour and opened fire, killing four people and seriously wounding another. He later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the building.
The 44-story office tower housed several major businesses, including the National Football League, the investment firm Blackstone, the accounting firm KPMG and Rudin Management, which managed the property. Evidence recovered after the attack indicated that Tamura held grievances against the NFL because he believed that playing football had caused him to develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly called CTE.
Early Life and Employment
Tamura had previously lived in California and played high school football at Granada Hills Charter High School in the Los Angeles area. Former coaches and acquaintances remembered him as a talented running back who showed considerable athletic promise. However, he did not play football professionally and never competed in the NFL.
As an adult, Tamura moved to the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. He worked in the surveillance department at the Horseshoe Las Vegas casino, a position involving the monitoring of casino operations, employees and customers. He had also previously held a Nevada work card connected to the private security or investigative industry, although that credential had expired before the shooting.
Authorities later disclosed that Tamura had a documented history of mental-health problems. He had reportedly been placed under emergency psychiatric observation in Nevada on two occasions, in 2022 and 2024. In 2023, he was arrested after allegedly refusing to leave the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, but the trespassing charge was later dismissed. Despite these incidents, he was legally able to possess firearms and had obtained a Nevada concealed-carry permit.
Cross-Country Journey to New York
On July 26, 2025, Tamura left the Las Vegas area in a black BMW and began driving east toward New York City. Investigators traced portions of his journey through Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey. The trip covered approximately 2,500 miles and appeared to have been deliberately planned.
By the evening of July 28, Tamura had reached Midtown Manhattan. He parked near 345 Park Avenue, between East 51st and East 52nd streets, and exited his vehicle carrying a rifle. Surveillance recordings showed him walking toward the office tower with the weapon openly visible.
The Attack at 345 Park Avenue
At approximately 6:28 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2025, Tamura entered the lobby of 345 Park Avenue and immediately began firing. Among the first people attacked was New York City Police Officer Didarul Islam, who was wearing his police uniform while working an authorized security assignment inside the building.
Tamura continued firing throughout the lobby, striking employees and security personnel. Wesley LePatner, a senior Blackstone executive, was killed near the lobby area. Aland Etienne, a building security officer, was also fatally shot while performing his duties. An NFL finance employee, later identified as Craig Clementi, was shot and critically wounded but survived.
After the lobby shootings, Tamura approached the elevators. He reportedly allowed one woman inside an elevator to leave without harming her. He then entered an elevator that carried him to the 33rd floor, where the offices of Rudin Management were located.
Investigators believed Tamura was attempting to reach the NFL offices but selected an elevator bank that did not provide access to the league’s floors. After arriving on the 33rd floor, he entered the Rudin Management office area and fatally shot employee Julia Hyman. Tamura then barricaded himself and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before police could take him into custody.
Confirmed Fatal Victims
- Didarul Islam – Age 36. Islam was fatally shot on July 28, 2025, in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. He was a New York City police officer assigned to the 47th Precinct and was working an authorized security detail while in uniform. Islam was married, had two children and was expecting another child with his wife. He was later posthumously promoted to detective first grade.
- Wesley LePatner – Age 43. LePatner was killed on July 28, 2025, inside the lobby of 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. She was a senior managing director at Blackstone and the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. She was also active in charitable and cultural organizations in New York City.
- Aland Etienne – Age 46. Etienne was fatally shot on July 28, 2025, near the security and elevator area of the lobby at 345 Park Avenue. He worked as a building security officer and was remembered by relatives and coworkers as a devoted father and dependable employee.
- Julia Hyman – Age 27. Hyman was killed on July 28, 2025, on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue, where she worked for Rudin Management. She was a graduate of Cornell University and worked as an associate in the company’s property-management operations.
Surviving Victims and Other Injuries
- Craig Clementi – Clementi, an employee in the NFL’s finance department, was shot in the back in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue on July 28, 2025. He was critically injured, underwent extensive medical treatment and survived the attack.
- Additional occupants – Several other people suffered minor physical injuries while fleeing the building or attempting to take cover. Numerous employees were temporarily trapped in offices as police searched the tower and secured each floor.
Police Response
The shooting produced a massive emergency response in Midtown Manhattan. New York City police officers, emergency medical personnel, firefighters and federal agents surrounded the building. Employees were instructed to shelter inside locked offices while heavily armed officers moved through the tower floor by floor.
Officer Islam was transported from the scene for emergency treatment but died from his injuries. Other victims were taken to nearby hospitals. Police eventually located Tamura dead on the 33rd floor, ending the immediate threat. Investigators determined that he had acted alone, and no accomplices were identified.
Weapons and Evidence
Tamura used a semiautomatic AR-style rifle during the attack. Investigators recovered the rifle, ammunition and magazines from the building. A search of his BMW uncovered additional ammunition, a loaded .357 Magnum revolver, electronic devices, prescription medication and other personal property.
Authorities traced the rifle and examined how Tamura had acquired its components. Investigators also reviewed his firearms purchases, travel records, communications, employment history and activity at gun ranges and firearms events. A person who encountered Tamura at a Las Vegas gun show before the attack reportedly contacted authorities after becoming concerned about the amount of ammunition and equipment he had purchased.
Note Referencing the NFL and CTE
A note found on Tamura’s body indicated that he blamed football and the NFL for neurological and psychological problems he believed he was experiencing. He claimed that he had CTE and asked that his brain be studied after his death. The note accused the NFL of concealing or minimizing the dangers associated with repeated head injuries.
Tamura also referenced former Pittsburgh Steelers player Terry Long, who had been diagnosed with CTE after his death. Investigators concluded that Tamura’s writings, his decision to drive across the country and his selection of a building containing the NFL’s headquarters strongly suggested that the league was his intended target.
However, the four people Tamura killed had no known personal connection to him. Police found no evidence that he had specifically selected Didarul Islam, Wesley LePatner, Aland Etienne or Julia Hyman before entering the building.
Postmortem CTE Findings
In September 2025, the New York City medical examiner announced that an examination of Tamura’s brain had identified low-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is associated with repeated blows to the head and can only be conclusively diagnosed after death.
The finding confirmed that Tamura had the disease he referenced in his note, but medical specialists cautioned that the diagnosis did not establish that CTE caused the shooting. Researchers have stated that there is no reliable method of attributing a particular act of violence to CTE, mental illness or any single neurological condition. Most people with brain injuries or psychiatric disorders are not violent.
Aftermath
The mass shooting killed five people in total when Tamura’s death was included and became one of the deadliest attacks in New York City in decades. Security procedures were reviewed at major office towers throughout Manhattan, particularly buildings housing nationally prominent companies and organizations.
The victims were honored in memorial services attended by relatives, coworkers, city officials and members of the public. Officer Didarul Islam received a police funeral and was remembered for his service to New York City. Blackstone and Rudin Management issued statements mourning Wesley LePatner and Julia Hyman, while coworkers and relatives commemorated Aland Etienne for his dedication to his family and his work.
The attack also renewed public discussion about firearm access, workplace security, emergency psychiatric intervention and the effects of repeated head trauma in contact sports. Although Tamura’s CTE diagnosis became an important part of the investigation, authorities emphasized that he alone was responsible for planning and carrying out the murders at 345 Park Avenue on July 28, 2025.
