Manhattan Shooting: Four Dead, Including Off-Duty Officer

New York City, July 29 (AP) - Tragedy struck when a gunman opened fire at a Manhattan office building, leaving four people dead, including an off-duty NYPD officer. Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that the assailant, identified as Shane Tamura, intended to target the National Football League's headquarters but inadvertently took the wrong elevator.

Investigative reports suggest that Tamura, who had initially attacked people in the building's lobby, mistakenly accessed the wrong elevator banks while trying to reach the NFL's offices. The rampage claimed the lives of four individuals, one being an off-duty officer. According to police, Tamura had a documented history of mental illness. A note found on his person indicated a grievance against the NFL, citing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — a brain condition linked to repetitive head injury, often associated with contact sports like football. His ties to football date back two decades when he played the sport in high school in California.

Mayor Adams stated, "He seemed to have blamed the NFL. The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank." The note, which mentioned CTE, also requested that his brain be studied posthumously. Two individuals familiar with its contents confirmed its direct references to the NFL.

Although a definitive motive remains undetermined, the discovered note suggests the gunman may have targeted the building due to it housing the NFL's headquarters. The skyscraper in question, home to both the NFL and Blackstone — one of the globe's largest investment firms, along with other businesses, was the site of the attack.

An internal communiqué obtained by The Associated Press revealed that the shooting claimed the life of a Blackstone staff member, though their identity remains undisclosed.

Surveillance footage captured Tamura as he arrived just before 6:30 pm, exiting a double-parked BMW while wielding an M4 rifle. He then advanced through a public plaza into the building, where he opened fire, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. His initial shots killed a police officer assigned to security, and then a woman who attempted to find cover in the lobby.

The attacker proceeded to the elevator, fatally shooting a security guard and another man before reaching the 33rd-floor offices of Rudin Management, the building's owner, where he killed another person before taking his own life. The building also houses the offices of KPMG, a financial services firm.

The fallen officer, Didarul Islam, 36, a New York City police officer and Bangladeshi immigrant who served with distinction for three-and-a-half years, was among the victims. “He was performing the duties assigned to him. He made the ultimate sacrifice,” Commissioner Tisch stated at a news conference. “He died as he lived. A hero.”

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