The ordinary rush-hour that became two hours of terror in a New York skyscraper

1 hour ago Share Save Madeline Halpert BBC News, New York Share Save

Getty Images Witnesses could hear and see the gunfire from outside the New York skyscraper after the shooting began

For hundreds of employees at 345 Park Avenue, an iconic 44-story skyscraper in the heart of Midtown Manhattan – a neighbourhood packed with offices of major corporations – Monday evening suddenly became like no other. As commuters made their way home on the sweltering July evening, workers at the Park Avenue tower ran for their lives, barricading conference rooms with tables and sending loved ones pre-emptive goodbye messages. “I texted my parents, ‘I love them,'” Jessica Chen, who works on the second floor, told US media. “Nothing can describe that feeling.” Ms Chen and others in the skyscraper were spurred to action by the unexpected sound of gunshots coming from the lobby. The gunfire would kill four people, including a New York police officer, as well as others in the lobby and on the 33rd floor. One man remains in critical condition in hospital.

A man ‘sprays’ gunfire in a busy Manhattan neighbourhood

Just moments before the chaos, at around 18:30 EST (23:30 BST), a 27-year-old drove into one of the busiest areas in Manhattan, completing a cross-country car ride through the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa. Officials say Shane Tamura, of Las Vegas, double-parked his black BMW on Park Avenue – just blocks from tourist destinations Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Wearing a jacket, a button-down shirt and sunglasses, he wielded an assault-style rifle with his right arm, marching with determination toward the skyscraper where he knew the National Football League (NFL) was headquartered. But he would never make it to that office. Instead, as he reached the doors of 345 Park, which stretches an entire New York City block, he began “spraying” the lobby with gunfire, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. At first, Tamura walked right past a stationed officer. But then he turned to the right, saw him and fired, killing 36-year-old New York police officer Didarul Islam, who leaves behind two children and a pregnant wife, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “He was slain in the entryway to the right as soon as he entered the building,” Adams said. Tamura wasted little time before firing at another woman taking cover behind a pillar, making his way through the lobby and continuing to shoot, authorities say. Wesley LePatner, who worked upstairs at financial firm Blackstone, was killed. “Our prayers are with her husband, children and family,” the company said. An NFL employee was “seriously injured” in the attack, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to staff. Craig Clementi, who worked in the finance department, was on his way home when he was shot, his father-in-law Robert Hunter told the New York Daily News. He is now recovering from surgery.

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A mistaken elevator ride

As the gunfire continued to ring out, another security guard tried in vain to activate an alarm system to disable the elevators, potentially preventing more carnage. But the guard, Aland Etienne, was “assassinated” as he took cover behind the counter, Adams said. After that, the gunman headed to an elevator. As he waited for the lift, a woman emerged and somehow was allowed to exit unscathed, police said. But the lift he boarded would not take him where he intended. He had gone to the wrong elevator bank and arrived, not at the NFL offices, but at the 33rd floor offices of the real-estate company that owned the building, Rudin Management.

Watch: People seen evacuating NYC building with their hands raised

Frantic emails and a run for help

As chaos unfolded in the lobby, employees in the building sent frantic messages over email and Microsoft Teams that there was a shooter downstairs, a Blackstone worker told the Wall Street Journal. Ms Chen told ABC News that she was watching a presentation on the second floor of the skyscraper with about 150 other people when they heard the first shots. “Some went out in the back door, out onto the street,” she said. “Other people, including me, we ran into the conference room.” A photo circulating on social media appears to show Blackstone employees piling couches, desks and other furniture in front of a door in a panic. Those in the NFL offices, meanwhile, received messages from the league warning them of gunfire, according to ESPN. Told to switch their phones to silent and hide until law enforcement arrived, they waited for a shooter who would never make it to his target. On the plaza outside the Park Avenue tower, law enforcement flooded the scene. Nekeisha Lewis could hear the sounds of rapid gunfire from inside the skyscraper, while seated nearby with a friend. She could see the gunman through the glass, she told NBC News. Before she knew it, someone ran from the building “really hard” toward them and began crying out for help, saying he’d been shot, Ms Lewis said. “Because of how strongly he was running, I couldn’t believe it. He had what looked like … an exit wound in the back.” She joined others, taking cover behind a wall. As they waited, dozens of workers gradually rushed from the building holding their hands above their heads as they evacuated.

‘Study my brain please’