Gunman kills four in New York skyscraper shooting spree
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called a mass shooting in New York a "senseless act of violence" carried out by a "lunatic." Trump posted on social media that he had been briefed on late on Monday's incident, in which a gunman shot four people, then apparently took his own life, in a Manhattan skyscraper. One of those killed was a police officer. "I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence," Trump posted.
On entering the building, he immediately opened fire on a police officer before "spraying the lobby" with bullets, she said. The gunman then took an elevator to the 33rd floor of Rudin Management, which owns the building, and continued his spree before apparently shooting himself. He was later discovered by officers next to his weapon.
The office tower block at 345 Park Avenue — home to the National Football League, hedge fund giant Blackstone, and auditor KPMG — was apparently targeted by the gunman, who is believed to have acted alone, Tisch said. The police commissioner identified the shooter as Shane Tamura from Las Vegas and said a revolver, ammunition and magazines were found in his vehicle. Tamura had a history of mental health issues, she said.
The incident began around 6:00 pm when reports of gunfire prompted hundreds of police to swarm a busy office district on Park Avenue, an area popular with tourists and businesspeople. A worker from a nearby office building wept as she left the area after a local lockdown was lifted.
Another office worker described the gunman going floor-to-floor as staff prepared to leave for the day. "We lost four souls to another act of senseless violence," the city's mayor said, excluding the shooter, who died by an apparently self-inflicted gunshot. Two other males and a female died and another man remained in a critical condition, officials said without giving any preliminary motive for the shootings.
The gunman had a note in his pocket saying he suffered from CTE, the news channels said, quoting a source with knowledge of the investigation. Office worker Shad Sakib told AFP that he was packing his things to leave work when a public address announcement warned him and his colleagues to shelter in place. "Everyone was confused with like, 'wait, what's going on?' And then someone finally realized that it's online, that someone walked in with a machine gun," the witness said. — AFP
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