09-08-2025
NYC security guard killed by Park Avenue shooter laid to rest
NEW YORK — Aland Etienne, the security guard murdered in a mass shooting committed by Park Avenue shooter Shane Tamura after spending the final moments of his life trying to save others, was laid to rest Saturday.
More than 300 mourners showed up for the funeral of the 46-year-old guard, who died as he crawled to hit a button to try to stop the elevators from taking Tamura to the upper floors during the gunman's July 28 rampage at 345 Park Ave., officials said
'What happened was senseless,' Etienne's brother Gathman Etienne said about Tamura's rampage at the service. 'He took away a man who still had so much to give. A man who was working, trying to provide for his family. A man who should be here with us today.'
The father of four and grandfather of two 'made the ultimate sacrifice, choosing bravery and selflessness over fear,' his other brother, Smith Etienne, said at Guarino Funeral Home on Flatlands Avenue in Canarsie.
'My brother will be remembered as a hero — a humble, steady, kind New York hero,' his brother said. 'In his final moments, he acted to protect others.'
'He didn't seek attention or praise,' he added. 'He simply showed up — for his family, for his colleagues and for everyone who depended on him. His courage on July 28th was simply a reflection of the man he had always been.'
Aland's youngest child is just 5 years old.
He and his fiancée, Rachelle Paoli, had planned to buy a house together and raise their son. The two had met in high school back in Haiti and remained friends as a lasting love between them blossomed, she told the packed room.
'I want you to know you are more than a husband, you are more than a friend, you are more than a classmate back in Haiti,' she said, addressing her fallen beloved. 'You are someone that I could always count on. In good and in bad times. When I met you I was 16 years old. The love and the friendship that we learned how together for many years will remain engraved in my memory forever.'
When Aland was killed, heartbroken relatives didn't know how to break the news to his young son after the shooting.
'The little boy thinks that daddy's at the hospital,' Camille Isemylee, who is dating Etienne's youngest brother and refers to Etienne as her brother-in-law, told the Daily News two days after the shooting. 'He thinks he's coming, you know? That he's coming, that something happened to Daddy and that Mommy's going to go get Daddy.'
During the service, mourners were greeted with images of Etienne during happier times, as a violinist and pianist softly played in the background.
Etienne lay in a dark blue casket lined with white flowers. A grief-stricken woman in the front row screamed out his name as speakers described the guard's big heart and zest for life.
After emigrating from Haiti to the U.S. in 2017, Etienne, an aspiring filmmaker, became a security guard and soon began working at 'one of Manhattan's most prominent buildings,' his family said.
'To know Aland was to know peace,' his family wrote in the funeral program. 'He was a steady presence in a noisy world — measured, thoughtful and strong. He carried himself with humility and honor, speaking volumes without raising his voice.'
'His impact was felt not just in words, but in action, loyalty and love,' the family wrote.
On the day of the shooting, Tamura shot Etienne as the guard jumped behind a security desk trying to sound the alarm.
After being wounded, he 'tried to crawl to hit the button to recall the elevators so the elevators wouldn't go to the top floor,' Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry said on FOX 5's 'Good Day New York' in the days following the shooting.
A raging Tamura walked into the lobby of 345 Park Ave. armed with an assault weapon around 6:30 p.m. that Monday and opened fire, first killing Police Officer Didarul Islam, who was in his NYPD uniform working a paid security detail authorized by the Police Department.
The gunman then shot Etienne, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, 43, and badly wounded an NFL employee. He next took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he killed 27-year-old Rudin employee Julia Hyman, and then took his own life.
Tamura, who had a documented mental illness and had been hospitalized twice in Las Vegas for being suicidal, believed he suffered from CTE, a brain disease football players often suffer from repetitive blows to the head.
That belief sent him on a deadly rampage to Park Avenue and the headquarters of the NFL, which he blamed for his condition, even though he only played football in high school.
A GoFundMe launched to support Etienne's family has raised more than $190,000.
Mourners on Saturday included mayoral Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani, who was seen wiping away tears as he listened to the moving speeches, and Mayor Eric Adams, who attended the wake before the funeral.
Members of 32BJ SEIU, Aland's union, worked with Sen. Chuck Schumer's office to fast-track a visa for Etienne's daughter to come up from the Dominican Republic to attend the funeral.
'The cleaners, maintenance staff and fellow security officers at 345 Park Ave. who were greeted each day by Aland have expressed how much they miss seeing him,' union president Manny Pastreich said. 'They called him a friend, a union brother and a protector.'
'They recognize how Aland fought to keep them safe — and how grateful they are to have survived because of him,' he added. 'Aland's legacy lives large. He represents the essential workers who are the backbone of this city.'