NFL employees were told to shelter in place Monday evening as a gunman opened fire inside the New York City building that houses the league’s headquarters, killing four and leaving another in critical condition.
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A league employee was critically injured in the shooting, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo to employees that was obtained by ABC News. Via ESPN, Goodell said:
“One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition. NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family. We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared.”
Per multiple media reports, the NFL sent an emergency alert to employees inside the high-rise at 345 Park Ave., advising them to shelter in place at the time of the shooting.
“Do not exit the building,” the alert read. “Secure your location and hide until law enforcement clears your floor. Please switch phones to silent.”
There was no indication Monday night that the shooter targeted the NFL or anybody associated with the league. The 44-story Manhattan building where the shooting took place houses multiple tenants, including accounting firm KPMG, investment firm Blackstone and real estate management group Rudin Management Company. NFL Headquarters has offices on floors 5-8 in the building.
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Off-duty police officer Didarul Islam was among those killed in the shooting, New York Mayor Eric Adams confirmed at a news conference Monday night. Islam, 36, was working security at the building at the time of the shooting.
Authorities declined to immediately identify the other victims, pending notification of their families. Per Adams, two other men and one woman were killed in the shooting, and another man was hospitalized in critical condition, “fighting for his life.”
Adams confirmed that the shooter was also dead of an “apparent self-inflicted” gunshot wound.
Citing security footage, NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch described the scene of the shooting. She said the shooter exited a BMW double-parked outside of the high-rise while carrying an M-4 rifle. He then entered the lobby of the building and “immediately opened fire on an NYPD officer.”
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“He then shoots a woman who took cover behind a pillar and proceeds through the lobby spraying it with gunfire,” Tisch continued. “He makes his way to the elevator bank where he shoots a security guard who was taking cover behind a security desk.”
AN NYPD investigator exits her vehicle at the scene of Monday’s shooting in Manhattan that left five dead, including the shooter.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Per Tisch, he shot another man in the lobby before taking the elevator to the building’s 33rd floor, which houses Rudin Management’s offices. Rudin also owns the building.
“He begins to walk the floor, firing rounds as he traveled,” Tisch continued. “One person was struck and killed on that floor. He then proceeds down a hallway and shoots himself in the chest.”
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Tisch announced that 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas is the shooter’s suspected identity. His motive was unclear in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines in the BMW that he left behind.
He traveled across the country starting Saturday before arriving in New York on Monday, shortly before the shooting, Tisch told reporters.
“His motives are still under investigation, and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch said.
Per Tisch, police believed that Tamura acted alone and there was no longer an active threat to the area.