Shane Devon Tamura 345 Park Avenue shooting suspect had mental health issues according to Las Vegas authorities, with the alleged gunman traveling by car from Nevada before making his way to NYC where he killed 4, critically injured one other and then killing himself. Motive remains unknown.
The 27 year old ‘lone gunman’ alleged to have gone on a shooting rampage at 345 Park Avenue, early Monday evening in NYC’s Manhattan midtown, that left 5 dead, including the shooter, drove across the country in recent days, arriving in New York City today before then making his way just on 6.30 p.m to the 44 story corporate office.
Investigators tracked Shane Tamura‘s BMW across the country starting Saturday, with points crossed in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey, until it arrived in New Jersey at 4.30 p.m, today.
NYC shooter targeted NFL but took wrong elevator to 33rd floor (as 4 fatalities are identified)
Park Ave shooter had documented mental health issues
The alleged gunman shortly after double-parked near the high-rise that was the location of today’s violence and walked in, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a Monday night news conference.
In the car investigators found prescription medicine along with a rifle case, magazines with ammunition and a loaded revolver, she said.
The rifle used was identified as a Palmetto State Armory AR-15 assault rifle in .223-caliber. Gun retails for about $420.
Tamura had a silencer fastened when he opened fire inside the lobby at around 6.30pm, with approximately 30 people inside, according to CNN.
At the time of the shooting, Tamura was donning a bullet proof vest.
Tamura has a ‘documented’ history of mental health issues, Tisch said. ‘Our partners in Las Vegas made us aware of a mental health history,’ she said.
Park Ave shooter had suicide note, blaming NFL for head trauma and mental illness
Park Ave shooter got off on 33rd floor where real estate management firm existed
She said he had a Las Vegas concealed weapons permit. It remained unclear how the mentally ill man was able to attain a gun permit.
Leading up to the shooting, Tamura worked as a security guard at a Las Vegas casino.
A report via the Las Vegas Review Journal told of Tamura living in a gated neighborhood near Desert Shores.
Voter registration records cited by the outlet indicated Tamura was a nonpartisan voter in Clark County.
Authorities said it remained unclear why Tamura went to the high-rise, before making his way to the 33rd-floor office of the real estate management firm Rudin Management.
‘We are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,’ Tisch said.
Surveillance video showed Tamura getting out of a double-parked car with his AR-15 assault rifle and entering the building’s lobby, where he ‘immediately open fire’ on an NYPD officer, who was killed, the police commissioner said.
‘He then shoots a woman who took cover behind a pillar and proceeds through the lobby, spraying it with gunfire,’ Tisch said.
The gunman shot a security guard at the elevator bank as the guard was taking cover behind a security desk, Tisch added.
The shooter called the elevator to the lobby, a woman got out and the gunman allowed her to exit unharmed, Tisch said.
The shooter went up to the 33rd floor and ‘begins to walk the floor, firing rounds as he traveled,’ Tisch said. One person was shot and killed on that floor, she said.
‘He then proceeds down a hallway and shoots himself in the chest,’ she said.
Initial reports had told of six people including the gunman being killed, with Tisch saying during the news conference, one NYPD officer was killed, along with three other civilians along with the shooter taking his own life.
