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CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip
In Moments, News Conference On Mass Shooting In Heart of New York City; Four Killed In New York City Shooting, Including New York Police Officer; Official Says, Gunman Exchanged Fire With NYPD Officer In Lobby; CNN Follows The Developments At Midtown Manhattan Building Shooting. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired July 28, 2025 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST (voice over): Good evening. I'm Abby Phillip in New York.
Breaking news tonight, four people, including a New York City police officer, have been killed after a gunman opened fire in the heart of Manhattan. The suspect is also dead apparently from a self-inflicted wound. The 27-year-old man who is said to be from Vegas was caught on surveillance video that you see there walking into the building. The FBI is now on the scene helping the NYPD with this investigation.
The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, says that the officers are conducting a floor-by-floor search of that skyscraper where this shooting occurred. And we are now moments away from a press conference where we will hear some new details about what transpired tonight.
But, first, let's get to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, who is on the scene of the crime. Shimon, what can you tell us is occurring where you are right now?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, most of now what's happening here is we believe based on what we're seeing here on the ground, that the buildings have been cleared, that the police don't believe there's any other threat. There doesn't appear to be any other victims. We've seen some ambulances leave with no one inside. And so right now, things are certainly under control. This is now a crime scene. So, we're seeing that part take place.
What's happening about where I'm on 49th and Park, so what's happening about 20 or 30 blocks from me is a really sad scene right now. You have the mayor of the city of New York with the NYPD commissioner, and other leading officials from New York City meeting with the family of this officer who was on his day off providing security in uniform to this building when this gunman walked up, shot him, and then went inside that building, and others have died as a result of that.
That officer, no doubt, will be a hero and that he was able to at least slow this gunman down with probably some effect and probably change the course of what happened here. Sadly, though, we still have three others who died as well. This was a harrowing scene, Abby. I got here just a short time after all of this started happening, 20 minutes after this started around 6:40 tonight. And to see the number of officers responding, hundreds of officers running towards this building, fearing that the gunman could shoot at them, I had the chief of detectives who was here telling me to get off the street, that there was a man with a high- powered rifle in that building, and they were afraid that this was going to turn into a sniper situation.
And officers who were not in their tactical gear were told to stay off of Park Avenue, to get out of the site of the building and officers kept rushing here, hundreds and hundreds of officers running towards that building. You had the bomb squad here. You had all these emergency services officers, SWAT team members gearing up and other officers gearing up long guns going into that building, but also going to a nearby building to search for people to get people out safely. And, sadly, as the night progressed, we were learning that a number of people had died.
And one of the images that I cannot get out of my head, Abby, and much of it is because I've lived my whole life in this city, I grew up here, just watching the people in the office building through the window, you could see them in their offices just standing there looking down, trying to figure out what was going on. No doubt, they were given word that there was an active shooter and there's a process and many of them barricaded themselves in their offices with whatever they could as the NYPD went floor-to-floor, and then they found the gunman dead, as you said, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
We hope to learn more but I know that tonight for the city, for the NYPD, they're going to be talking a lot about this officer, a young man who was on his day off trying just to earn some extra cash. And we hope to learn more about some of the victims here who were killed. But, certainly, just a harrowing situation that it's really just, you know, in New York City to watch the NYPD respond in this way. I've covered so much here, and it's been quite a while, Abby, since I've seen anything like this here.
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PHILLIP: Yes. Shimon stand by for us. I mean, this occurred in an incredibly busy part of town basically during rush hour here in New York City. We are also, as Shimon said, awaiting imminently a press conference by the NYPD commissioner and also by New York's mayor. They are going to be providing that press conference at New York Presbyterian where they are meeting with the family of that fallen NYPD officer.
John Miller is with us as well. John, this is the worst active shooter in the city in many years. What are you hearing from your sources about how this could have occurred? And I know you've been in this building, so talk to us about how this man was able to get in after that confrontation and then get up, because, apparently, he was able to get up to the 33rd floor to conduct this attack.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So how he was able to get in is with an AK-47 and or an AR-15, whatever that huge rifle is with the extended magazine. How he navigated to the 33rd floor is unknown at this point, whether or not he made somebody bring him there, or that's just where the elevator he went, you know, went into, took him.
But, I mean, at this point what they're looking at is what do we know, and we've discussed a lot of that tonight. He's a 27-year-old man, former private investigator, licensed to carry firearms in Nevada, had a high school football career. But we don't really know his motive at this point.
Well, the questions that are open right now, and this is what we'll hope to learn some of from that press conference, is, is there a note, did he leave a note at the scene? Did they find a note on him? Is there something that lays out whatever grievance was driving this deadly trip to New York? Did the police officer in the exchange of gunfire that we are told, occurred right there in the lobby, did he hit him? In other words, before the gunman took his own life, which is apparently what happened, was he already wounded by that police officer or had he managed to get by that without getting hit?
And then, of course, the last question is still, what was his target and was it on the 33rd floor? Or is that just where he ended up in that building? And then what was his association with that building? All of these things are still the open questions now.
PHILLIP: Yes, very much so. I mean, this press conference, we hope, will provide some of those answers as we hear for the first time tonight from the NYPD about this really extraordinary and deadly incident that occurred in downtown New York City.
John Miller, stay with us, stand by for us. I'm going to bring it here into the studio. We have with us Congressman Ritchie Torres, also with US Attorney Mercedes Colwin and Darrin Porcher, former NYPD Officer.
I want to start with you, Congressman Torres, because I know that you represent New York, the South Bronx, and my understanding is that there was a member of the NYPD who served in your district, who was involved in this incident.
REP. RITCHIE TORRES (D-NY): My understanding is one of the officers who was shot works at the 47 Precinct, which I represent in Congress. And, you know, it's terrifying to think that a gunman could just so brazenly enter an office tower in broad daylight, and I've been in that office building repeatedly. It tends to be heavily guarded. I have friends there, and it's just a reminder that, you know, neither public safety nor the men and women of the NYPD who are charged with protecting it can be taken for granted. And so every New Yorker just owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the NYPD because, but for the bravery of that officer, more people could have been killed.
PHILLIP: Yes, absolutely. I mean, to see that long gun in the middle of New York City, I mean, he just walked in. It was right there by his side. What does that bring to mind for you about what might have happened here? DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: This was clearly a suicide mission. We have a person that has a long gun, which is an automatic weapon on the corner of Park Avenue, 51st, 52nd Street, and he's just walking brazenly with it down at his side.
And also you have to take in consideration, this is not something that normally happens here. But let's fast forward. Once he gets into the lobby, the major fortification of security is on the lobby level. And he gets into an elevator. One of the things that I don't understand is, why was that elevator not disabled as it went to the top? He gets all the way up to the 32nd, 33rd floor.
Security has the ability to disable that elevator and hold it at a point pending the arrival of law enforcement, which also leads me to believe that were there other individuals that were in that elevator car that they didn't want to put in jeopardy and that's why they didn't disable the car, that's another thing that we have to think about.
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But the search is over and many people will say, wow, this is a large building. How did they end the search so quick? The reason why they were able to end it so quick is because they were able to use the cameras in that building to show the pathway he took, he being the shooter, from when he walked in the building until he went to the 32nd floor. So, by looking at those video cameras, you knew specifically where he ventured into, and that was the pathway that the search grid was conducted, and that's why they were able to end the search as quick as they did.
PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, the first question, what I thought of when I heard that he ended up on a high floor was how would he even know that he had -- could get access, attain access? Because if you've ever been in an office building, you know there are all kinds of different levels of security. Sometimes you have to scan a badge just to get in the elevator. Sometimes once you're on a floor, you have to scan another badge. How would he have even known? Do you think he may have prior knowledge of this building.
PORCHER: Well, what law enforcement is going to do is they're going to look at the camera systems to see if he'd actually surveilled the location prior to his arrival that day. The NYPD has a consent agreement with these commercial establishments throughout the city, whereas it avails the NYPD the ability to log into these cameras and see what's going on in a particular area. That's that consent agreement, and that's paramount.
In addition to that, you see NYPD cameras all throughout the city, and they can be quite telling and gathering that information to assess if this individual did in fact visit the location, conduct a level of surveillance prior to him coming to today and embarking upon the execution that we see that occurred.
PHILLIP: So, stay with me for just a second because John Miller is with us again. John Miller, we have some new reporting about this suspect. What can you tell us?
MILLER: Well, he has been identified as Shane Devon Tamura. His life starts in Hawaii as a kid. He's a football player in high school. Then he moves to Las Vegas. And he is somebody who has no significant criminal record, thus he was able to get license by the state of Nevada as a private investigator, the same way he was able to get license to have a concealed carry permit by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department to carry handguns.
So, we know his name. We've looked at some of his social media and background. We've reached out to some friends. We know they're searching his apartment. And we are working on what was his connection with that building and why he went to the floor he went to, and I expect to --
PHILLIP: Can I confirm something that you just -- confirm with you something you just mentioned? You said his apartment. Is it your understanding that he lived in this moment in Las Vegas, is that correct?
MILLER: The address on his license that was found and the subsequent checks give him an address in Las Vegas. NYPD immediately reached out to Kevin McMahill, the Las Vegas Metro sheriff. He immediately sent his team up to, A, determined if there was anybody in that house, anybody that they needed to interview or talk to, and, B, to lock that down to make sure that nobody went in or nobody came out with anything because they're in the process of obtaining a search warrant to go through that place looking for and he kind of manifesto papers, computers, and so on.
PHILLIP: John, the fact that if in fact this shooter came from Las Vegas to New York City, talked to us about the process of obtaining a weapon like the one that he was seen carrying. I don't believe we know exactly the type of weapon in our CNN reporting, but what would be the process like? And would he have had any trouble at all obtaining a weapon like that?
MILLER: No. The weapon we're looking at there that he's carrying barrel down as he walks into the lobby is, appears from -- it's slightly obscured by the strap, but it appears to be the AR-15 platform, which is the standard military rifle of the United States and NATO countries. It takes either .223 ammo or a similar kind. It is meant for -- it was designed for war and killing people. And that is the most popular long gun in the United States among gun enthusiasts, sportsmen, and so on. There are literally millions and millions of them out there.
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And in the west in particular, but in Nevada all you have to do is show that you are a resident of the state and that you are not a convicted felon or, you know, subject of an order of protection or restraining order or domestic violence. And you can buy that basically with a driver's license after that record check.
PHILLIP: All right. John Miller -- MILLER: So, the process of (INAUDIBLE) here would have only been complicated by the fact that it would be difficult to get it on an airplane and fly it here, although not impossible if you declared it.
PHILLIP: Yes.
MILLER: Which is probably why he may have driven here.
PHILLIP: All right. John Miller, stand by for us.
Mercedes, we're going to -- I mean, there are so many questions about motive, right? And I don't know how much we'll get from NYPD tonight, but as we fill in this picture of who this man was, just 27 years old, so relatively young, from Hawaii, but had -- you know, the two things that stand out to me are this private investigator background, obviously, and also this idea that he -- you know, he was concealed -- he had a concealed carry permit, so he knew how to operate weapons and was clearly able to do that. So, what are your questions tonight on that list (ph)?
MERCEDES COLWIN, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Those are great observations, Abby, because one of the things we have to consider is maybe he masterminded all of this. So, then he knew in order to get the type of gun that he wanted and he wanted to have conceal and carry permit, he would have to go through this process of getting the license, having been a private investigator. Then coming to and looking at one of the issues we're talking about is actually transporting that gun.
We know it's difficult to transport guns. We all travel on planes. You'd have to declare it, of course. And then that would be -- he would be zeroed in on someone who's carrying a very significant type of gun. And then coming into New York City, it would certainly raise awareness that he could be a potential threat.
So, he did everything he could to cover his steps. So, my questions are who was in his constellation? Who's in his orbit? Who are the people that he communicated with? We know there's digital footprints everywhere. Did he write about it? Did he blog about it? Did he talk about it?
PHILLIP: And why this and why this building?
COLWIN: Exactly.
PHILLIP: As somebody who probably spends a lot of time doing a lot of research on if this is what he was doing, private investigating, I don't know if he actually was practicing that profession. But why choose this particular building becomes a major, major question.
And, Congressman Torres, I mean, New York City's crime rate has been declining significantly, like a lot of major cities in the United States. For something like this to happen in New York, you know, it is so kind of discordant with what it feels like to walk around and to live and to work in this city.
TORRES: But despite the progress we've made toward reducing crime, New York remains a prime target for terrorism.
PHILLIP: Yes.
TORRES: My understanding is the city faces an average of one terror plot a month. And I find it to be absolute insanity that we allow weapons of war to just flow freely on the streets of America. And even though New York State and New York City have the strictest gun laws in the nation, those gun laws can only take you so far, if guns can easily cross state boundaries. And this is exactly what happened here.
PHILLIP: And in New York, is your understanding that it would've been easy for him to obtain this AR-15 weapon if he purchased it here?
TORRES: I think it would've been easier for him to obtain it in Nevada. I mean, we have much stricter gun laws here in New York.
PHILLIP: Yes.
TORRES: But, again, what we desperately need is a national ban on military style weapons because we have far too many guns in America, far too few regulations of those guns. And we're the only high income country on earth that has an epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence. You know, mass shootings like these are policy choices that we as a society have to stop making.
PHILLIP: The choice of this particular weapon, Darrin, I mean, obviously, it raises the prospect that he wasn't trying to hide it. He had a concealed carry permit. He could have held a pistol and gotten in that building perhaps. What does it say to you about what he was trying to do here?
PORCHER: This was clearly a suicide mission and a mission that was designed to kill people. We had a magazine, which is the clip, which people commonly refer to it as that held upwards of 25 rounds of ammunition of a .223 caliber bullet. This is a high velocity bullet. So, if you shoot someone with a .223, it goes through me. It can shoot and kill the person cutting hair in the next room. This is clearly a killing machine.
PHILLIP: By definition, in an office building, you're at close range for a moment like this.
PORCHER: An AR 15 is what all what military members use in battle with an M-16. It's just a civilian version of what an M-16 is. It's a semi- automatic weapon, whereas you have to pull a trigger each time you want to engage a bullet that would shoot someone. It's unfortunate we have these weapons in our society, but at the same token, this was a travesty.
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And when we speak to why was he there, we have a lot of unanswered questions. Does he have a manifesto? Do we have the credit card receipts as to where he was staying prior to coming here? This is also going to be quite telling in terms of where he was staying, why he was here. PHILLIP: So, Darrin, standby for us. We're watching that press conference that you're seeing there on the screen. This is at New York Presbyterian Hospital. This is where we believe that that fallen NYPD officer was. We're going to be hearing from Mayor Eric Adams and also from the New York City Police commissioner.
As we await for the start of this press conference, a question for you, Mercedes, about what would be helpful for the public to hear in this moment?
COLWIN: Well, certainly that they're safe. I mean, that there were precautions taken. A lot of things that came with unanswered questions is how is it that he gained access? We all know working in the very sophisticated buildings that we work in, there are a lot -- there's lots of security in place. The police are investigating. The FBI's investigating. This is being taken incredibly seriously. So, the threat of this having any copycats, who knows if that can ever be guaranteed, hopefully, we won't have a copycat out there, but that there are precautions being taken and this case is being investigated from start to finish until we know exactly what we're dealing with.
PHILLIP: You know, this building houses -- you were talking about how you've been there before. It houses a number of high-profile corporate offices for the NFL, for Blackstone and others. Is your thinking that perhaps there was an intention behind some of the companies that might have been located there? What are you questioning right now on that front?
TORRES: I mean, I want to know about the inexplicable security failures in a building that should have been heavily guarded and had high-valued assets. And I want to know the motive. You know, especially we are living in a world where with the online radicalization of lone wolves, I think people want to know what actually motivated this mass shooting.
PHILLIP: When you think back to being there, I mean, can you describe for us what the process was like to get in or out of that building?
TORRES: It's been a few months, but you just -- I mean, there's typically several security guards. You show your I.D. The security guard typically escorts you to the elevator. And then, you know, the last time I was there, I was meeting with employees at Blackstone. So, I've been on that building on numerous occasions, and I'm just shocked that he could just so easily gain access and do so in broad daylight, so brazenly, armed with a military-style weapon. It's shocking given my own experience.
PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, a while ago, we had that brazen assassination on the streets of New York, of the United Healthcare CEO, and a moment like this seems to kind of bring up some of those same questions about security and whether it is sufficient, to your point, about security failures. Maybe there was a way to disable, there probably was, disable that elevator. Why if it wasn't done, why wasn't it? If you are at a corporation, which in New York, every big skyscraper has high-value corporate assets inside, what are you doing and thinking right now about the physical security of the employees inside of buildings like this?
PORCHER: This is something that should -- there should always be an evolution in security practices. And when we speak to the technological innovations that can be employed in a building like that is something that you're constantly looking towards to ensure that you have the safety of your employees. I'm not so sure that this was a security failure. Because if this was a hostage situation, whereas once he came into the building and he took one of the security guards as a hostage and led them to the elevator bank, is that a security -- is that a fluent (ph) security? I don't think so. I just think that we have a lot of unanswered questions.
And one thing I will say is buildings like this have tremendous fortifications in the lobby. So, I just think -- I see this as very farfetched as to how he was able to get upstairs, and that goes back to my point of the disabling of the elevators.
PHILLIP: This is a crucial question. How was he able to get from that lobby where it was secure at to the 33rd floor?
John Miller is with us still with some more information about this building. I mean, John, what are your thoughts about how this could have happened?
MILLER: Well, first of all, I think we're going a little over the line here calling it a terrible security failure. You've got a building that has access control and private security and the normal layered approach, including elevator control. But you also have a uniformed police officer in that, you know, 44-storey building who is armed and in the lobby. I don't know what kind of security anybody expects, but, you know, people have shot their way into Congress with a lot less than an AK-47.
So, he gets into the elevator and we are still trying to determine how he was able to get up to the 33rd floor. But we do know the 33rd floor is the headquarters of Rudin Management.
Now, Rudin Management is the management company for that building and many other buildings in New York City run by the famous family of Louis Rudin and Eric Rudin and Bill Rudin, who are civic leaders in New York, members of the Police Foundation, very supportive of law enforcement, very security conscious.
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And a lot of that is shown in the security and access controls of their building.
The idea that the gunman went to their offices and shot and killed somebody up on their floor really raises that question. Was that the target or is that where he ended up? If it was the target, why? Was the person he shot a target? Was it personal or random? He shot the police officer in the lobby and another individual in the lobby during that exchange of gunfire. But what brought him to that floor? And those are maybe some of the questions that we will answer as this press conference starts. You know, what you see there is Kaz Daughtry, the deputy mayor for Public Safety in the white polo shirt. At the end, Rebecca Weiner, the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism. John Shell is the man walking in there now. He's the chief of department, the highest ranking uniformed officer of the NYPD. On the end, in the white coat next to Rebecca, you see the chief surgeon of the NYPD who is the person who responds to all of these to personally care for the injured police officer who, in this case, lost his life. And I think we are just moments away from hearing the mayor and the police.
PHILLIP: Yes. And, John Miller, as we wait for this to occur, actually, we're seeing the mayor, Eric Adam, walking in, Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner. Let's listen in.
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: This never gets easy. I always go back to the beginning of my role as mayor in Harlem Hospital where Officer Mora and Rivera were assassinated. I remember watching their family members enter the hospital and a loud yell, no, God, please tell me it's not true. I thought about that today when the notification came over from the police commissioner that we had a number of shots fired and we're still unraveling what took place.
And our hearts are heavy. Five innocent people shot tonight. We lost four souls to another senseless act of gun violence, including a member of the New York City Police Department, Officer Islam. He served in the 47th precinct. He was just 36 years old and a 3.5-year veteran of the department. He was doing what he does best and all members of the police department carry out. He was saving lives. He was protecting New Yorkers. He's an immigrant from Bangladesh, and he loved this city and everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith. And a person that believed in God and believed in living out the life of a godly person. He embodies what this city is all about. He's a true blue New Yorker, not only in a uniform he wore, but in his spirit and energy of loving this city.
And early tonight, I met with the officer's family. I told them that he was a hero. And we admire him for putting his life on the line. This was his dad only son. Now, think about Jordan, my child, and is unimaginable to experience a loss of this magnitude. And three other innocent civilians are also dead, two males and one female, and another male is seriously injured, fighting for his life in critical condition because of the violent, despicable attack.
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Additionally, the shooter is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. To be clear, six total tonight died, one including the perpetrator. And I'm sorry, six total was shot tonight. One including the perpetrator.
No words can describe this act of evil. A man who takes the life of others who are innocent. And no words can fill the void that has been left by this tragedy. Our hearts break for the families and friends of the victims. We pray for the swift and safe recovery of the injured. The horrific crime reminds us all how easy it is to gain access to a gun. Gun violence has scarred so many neighbors and ripped apart too many
families across this entire country. We will continue the fight to do all we can to protect our city. But tonight, we mourn for those who were killed and we pray for the families as they go through this painful moment.
And as I stated, five innocent people were shot, and the perpetrator was shot. We will continue to do what we do as a city and as fight to protect innocent New Yorkers. At this time, I'm going to turn it over to the police commissioner of the city of New York, Commissioner Tisch.
JESSICA S. TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Sir. The information that I'm about to provide is preliminary and subject to change. At 6:28 P.M., the 911 call center started receiving multiple 911 calls for an active shooter inside of 345 Park Avenue at 52nd Street in Manhattan. What happened next is under an active investigation and details are still coming in, but here's what we know so far.
Surveillance video shows a male exit a double parked black BMW on Park Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets. Carrying an M4 rifle in his right hand, he walks towards the building's entrance. That individual was seen exiting the BMW alone. The building security camera footage shows the shooter enter the lobby, turn right, and immediately open fire on an NYPD officer. He then shoots a woman who took cover behind a pillar and proceeds through the lobby, spraying it with gunfire.
He makes his way to the elevator bank where he shoots a security guard who was taking cover behind the security desk. One additional male is shot in the lobby per his own statement from the hospital. The shooter then calls the elevator which opens in the lobby. A female exits that elevator and he allows her to walk past him unharmed.
He goes up to the 33rd floor, which is Rudin Management, and begins to walk the floor, firing rounds as he traveled. One person was struck and killed on that floor. He then proceeds down a hallway and shoots himself in the chest. In total, we have five victims shot -- our officer and four other innocent civilians, plus the shooter.
The shooter is believed to be Shane Tamura, a 27 year old male with a Las Vegas address. The vehicle he exited is registered in Nevada to Mr. Tamura. Inside of that vehicle, officers found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to Mr. Tamura. The vehicle was searched by our bomb squad and found to be clear of any explosives.
The initial investigation shows that Mr. Tamura's vehicle traveled cross country through Colorado on July 26th, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27th, and then in Columbia, New Jersey as recently as 4:24 P.M. today. The vehicle entered New York City shortly thereafter.
According to our law enforcement partners in Las Vegas, Mr. Tamura has a documented mental health history. His motives are still under investigation and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location. 345 Park Avenue is a commercial office building whose tenants include the NFL, Rudin Management, KPMG and Blackstone. [22:35:03]
At this time, four of the five victims are deceased, including our NYPD cop. Our officer was transported here to New York Presbyterian along with one male civilian, the lone shooting survivor, who was in critical but stable condition at this time. Two other civilians, one male and one female, both deceased, were brought to Bellevue. The fourth civilian is a female who was found dead on the 33rd floor of the location.
Additionally, there are four other victims being treated for minor injuries sustained in their attempts to flee the scene. Victims' names are being withheld at this time pending family notification. Officers from our special operations division are currently conducting a secondary sweep of the entire building. I want to be very clear. We believe this to be a lone shooter and there is no longer an active threat to the public.
But today, four innocent victims are dead. Among them is NYPD police officer Didarul Islam, 36 years old, four years on the job. Officer Islam was married with two young boys. His wife is pregnant with their third child. He's assigned to the 47th Precinct of the Bronx. He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm's way. He made the ultimate sacrifice, shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city.
He died as he lived, a hero. I want to extend my profound sympathies to all of the victims and their families and to the brave NYPD cops who today lost a brother. There are still many questions that we have to answer and we will answer them. But for now, our city is in mourning for the innocent lives lost. May their memories be a blessing.
PATRICK HENDRY, PRESIDENT OF POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION: Patrick Hendry, President of the PBA. This is a devastating night for our city, for our police department. Pure evil came to the heart of our city and struck innocent people and one of our police officers who were protecting those people. We lost four people tonight in our hero brother who gave his life for this city.
He was a hardworking police officer who was proud, we know, from hearing from his family, to put on that uniform and shield of a New York City police officer. Every day he went out and did his job. And he went out every single day to provide for his family. Whether it was overtime or whatever he had to do to provide for this family, that's what he did on a daily basis. And his family is devastated. A wife losing a husband who provided for that family. A father who's not going to see his son again.
And our hearts of every New York City police officer right now is hurting. We're hurting for our brother police officer who we lost. We're hurting for that family. We're hurting for all the victims and hurting for all the families of the victims. And we're all asking why? Why did pure evil come here? And we know our police department and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to get those answers. But now our job as police officers is to be there for this family, to
support them in any way that we can, to come together as a city, to be there for these families of the victims. And we will continue to do that, because that's what New York City police officers do.
And we're going to continue as police officers to go out and protect this city because we know that evil can strike at any time. But police officers are willing to risk their lives to protect everyone in this room and protect everyone in this city. So, we ask all New Yorkers to pray for our police officers' family, to pray for all the victims and their families.
[22:40:01]
And we need to stand united going forward. We thank you for covering this story.
ADAMS: We are also joined by our federal partners from the ATF and FBI. I want to give an opportunity to our partner in the FBI, a special agent in charge of the New York City Field's Office, Chris Raia.
CHRIS RAIA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIELD'S OFFICE: Thank you, Mayor. First off, on behalf of all the men and women of the FBI, I'd to extend my deepest condolences to the victims of this senseless tragedy. And also personally, I want to extend my condolences to the police commissioner. And just please know, Ma'am and Mr. Mayor, that you have the full force of FBI New York and the full force of FBI to get to the bottom of the answers.
Upon learning of the incident this evening, FBI agents immediately deployed to the scene to assist our NYPD partners. While this remains an NYPD investigation, the FBI's New York office stands ready to provide any and all resources to assist our partners. Initial checks of our internal systems have not revealed any information about the subject. But when and if more information becomes available, we will share what we can when we can with the public. Thank you.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
ADAMS: All of this information is under active investigation. Our videos are being reviewed. And as this investigation continues to unfold, we'll be able to answer those questions. But right now, it's an active investigation.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: I believe that there were two officers in the building working Pay Detail assignments in different parts of the building.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: Pay Detail is a program that we have set up at the police department that allows companies to hire officers in uniform to provide extra uniform security.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: I already described what we found in the vehicle and it's too early in the investigation to discuss anything more.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: And as I said, too early in this investigation to tell but nothing that we have seen preliminarily.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: I cannot.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: I cannot, other than to say that our partners in Las Vegas made us aware of a mental health history.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: Just what I said already, it was an M4 rifle and we also found a revolver in the vehicle with ammunition and magazines.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: He did have a license in the State of Nevada.
UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE)
TISCH: At this time, it's too early in the investigation to tell.
(END OF LIVE COVERAGE)
PHILLIP: We were just listening to the NYPD and the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, providing the first briefing on this attack at -- that occurred here in downtown New York City. Many new and very important and significant headlines to come out of that press conference. There were a total of six people who were shot in this incident.
[22:45:00]
One is in critical condition, but sadly, the other five lost their lives, including one NYPD officer. That officer's name, was Didarul Islam. He was 36 years old. He was an immigrant from Bangladesh, a father of two with one on the way. And we are here in the studio with Richie Torres, who -- in the South Bronx -- he worked in your district, is my understanding.
REP. RICHIE TORRES (D-NY): In the Northeast Bronx, the 47th Precinct.
PHILLIP: Yeah. Yeah.
TORRES: I mean, he was a young man, 36 years old. Had his whole life ahead of him. And it's a reminder that behind every badge and uniform is a person, you know, with a family and a spouse and children. And the death of an officer is deeply felt not only by the family, but by the community in the 47th Precinct, by the NYPD, which is a closely knit family.
And, you know, the fact that he was an immigrant is a reminder that New York City and the NYPD itself is a microcosm of America as a multiracial, multi-religious, multi-ethnic democracy. So, this is just a tragedy.
PHILLIP: Yeah. We also have some new and critically important information about the shooter. This individual who we actually now have a photo of an image of that CNN has obtained. His name was Shane Tamura. He had an address in Las Vegas and according to the NYPD tonight, he drove from Las Vegas, from Nevada to New York City as recently as 4:24 P.M. His location was identified as Columbia, Missouri. So, this drive occurred just within the last couple of days.
This individual, according to the NYPD, had a documented mental health history. John Miller is with us still. John Miller, a lot of these details are really starting to fill in this picture of an individual who made a significant journey across the country with, it appears, at least two weapons to carry out this horrible crime.
MILLER: So, let's go over some of the -- some of things we learned in that press conference, kind of between the lines as they went, which is based on the license plate reader system from various states, the police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, told us, you know, he's been driving, apparently from Las Vegas towards New York, passing license plate readers in various states from Colorado to Nebraska, you know, going back to the 26th, the 27th, and so on.
So, he came here with that car, with that BMW, ticked through all of those things, including, you know, passing one at 434 in New Jersey and apparently drove straight to that building, double parked.
And then this terrible description of, you know, he walks determinedly with that M4 rifle, which is AR-15, you know, American-made rifle platform -- walks right into the lobby and without any introduction or demand or anything else, opens fire, spraying the lobby, targeting the police officer, shooting a security guard who ducked behind the security desk to avoid the spray of the gunfire, then walks into an elevator that a woman is walking out of, that elevator takes him up to the 33rd floor.
He walks into the offices of Rudin Management. It's the management company that runs that building and so many other important New York properties, a well-known family in New York City. And, he again, opens fire indiscriminately, killing a female employee of Rudin Management right there in the middle of the office and causing others to scatter and flee. He then goes to the 32nd floor where he is found shot next to a desk with his rifle on the ground.
So, this was a very harrowing scene of somebody with a large capacity weapon shooting lots of bullets indiscriminately through the lobby, through a crowded office in the middle of the day at a Park Avenue property. I've been around a long time. I can't remember anything like this happening -- PHILLIP: Yeah.
MILLER: -- in New York City, in the middle of Manhattan. And I -- I was there the day when, you know, the individual, Frank James, opened fire on the subway in rush hour with a handgun and a smoke bomb. Nobody was killed that day, thank God, but he did wound 10 people. But in this case, you've got -- you've something just very unusual for New York because we don't see rifles in New York in shootings like this.
You know, most of our crime in New York City is with handguns and not this kind of indiscriminate attack where we still don't know why he went to that floor in that building and targeted those people after shooting up the lobby.
[22:50:08]
PHILLIP: Yeah, absolutely, John. mean, so many questions, including, as you noted, it really struck out to me that a woman walked off the elevator as he was forcing his way into the building by firing shots indiscriminately in the lobby and he let her pass without attacking her in any way, got on the elevator and then went up to that 33rd floor. These are all significant details in an investigation that as we heard tonight is very much ongoing. There is much more for the NYPD and the FBI to learn about what happened here.
I do want to go to Shimon Prokupecz who is still at the scene for us. Shimon, the NYPD talked about this BMW that he drove across the country to the scene. They said it was double-parked near the building -- outside of the building perhaps. Talk to us about what that would have looked like and have you, I don't know how close you've been able to get to that scene, but is there any indication of where that vehicle is or was?
SHIMON PROCUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, when I first got here around 7 o'clock, was certainly -- I was -- I had to move back because I was in the line of fire, but I was just about a block from where I am right now on Park Avenue. We moved a little closer. We can't see any -- I'm going to -- Rod, come this way. I don't know -- Abby. So, if you look here in the distance, that's the area -- that's 51st Street that you're probably looking at now and just north of that is where the building is.
So, it would have been somewhere right there in that area. We can't see it from here because the NYPD has everything blocked off. All I remember is when I first got here, was just the number of officers that kept arriving and it's non-stop and heavy, heavy equipment, big trucks, emergency services officers, just hundreds of officers coming here.
And I think John is right. You know, I haven't been around as long as John, but certainly, I've covered this city for a very long time. I've lived here my whole life. To have this kind of situation is just unheard of here.
You know, I think you could hear in the police commissioner's voice how difficult of a day this has been for her, how hard it must be for her to have to talk to this officer whose wife was pregnant with their -- expecting a third child. Those moments are just horrific for any official in this city. And so, many of the officers, I've been meeting them tonight out here just doing their job, knowing that one of their fellow officers was killed in this.
And I just want to make one other point that I think is very important that the police commissioner made and that is the gunman's mental health history. I think that's going to be important at some point to learn more about that and questions are going to come up as to how he was able to maintain his gun license if he maintained it, what efforts were made to possibly remove any weapons. I mean, that's going to be an important part down the line and obviously in this investigation and why he came here, what was going on.
But for now, for this city, this is going to be some difficult moments ahead. I think many of us who work in these office buildings are going to wake up tomorrow, perhaps living in a different environment, in a different city. This is really going to affect many of us who work in office buildings all across this city and we'll see what happens.
But I think the key right now is to focus obviously on the families, on this officer's wife, on this city. And moving forward, we need to learn more about this gunman, more information about his mental health history, and more about why he ultimately came here. It's been a very, very difficult day out here for sure, and for many of the people who work in this area. And I'm sure tomorrow we'll hear more about that.
PHILLIP: It is incredibly difficult for everyone involved, but most certainly and most importantly for the families of the four victims who lost their lives tonight and the one who is fighting for his life in critical condition.
I'm going to go to CNN's Mark Morales who was in that room at the hospital asking some questions there. Mark, you know, there were -- there was a lot of information shared and we're certainly appreciative whenever we're able to get anything out of law enforcement at this early stage, much that I'm sure you had questions about. What struck out to you?
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Right off the bat, it's just the sheer emotion that you come to terms with losing this officer's life. I just wanted to mention a little bit about him before we get to the investigation of this. Police have identified him as a 36-year-old Didarul Islam.
[22:55:03]
He's a young officer, 36 years old. He's only been on the job about three and a half years. As we've all heard, he's got two kids at home. He's got another one on the way. And there was this one part of the press conference where the police commissioner actually spoke about him. And this really sums up just the sacrifice that he made tonight. He put himself in harm's way. He made the ultimate sacrifice, shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived a hero. Now, that sort of made everybody take pause here. I heard gasps just
from my fellow colleagues as we're just getting the information about this officer who was shot. And now that we've taken a moment for that, it's just there's just so many more questions now. Just what happened when he got into the lobby? Was there a gun battle? What happened when he got on that floor? We know a lot of details, but there's way more we need to find out.
PHILLIP: Much more to find out and you know, I have to echo the mayor Eric Adams. It never gets easier to cover these stories and certainly something unusual and rare like this tonight is a huge tragedy for the city tonight in New York City, mourning the lives of four individuals and one who is fighting for his life tonight. It is the site of yet another mass shooting in the United States of America. We'll have much more breaking news on this story in just a moment.
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