'He went floor by floor': Who was Shane Devon Tamura, the man behind Manhattan bloodbath

A viral photo of his ID revealed that Tamura held a concealed firearm permit issued in June 2022, valid for five years, as well as an expired private investigator license.

A chilling mass shooting unfolded in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, shaking one of the city’s busiest and most secure commercial hubs on Tuesday evening. A lone gunman, later identified as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, opened fire inside a high-rise office building on Park Avenue, killing four people, including an off-duty NYPD officer, before taking his own life.

Authorities say the violence began shortly after 6:30 p.m. as workers at 345 Park Avenue were preparing to leave for the day. The office tower is home to several high-profile firms, including Blackstone, the National Football League, and KPMG.

Tamura, originally from Hawaii but most recently a resident of Las Vegas, entered the building armed with an AR-15–style rifle and clad in a bulletproof vest. In a matter of minutes, he left behind a trail of death and panic across multiple floors of the tower.

How the attack unfolded

According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Tamura’s first target was a police officer -- 36-year-old Didarul Islam -- who had been working an off-duty security shift at the building. He was fatally shot in the lobby. Tamura then turned his weapon on a woman who was hiding behind a pillar, before shooting and killing a security guard behind the front desk. A fourth victim in the lobby was also gunned down.

The shooter then ascended to the 33rd floor, where he killed another individual before fatally shooting himself in the chest in a hallway.

During the chaos, a building-wide alert was triggered, blaring “Shelter in place” over the intercom system, sending workers scrambling to barricade themselves behind furniture.

“Everyone was confused with like, ‘Wait, what’s going on?’ And then someone finally realised that it’s online, that someone walked in with a machine gun,” office worker Syad Sakib told AFP, still in his grey suit jacket.

Photos and videos that surfaced on social media showed employees piling up desks and couches against office doors. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the images.

One woman, speaking to AFP after exiting the building, said, “I was in the building. He went floor by floor.”

In total, five people are confirmed dead, including the shooter. One person remains in critical condition, while others sustained minor injuries during the evacuation and panic.

Who was Shane Tamura?

Shane Devon Tamura, the assailant behind the massacre, was a former security guard who had no prior criminal record but was known to have a history of mental health issues, authorities said. While specific diagnoses have not been released, investigators are examining this as a possible factor in the shooting.

A viral photo of his ID revealed that Tamura held a concealed firearm permit issued in June 2022, valid for five years, as well as an expired private investigator license. He reportedly purchased the AR-15–style rifle legally in Nevada for approximately $500.

He had driven cross-country to New York, passing through Colorado and Colombia before arriving in Manhattan just hours before the attack. Police recovered his vehicle — bearing Nevada license plates — near the scene. A search revealed a rifle case, ammunition, a loaded revolver, additional magazines, a backpack, and prescription medication. The NYPD bomb squad cleared the vehicle of explosives but found a bloodied AR-15 inside.

Friends and former classmates from his high school days described Tamura as cheerful, humorous, and athletic.

“You never would have thought violence was something you’d associate with him,” Caleb Clarke, a former football teammate, told NBC News. “Shane was a jokester. Everything he said was a joke. He had a ton of energy.”

Another friend recalled Tamura as “the biggest goofball in the world.”

Victims and fallout

The NYPD confirmed the death of Officer Didarul Islam, who had served for three and a half years. Originally from Bangladesh, Islam was widely admired among his peers and leaves behind a pregnant wife and two young children.

“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,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams during a press briefing.

Three other civilians were killed, though their names had not been released as of Tuesday night. One more person remains in critical condition at a local hospital.

Patrick Henry, president of the city’s police officers’ union, condemned the attack. “Pure evil came to the heart of our city and struck innocent people and a police officer who was protecting those civilians,” he said.

As investigations continue, the city remains on edge, grappling with how a lone gunman could unleash such horror in one of New York’s most tightly controlled office districts.

(With inputs from AFP, NBC News and ANI)