Chilling images of the New York shooting suspect walking towards a Manhattan office block armed with an assault rifle indicate that he had no intention of surviving the killing spree, former FBI chief Andrew McCabe has said. The man killed an off-duty New York City police officer and three other people before taking his own life on Monday, according to officials.
And speaking to CNN, Mr McCabe commented on footage showing the individual, wearing a grey suit and dark glasses, casually sauntering towards the building in broad daylight, holding the powerful weapon as he does so. He said: “Those pictures almost speak to the shooter to some extent, somebody who has the gall, the nerve, to arm themselves with that weapon and display it so boldly and walk across that plaza…seemingly without a care in the world.
“That’s someone who is going into that building, likely not expecting to ever get back out. Someone who is absolutely intent and focused on what they are going to do, and that is bringing a horrific level of violence to a workplace in New York City.”
Law enforcement officials are working to unravel what took place and why this location may have been targeted in a city that had recently announced it was on pace to have its fewest people hurt by gunfire in decades.
The man exited a double-parked BMW with an M4 rifle and walked toward the building on Monday evening, according to surveillance video. He quickly opened fire on the NYPD officer as he entered the building, before shooting a woman who tried to take cover, police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Monday night. He then started “spraying” the lobby with gunfire.
The man went to the elevator bank and shot a security guard who was taking cover behind a security desk, along with another man in the lobby, Ms Tisch said.
He then took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where a real estate management company is based. One person was shot and killed on that floor. The gunman then walked down a hallway and shot himself, she added.
Police identified the shooter as Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, although his motive and reasons for targeting the building were not immediately clear. Tamura had a “documented mental health history,” according to Ms Tisch.
His vehicle had travelled across the US, passing through Colorado on July 26, and Nebraska and Iowa on July 27. It arrived in Columbia, New Jersey, as recently as Monday afternoon, before making it to New York City. Officers found a rifle case, a revolver, magazines and ammunition in his car.
No one answered the door at the address listed for Tamura in Las Vegas.
Among the victims was Didarul Islam, 36, who had served as a police officer in New York City for three and a half years. He was an immigrant from Bangladesh. Islam was married and had two young boys, Ms Tisch said. His wife is pregnant with their third child.
The names of the other victims, along with a man who was seriously wounded and remains in critical condition, have not yet been released.
The shooting took place at 345 Park Avenue, a commercial office building in a busy area of midtown, just a short walk north from Grand Central Terminal and about a block east of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The building houses offices for companies, including the NFL and real estate company Rudin, as well as finance companies KPMG and Blackstone. It also includes the consulate general of Ireland.