Four killed in Manhattan shooting; gunman dies by suicide

(Reuters): A gunman opened fire on Monday inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper housing NFL headquarters and offices of several financial firms, including Blackstone, killing four people before fatally shooting himself, New York City officials said.

One of the four victims slain in the gun violence was a 36-year-old New York Police Department officer who had been on the force for about 3 1/2 years. The three others killed by the suspect were civilians.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the gunman, who resided in Las Vegas and drove cross-country to New York in recent days, fatally shot himself in the chest at the end of his shooting spree.

Tisch said the gunman was believed to have acted alone, and investigators had yet to determine a possible motive for the shooting.

A photo of the suspect that CNN said was shared by police, showing a gunman walking into the building carrying a rifle, was published by a number of major news media outlets. Preliminary checks of the suspect's background did not show a significant criminal history, the report added, citing officials.

The skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue houses offices of a number of financial institutions, including Blackstone and KPMG, along with the NFL headquarters.

A large police presence converged on the area around the tower, according to Reuters journalists near the scene.

“I just saw a lot of commotion and cops and people screaming,” said Russ McGee, a 31-year-old sports bettor who was working out in a gym adjacent to the skyscraper, told Reuters in an interview near the scene.

The FBI said agents from its New York field office were also responding to provide support at the scene.

The New York police officer killed in a mass shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday was described by the city's mayor and police commissioner as a heroic Bangladeshi immigrant who saved lives while "putting his life on the line."

A gunman opened fire on Monday inside a midtown office tower, killing four people, including Officer Didarul Islam, 36, before fatally shooting himself, officials said.

"We lost four souls to another senseless act of gun violence, including a member of the New York City Police Department, Officer Islam," New York Mayor Eric Adams told reporters in a press conference late on Monday.

Adams said the officer was a three and a half year veteran of the police department.

"He was saving lives, he was protecting New Yorkers," Adams said. "He loved this city, and everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith and a person who believed in God."

Adams said he met the officer's family on Monday night.

"I told them that he was a hero, and we admire him for putting his life on the line," the mayor added.

Islam was married, had two young sons, and his wife is pregnant with a third child, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in the press conference.

"He put himself in harm's way. He made the ultimate sacrifice — shot in cold blood," she said.

Islam was working on a paid security detail in the building when the shooting occurred, the commissioner added.

Such details allow "companies to hire officers in uniform to provide extra uniform security," she said.

Excluding Islam, 42 federal, state, county, municipal, military, and US territories officers have died in the line of duty in the first half of 2025, according to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.