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Remembering the victims of the Midtown office shooting
Families of some of the victims of the Midtown office shooting have begun the process of laying their loved ones to rest. FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt has more.
NEW YORK - A shooter in Midtown killed four people inside an office building’s lobby Monday night.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul will participate in a multi-faith vigil held in honor of the victims in the Bryant Park Fountain Terrace tonight, July 29, at 8 p.m.
Here’s what’s known about the victims:
Big picture view:
Three people were shot and killed in the building’s lobby, including an off-duty New York City police officer. A fourth victim was shot and killed on the 33rd floor.
NYPD Officer Didarul Islam
A three-and-a-half-year veteran of the department, Didarul Islam, was working as a paid security detail for Rudin Management Company when he was shot in the building’s lobby.
He was an immigrant from Bangladesh, a married father of two with a third child on the way, and lived in the Bronx. Mayor Eric Adams called him a "true blue New Yorker" who gave his life protecting others.
READ MORE: NYPD officer, 36, with pregnant wife, 2 kids killed in Midtown shooting
What they're saying:
"Officer Islam’s death was yet another reminder of everything you risk just by showing up to work," Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday. "He knew that risk. He embraced it. He understood what it meant to put the safety of others above his own."
Victims in the lobby
Shortly after Officer Islam was shot, a female civilian taking cover behind a pillar in the lobby was fatally struck.
The gunman then moved toward the front desk near the elevators and killed a security guard who was hiding behind it.
Blackstone employee Wesley LePatner
Dig deeper:
A message sent to Blackstone employees, and obtained by FOX 5 NY, said a staff member at the private equity firm was killed in Monday’s shooting, 43-year-old Wesley LePatner. A statement from the firm said she was married and had children.
She graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in history and served on the boards of several organizations, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the firm said. She joined the company in 2014 after working for more than a decade at Goldman Sachs, where she also handled real estate.
What they're saying:
"Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed. She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD," the Blackstone statement read.
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest investment firms.
LePatner’s family said their hearts were broken and asked that their privacy be respected as they mourn. They also offered condolences to other families who lost loved ones in the shooting.
"We cannot properly express the grief we feel upon the sudden and tragic loss of Wesley," they said in a statement. "She was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and relative, who enriched our lives in every way imaginable."
Author Bruce Feiler said in a Facebook post that he was shocked, saddened and furious over LePatner's death. He said they served together on a board at Yale.
"At 43, she was the most effortless and impressive person — you wanted to follow her wherever she went," he wrote. "A mentor to young women and generous friend to everyone who knew her, she was on the board of her children’s Jewish day school, recently joined the board of The Met, and just felt in every way like the kind of leader we all want and need in these unsettling times."
Union security guard Aland Etienne
Dig deeper:
A labor union identified to The Associated Press the security officer killed in the shooting as Aland Etienne. The Associated Press reported that New York state records show Etienne was licensed as an unarmed security guard since 2017 and has worked at btheudilding since 2019, with a prior stint in 2017.
What they're saying:
Manny Pastreich, president of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Tuesday to the Associated Press that Etienne's death "speaks to the sacrifice of security officers who risk their lives every day to keep New Yorkers and our buildings safe."
"Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated. Aland Etienne is a New York hero. We will remember him as such," Pastreich said.
His brother said the family was reeling from the shocking loss.
"He was more than a brother—he was a father, a son, and a light in our lives," Gathmand Etienne wrote on Facebook. "Our hearts are shattered, and we’re asking for your prayers and strength as we navigate this painful time."
Victims upstairs
What we know:
Once on the 33rd floor, which houses the offices of Rudin Management, one of the city’s largest real estate firms, the shooter shot and killed an office worker, Julie Hyman, before killing himself.
A fifth victim, a male employee of the NFL, whose offices are headquartered in the building, was also shot.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo to staff that an employee at the league's headquarters was seriously wounded but in stable condition at a hospital. He did not name the person. All other league workers were safe, Goodell said.
READ MORE: NFL employee 'seriously injured' in deadly mass shooting at league's NYC headquarters
What we don't know:
The identities of the Rudin employee and the NFL employee have not yet been released.
Manhattan shooting
Big picture view:
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that a gunman who killed four people at a Manhattan office building was trying to target the headquarters of the National Football League but took the wrong elevator.
The shooter has been identified by authorities as Shane Tamura, and police said that he had a history of mental illness, and a rambling note found on his body suggested he had a grievance against the NFL over an unsubstantiated claim that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
READ MORE: Who is Shane Tamura? What we know about the Midtown Manhattan shooting suspect
345 Park Avenue
Members of the NYPD crime scene unit place down evidence markers inside of the lobby area, photograph, gather and collect evidence at 345 Park Avenue following the mass shooting on July 29, 2025 (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Local perspective:
345 Park Avenue – better known to some as the Blackstone Building – is a 44-story tower home to several businesses, including financial firms like The Blackstone Group, Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and Capital Trust.
The global headquarters for the National Football League occupies the building’s fifth floor.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from the New York City Police, and previous FOX 5 WNYW reportings. Information from a labor union given to The Associated Press to identify one of the victims was also used.