NYC Mayor & Police Chief Reveal Details of Deadly Manhattan Tower Shooting

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch reveal details about the shooting after a gunman killed at least four people and himself at an office tower that houses Blackstone Inc., Rudin Management, the National Football League and KPMG among others, sparking hours of chaos and fear in Midtown Manhattan on Monday evening.

A police officer was among the dead in the attack at 345 Park Ave., according to city officials. A Blackstone employee also died, according to a person briefed on the matter. Several other people were injured.

The suspected gunman’s body was found on the 33rd floor, which is occupied by Rudin, a 100-year old real estate firm that owns major office buildings in the city. Blackstone staffers work just below, where they pushed furniture in front of doors to barricade themselves in during the attack.

The shooting shut down a large stretch of Midtown Manhattan and drove employees at several nearby firms — including hedge fund Citadel and investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. — to go into lockdown. Park Avenue now houses more major financial firms than actual Wall Street, with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s massive new headquarters a few blocks south of Blackstone’s base.

Videos from inside the tower showed people huddled in cramped rooms, some crying in fear, and workers leaving with their hands in the air as police cleared floors. Blackstone employees described sharing and receiving conflicting information on what was happening, while some scrambled to barricade doors and entry points.

Workers streamed out of 345 Park Avenue to a chaotic scene of flashing police cars. One was crying and embracing another. Meanwhile, Blackstone sent staff a flurry of texts asking them to confirm they were safe.

A Blackstone employee was among those killed, according to a person briefed on the matter. The company is the world’s largest private markets firm, with more than $1.2 trillion in assets under management and roughly 5,000 employees.

One Blackstone employee shared a photo that showed couches piled close to the ceiling as a barricade. Two of the firm’s employees told friends they were hiding in the office pantries, according to people who received the messages. When they got the all-clear sign, some refused to leave spaces where they had barricaded themselves, petrified that they were still in danger.

Blackstone declined to comment while awaiting further details on the status of employees. Representatives for the NFL and Rudin, a 100-year old real estate firm that owns major office buildings in the city, had no immediate comment or didn’t respond to messages.

The slain police officer, Didarul Islam, was an immigrant from Bangladesh who had been on the job for three years, authorities said.

“He was a true blue New Yorker,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the briefing late Monday. “He was a hero, and we admire him for putting his life on the line.”

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