🔥 The Incident: What Happened at 345 Park Avenue
On the evening of Monday, July 28, 2025, Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas, entered the lobby of a 44-story office building at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Armed with an M4 rifle, Tamura allegedly intended to target the NFL headquarters, which are housed in the same building.
Surveillance footage and witness accounts indicate he exited a BMW, entered the building armed, and opened fire in the lobby. He then took an elevator to the 33rd floor, where he walked through the hallway and fired additional rounds before fatally shooting himself The Times of India+15The Times+15ABC News+15CBS News.
🧍♀️ Victim Spotlight: Wesley LePatner
Professional Achievements
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Wesley LePatner, 43, was a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and served as the global head of Core+ Real Estate and CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) Instagram+7Business Insider+7ABC News+7.
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A former Goldman Sachs executive, she joined Blackstone in 2014 and was widely regarded as a real estate investment innovator Business InsiderYale Daily NewsBarron’s.
Education & Community Involvement
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LePatner graduated summa cum laude from Yale University (Class of 2003) with a B.A. in History; she was also Phi Beta Kappa .
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She served on several boards: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, UJA-Federation of New York, Abraham Joshua Heschel School, and Yale University Library Council .
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Honored with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award in 2023 for her commitment to community and leadership in business .
Personal Life
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She was a devoted wife and mother of two children, aged about 12 and 14 .
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Her husband, Evan LePatner ’03 (Yale alum), shared a lifelong bond from their college days .
Heroic and Kind Legacy
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Colleagues described her as “brilliant, passionate, warm, generous” and a true mentor, especially advocating for women in finance through her role as chair of Blackstone’s Women’s Initiative .
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The Met and other institutions remembered her as a visionary leader with a “generous spirit and deep intellect” .
LePatner was shot in the lobby, reportedly while trying to hide behind a pillar, and tragically killed during the attacker’s first wave of violence in the building .
🕯 Other Victims Killed
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Didarul Islam
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A 36-year-old NYPD officer, working private security through a departmental detail. He was a Bangladeshi immigrant, married with two sons and a third child on the way .
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Islam was killed at the very start of the rampage, making the ultimate sacrifice in service to the city .
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Aland Etienne
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A security guard employed by McLane Security Inc. and represented by 32BJ SEIU, working in the lobby when he was fatally shot .
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Julia Hyman
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A Cornell University graduate (2020) and associate at Rudin Management, based on the 33rd floor. She was killed there before the shooter committed suicide .
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A fifth individual—an NFL finance department employee—survived with serious injuries and is in stable condition .
🔍 The Suspect: Shane D. Tamura
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27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, formerly a security guard in Las Vegas and ex–high school football player, drove cross-country to New York with the intent to strike NFL offices, citing anger over CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and blaming the league in a note discovered on him .
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He used an AR‑15-style rifle, reportedly assembled from parts purchased through an associate in Las Vegas. He fired first in the lobby and subsequently on the 33rd floor before shooting himself .
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Police believe he entered the wrong elevator bank, which led to his unintended path and victims .
💔 Aftermath & Reactions
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Blackstone issued a statement calling LePatner a beloved pillar of the company, praising her warmth, professionalism, and mentorship legacy .
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Statements from The Met, UJA, and the Heschel School highlighted her intellectual curiosity, community-building spirit, and generosity in service and art institutions .
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New York leaders—including Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and NYPD officials—praised Didarul Islam as a hero and underscored the city’s grief and resolve to prevent future violence .
🕰 Why This Matters Now
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This is one of the rare mass shootings in Manhattan in decades, highlighting gaps in workplace and public building security, mental health warning response, and gun control enforcement .
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The targeting of the NFL—even if misdirected—calls attention to the ongoing physical and psychological consequences of sports-related brain injuries, especially as CTE becomes more studied and controversial .
💬 Final Thoughts
Wesley LePatner’s death is a devastating blow to her family—her husband and two children—as well as to the communities she inspired and served. She represented the heights of professional success, philanthropy, and positive leadership, especially as a woman in finance breaking barriers and paying it forward.
Her legacy lives on through the lives she touched: her colleagues, mentees, friends in cultural institutions, and the nonprofit and Jewish communities she supported. As we mourn this tragic loss, her story also reminds us of how random injustice can strike anyone and how communities can unite in grief and resolve.
