NYC Shooting Photo That Captured the Public’s Imagination

In every tragedy, certain images sear into the public’s memory. In Monday’s deadly shooting at a New York City office building, where a lone gunman killed four people, it’s a snapshot of couches and other furniture stacked against a door in Blackstone’s headquarters that stands out.

The photos circulating on popular Wall Street social media pages like Overheard on Wall Street depict a towering barricade of office chairs and couches stacked to the ceiling against a door — an ominous symbol of the danger outside.

The photos came from inside the offices of $1.3 trillion investment manager Blackstone, two people with direct knowledge of the events told Business Insider. They struck a nerve because they reflect the quick thinking that was unfolding inside, and which was verified by people who confirmed the photos.

They asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the tragic event.

One person with direct knowledge of the events said Blackstone employees moved quickly and worked together to pile up everything, including a refrigerator. Eventually, this person said, a SWAT team came to escort employees out of the building.

This person expressed pride in the employees, saying they have been showing support by calling each other individually to check in ever since.

A second person who confirmed the photos said Blackstone employees also barricaded themselves inside bathrooms, closets, and conference rooms. “It was a long day,” this person said, adding that some employees were hunkered down until past 10 p.m. as they waited for the authorities to clear the 44-floor building.

The lone shooter, who has been identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue. Police said he opened fire around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, killing a Blackstone executive, an executive from Rudin Management, as well as a security guard and NYPD officer in the lobby.

“Words cannot express the devastation we feel,” Blackstone said in a statement about Wesley LePatner, a real estate executive and mother of two children. “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,” the company said.

BI profiled LePatner in 2022 as a power player in Blackstone’s real estate team.

The office building also housed KPMG and the NFL, which police said was the shooter’s target. A spokesperson for Rudin Management said the building will remain closed as the authorities continue their investigation.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and lost last night, including our cherished Rudin colleague, a brave New York City police officer, a beloved lobby security guard and an employee at a tenant firm,” the firm added.