NYPD says midtown Manhattan killer fired 47 rounds in rampage

The Las Vegas man whose shooting rampage at a midtown office tower killed an NYPD detective and three others fired 47 rounds, with more than 800 left behind in a vehicle parked outside, according to information disclosed by a police spokesman Thursday.

A forensic examination discovered a total of 24 spent shell casings on the 33rd Floor of the building at 345 Park Ave., as well as 15 bullet fragments, while police recovered 23 shell casings and 13 bullet fragments in the lobby, officials said.

A search of the BMW that Shane Tamura drove cross country and doubled parked Monday evening outside the building turned up the additional ammunition and a .357-caliber handgun, according to the NYPD.

A department spokesman couldn’t say if Tamura had reloaded his AR-15-style rifle during the shooting spree. A former NYPD chief who didn’t want to be named said the large number of spent shell casings indicated the shooter reloaded at least once as he shot his way through the building before killing himself on the 33rd floor.

Islam, in full NYPD uniform, was shot dead while on a paid police detail in the building lobby. He was promoted posthumously to detective 1st grade Thursday at his funeral Thursday by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Under published NYPD policy, Islam was earning $49 an hour for his paid detail, which officers are permitted to do while off-duty. The hourly wages are paid by the private vendor hiring the officers.

Meanwhile, two teams of NYPD detectives Thursday remained in Las Vegas, where Tamura had a small apartment, and have been talking to his family, neighbors and friends, said the spokesman. Detectives were also waiting to secure search warrants to get into Tamura’s laptop and his locker at the Horseshoe Casino where he worked as a security guard.

Police are still trying to piece together a timeline of the mass shooting, from the moment Tamura left Las Vegas until he shot himself to death. In suicide notes in his wallet, Tamura wrote that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, a degenerative brain condition that can result from the type of repeated violent hits to the head common in football.

Tamura, who played high school football, accused the National Football League of covering up the issue. The NFL has offices in the building but Tamura didn’t enter the league facilities, instead shooting his way through Rudin Management.

Tamura did play high school football. But it isn’t known if he suffered from CTE. The New York City medical examiner is expected to examine Tamura’s brain tissue, the only way CTE can be definitively diagnosed, medical experts have said.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.