A senior Blackstone executive was among the four victims fatally shot Monday evening when a gunman opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower, authorities confirmed.
Wesley LePatner, a married mother of two and senior managing director at Blackstone, was killed in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue after 37-year-old Shane Tamura stormed the building and began shooting. Blackstone confirmed her death in a statement Tuesday, saying, “We are heartbroken to share that our colleague, Wesley LePatner, was among those who lost their lives in the tragic incident at 345 Park Avenue.”
LePatner joined Blackstone in 2014 and served as global head of Core+ Real Estate and CEO of the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, which holds $53 billion in assets. A Yale graduate, she previously spent over a decade at Goldman Sachs and sat on the boards of several New York institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Tamura entered the building around 6:30 p.m. and shot NYPD officer Didarul Islam — a father of two with a third child on the way — before firing on others in the lobby, killing a woman hiding behind a pillar and a security guard at his desk. LePatner was one of the victims caught in the initial barrage. After sparing a woman in the elevator, Tamura rode to the 33rd floor — mistakenly bypassing the NFL offices on floors five through eight, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
He resumed shooting, killing one more person before fatally shooting himself. A note found on his body indicated grievances against the NFL and referenced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain condition linked to repeated head injuries. The note included an apology and requested his brain be studied, alleging the league “knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits.” He also referenced former NFL player Terry Long, who was diagnosed with CTE and died by suicide in 2005.
