Positioned at 325 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, St. Bartholomew’s Church, or St. Bart’s NYC, sits simply throughout the road from 345 Park Avenue. The 44-story skyscraper grew to become the location of a mass taking pictures on the busy night of July 28, claiming the lives of 4 individuals, together with a police officer.
In line with the New York Metropolis Police Division, a fifth sufferer was critically injured.
“So far as we at present know, all these linked with St. Bart’s are protected,” the Rev. Peter Thompson, vicar and interim rector of St. Bart’s, stated in an announcement posted on social media shortly earlier than midnight on July 28.
“Our workers was in touch with the New York Police Division because the incident unfolded and instantly took steps to make sure the security of those that have been current on our premises,” he added.
At a information convention, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated the suspect is a 27-year-old Nevada resident with a documented historical past of psychological sickness. Shane Tamura traveled throughout the nation, double-parked his automobile close to 345 Park Avenue, and entered the constructing round 6:28 p.m., carrying an M4 rifle.
He opened fireplace at an NYPD officer earlier than spraying the foyer with gunfire. Tamura then took the elevator to the thirty third flooring, the place the workplaces of RUDIN Administration, which owns the property, are positioned. There, he fatally shot a girl earlier than continuing right into a hallway and turning the gun on himself.
Police reported an extra 4 victims are being handled for minor accidents they sustained whereas trying to flee.
“We all know that incidents just like the one we witnessed this night could cause unbelievable misery, each for these immediately affected and people who are extra not directly impacted,” Thompson stated in his assertion. He added that St. Bart’s clergy can be out there on July 29 “for anybody who would possibly want a listening ear.” A service of Holy Eucharist is scheduled on the parish at 12:05 p.m. the identical day.
Mayor Eric Adams recognized the police officer killed within the taking pictures as 36-year-old Didarul Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh. Authorities stated he had been with the NYPD for simply over three years and is survived by his pregnant spouse and two kids.
The suspect’s motive stays unknown. The constructing homes the workplaces of the Nationwide Soccer League. In line with a report by CNN, Tamura is a former aggressive soccer participant who had expressed grievances in regards to the NFL.
Based in 1835, St. Bart’s started its life as a part of the Evangelical motion within the Episcopal Church. The parish moved to its present location on Park Avenue between fiftieth and 51st streets in 1918.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Residing Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has additionally appeared in Christianity Right now, Broadview Journal, and Presbyterian Outlook, amongst different publications.
