Julia Hyman, a 27-year-old Cornell University graduate, was among the four people killed in a mass shooting at a Manhattan office building Monday after the gunman allegedly entered the wrong elevator and opened fire on the wrong floor, according to officials.
Hyman had been working as an associate at Rudin Management on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue when the gunman, Shane Devon Tamura, 27, began his rampage. She had joined the company nine months earlier.
Law enforcement sources told PEOPLE that Tamura appeared to be targeting the National Football League’s offices — also located in the building — but mistakenly took an elevator bank that didn’t access the NFL’s floor. Instead, it led him to Rudin Management’s offices.
“In our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press briefing. “Instead, it took him to Rudin Management, and that is where he carried out additional shootings.”
Tamura fatally shot Hyman and three others before turning the gun on himself. He left behind a three-page letter referencing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain condition linked to repeated head trauma in football players. Adams said Tamura expressed anger toward the NFL and requested to be examined for CTE after death.
Originally from New York, Hyman had graduated from Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration in 2020. She made the Dean’s List in six of her eight semesters, and was remembered by Dean Kate Walsh as “an extraordinary student whose academic achievements and intellectual curiosity made a lasting impression.”
In addition to Hyman, the victims included NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, 36 — a father of two who was working an off-duty security job in the lobby — Wesley LePatner, a senior executive at Blackstone and mother of two, and building security guard Aland Etienne, whose union described him as a “New York hero.”
Tamura had reportedly driven from Las Vegas to New York City and arrived at the building with an assault rifle. After parking his black BMW outside, he entered the building and began shooting.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Tamura had a known mental health history but still held a valid Nevada gun permit. Police recovered additional firearms and ammunition from his car, including a rifle case, loaded revolver, and extra magazines.
Several others were injured during the attack, mostly while fleeing the building.
Authorities continue to investigate Tamura’s motives and background.
