Financial firm Blackstone said it has lost “one of our most beloved colleagues” in Monday’s shooting at an office building in New York City.
Blackstone announced the death in a memo to staff, and later identified the victim as Wesley LePatner in a subsequent statement. Three other people were killed during the attack, including a New York Police Department officer. LePatner served as Global Head of Core+ Real Estate and the Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), according to Blackstone’s website.
“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. Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” Blackstone wrote in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
“She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD,” the statement continued.
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LePatner leaves behind her husband, Evan LePatner, and their two children. Fox News is told Wesley was an active member of the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. The couple received philanthropic awards from the synagogue as recently as 2019.
Wesley also served on the executive committee for the Heschel School, a Jewish Pre-K-12 school in Manhattan. She was also voted an elective trustee by the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in February.
Blackstone’s offices in Manhattan are closed through Tuesday, according to a report from the New York Times.
Police identified the shooter as Shane Tamura, 27. Tamura had a Las Vegas address and a vehicle registered to Nevada. Inside the vehicle, officers found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura.
“The initial investigation shows that Mr. Tamura’s vehicle traveled cross-country through Colorado on July 26th, then Nebraska and Iowa on July 27th, and then in Columbia, New Jersey as recently as 4:24 p.m. today,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday night.
“Tamura has a documented mental health history. His motives are still under investigation and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location. 345 Park Avenue is a commercial office building whose tenants include the NFL, Rudin Management, KPMG and Blackstone,” she added.
The NFL says one of its employees was “seriously injured” in the attack.
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Meanwhile, the NYPD identified its slain officer as Didarul Islam, saying he “represented the very best of our department.”
“He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today,” the department added in a post on X. “We join in prayer during this time of incomprehensible pain. We will forever honor his legacy.”
The 36-year-old had been on the force for four years before he was gunned down Monday evening. He was a married father to two young boys and his wife is pregnant with their third child, Tisch said.
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