Cornell Grad Killed in N.Y.C. Skyscraper Shooting Was Shot After Stepping Out of Panic Room By Christina Coulter

On the 33rd floor of a Midtown Manhattan office tower, Julia Hyman was killed just moments after stepping out of hiding, when the gunman turned to her and opened fire.

Hyman, a 27-year-old Cornell graduate, had been working late at Rudin Management’s offices inside 345 Park Avenue on July 28 when Tamura, 27, mistakenly got off the elevator on the wrong floor — intending to target the NFL’s headquarters several levels below.

According to ABC 7 New York, Hyman had fled into a fortified panic room concealed inside a bathroom. After a brief pause in the gunfire, she stepped out, possibly to see whether the coast was clear. 

Surveillance footage obtained by the outlet shows Tamura changing direction, seeing her, and immediately shooting her. She collapsed nearby.

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“She was a hard worker. That’s what they said,” 62-year-old Siva Subramaniam, the father of Julia’s best friend from college, told The New York Post. “She was first in, last out.”

Tamura also fatally shot NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, 36, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, 43, and building security guard Aland Etienne, 46, before shooting himself in the chest.

A 41-year-old NFL employee was shot but survived.

Detectives are continuing to investigate Tamura’s movements in the days leading up to the attack, including weapon purchases and travel from Nevada to New York.