On Monday afternoon, Sebije Nelovic, a cleaner at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, started her day by day sweep of the glassy high-rise constructing the place she has labored for 27 years.
Two hours into her shift, as she was at work on the Thirty third ground, got here the sound of gunshots.
In a prolonged assertion shared by the 32BJ Service Workers Worldwide Union on Thursday, 65-year-old Nelovic described coming face-to-face with Shane Devon Tamura, the 27-year-old gunman who authorities say entered the workplace tower shortly earlier than 6:30 p.m., armed with a high-powered AR-15-style rifle, and killed 4 folks, together with an off-duty New York Metropolis police officer.
Police and others collect at against the law scene in midtown Manhattan after two folks, together with a police officer, had been shot inside an workplace constructing on July 28, 2025 in New York Metropolis.
Spencer Platt/Getty Photos
When Nelovic heard the sound of the gunshots on the Thirty third ground, she stated she left the workplace she was cleansing and turned the nook the place she might see the glass door by the reception desk.
“All of a sudden, the glass door was shaking. It began falling down – growth. And this man got here in the course of the door, and pointed his gun at me,” she stated within the assertion. “He began capturing round me. I put my palms up and stated, ‘I am a cleansing girl. I am a cleansing girl.'”
Then Nelovic ran, she stated within the assertion. She discovered a closet and locked herself inside.
Law enforcement officials and emergency autos are seen in a road as police reply to a capturing incident within the Midtown Manhattan, July 28, 2025.
John Lamparski/AFP by way of Getty Photos
“I began praying,” she stated, as she heard the capturing proceed. “He shot the door to the closet, and I used to be so scared.”
Whereas hiding within the closet, Nelovic stated she texted along with her supervisor, however then, afraid that any noise might give away her place, she powered off her cellphone. For 2 to a few lengthy hours, she stated she sat in silence and prayed.
When the gunfire lastly ceased, Nelovic stated she considered Julia Hyman, the 27-year-old affiliate at Rudin Administration, who she knew was scheduled to be at her desk that night on the Thirty third ground.
Afterward Monday night time, Nelovic returned to her Queens residence, and surrounded by household, she turned on the tv.
“I needed to see what occurred and why,” she stated. “That is how I discovered about Julia.”
Police stated Hyman was the final particular person Kamura shot and killed earlier than taking his personal life.
Investigators say they’re persevering with to search for a motive, however New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams stated it seems Tamura, a former highschool soccer participant, was making an attempt to focus on the headquarters of the Nationwide Soccer League, situated within the 345 Park Ave. constructing however took the fallacious elevator and ended up within the Thirty third-floor workplace of Rudin Administration.
In a word present in Tamura’s pocket within the aftermath of the assault, the suspect claimed he suffered from continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a illness linked to repeated hits to the pinnacle, usually seen in army veterans and athletes, together with soccer gamers, hockey gamers and boxers, sources advised ABC Information. Within the word, Tamura requested that his mind be studied, sources stated.
It stays unknown if Tamura suffered from CTE, which might’t be recognized in a residing particular person with certainty, although medical doctors might suspect it based mostly on signs and a historical past of head trauma.
