(NewsNation) — Just 24 hours after the shooting in New York City that left four people dead, the NYPD and the city are trying to wrap their heads around such a horrible tragedy.
John Chell, chief of department of the NYPD, joined “CUOMO” on Tuesday to talk about the tense moments his officers dealt with as they ran into a building to confront the gunman.
“This is an active shooter,” said Chell. “These things happen fast. We’re talking 45 minutes from start to finish.
“And what we had to deal with out in the street was people running out of the building. I had a car double-parked, running, with weapons and possible bombs.
“I had cops in a 44-story building trying to clear this. I had cops in the lobby rendering aid. I had gunshots going off. This is not normal. This was tragic and this was a long night.”
The gunman, Shane Tamura, double-parked his BMW on Park Avenue, and, carrying an assault rifle, headed toward 345 Park Avenue.
Tamura made his way to the elevator bank and shot a security guard who was taking cover behind a security desk and shot another man in the lobby, then took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where one person was shot and killed on the floor.
Chell, who’s been with the NYPD for almost 32 years, is struggling to understand Tamura just walking around with an automatic weapon and looking to harm others.
“Someone with an AR-15 intent on killing anything he saw last night, that’s hard to deal with,” he said.
“And then to walk to that crime scene last night and go upstairs. In all my years of doing this, that was very tough. And if it’s tough on me, I can imagine that’s tough on the lower ranks below me, who don’t have the experience.”
One of the victims killed was an NYPD officer, Didarul Islam, whom Chell pointed out was doing exactly what the job entails: to protect and serve as part of a noble calling.
“We just got to come to come to work, do the job the best we can, protect the city, take care of our families, and just be like a New Yorker like everybody, like Officer Islam was,” said Chell.
“A community man. Father from Bangladesh. He was working last night in uniform to make some extra money to support his family, and the nobility of doing that while having to protect people in that building. Tell me another story that rises above that.”