New Yorkers gathered for a multi-faith prayer vigil at Bryant Park on Tuesday night time to honor the 4 individuals killed in Monday’s mass taking pictures at a Midtown workplace constructing. The occasion drew attendees from throughout town, together with state and metropolis officers, religion leaders, and neighborhood representatives.
The taking pictures occurred Monday night when a gunman, touring from Las Vegas, entered a Midtown skyscraper armed with an AR-15 model rifle. The shooter, Shane Tamura, killed 4 individuals, together with Police Officer Didarul Islam.
The assault shook many New Yorkers, together with Yesid Carvajal, a local of Cali, Colombia, who has lived within the metropolis for 33 years. He had been attending a poetry studying within the park when he seen organizers arrange the vigil. As soon as he noticed the flower preparations, he “knew it had to be from the killings from yesterday.”
Involved about rising emotions of insecurity within the metropolis, Carvajal stated he was drawn to the vigil to “listen to the leaders” and listen to firsthand what they needed to say concerning the tragedy.
“Lately, we have seen a lot of losses in security in our city and in some other places in this country,” stated Carvajal. “With this mass shooting, it’s about, according to the statistics, 254 mass shootings in this year only,” he continued.
“That’s not normal,” he added.
New Yorkers gathered for a multi-faith prayer vigil at Bryant Park on Tuesday night time to honor the 4 individuals killed in Monday’s mass taking pictures at a Midtown workplace constructing. The occasion drew attendees from throughout town, together with state and metropolis officers, religion leaders, and neighborhood representatives.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Pictures Workplace
Others in attendance echoed Carvajal’s concern. James McDougal, who has labored in a Brooklyn-based group addressing youth violence for 20 years, stated the taking pictures raised new issues about public security in Manhattan.
“This is pretty much new gun violence to this community,” stated McDougal, having handled gun violence in his Brooklyn neighborhood for 20 years.
Mass taking pictures prompts new name for federal gun legal guidelines
The character of the weapon used within the assault added to the priority. The shooter used a light-weight semi-automatic rifle—a kind of weapon banned in New York Metropolis—prompting many attendees to name for stronger gun laws.
“I think there should be legislation to restrict the use of these kinds of mass killing machines,” stated Carvajal. He added that weapons just like the AR-15 needs to be restricted to the army, “not to be used with the citizens.”
Pastor Everette Samuel, a Seventh Day Adventist and clergy engagement director for the 67th Precinct Clergy Council in Brooklyn, stated she was “appalled” by the shooter having the ability to stroll out of his automotive with a rifle in hand.
“What can we do to make our city safe today?” she requested. “Because that should never happen. You walked in with that [the rifle], right?”
A poster that includes NYPD Police Officer Didarul Islam is held up as individuals mourn throughout a vigil in Bryant Park on July 29, 2025, for the victims of the July 28 mass taking pictures at a Midtown Manhattan workplace tower.REUTERS/Ryan Murphy
Pastor Gilford Monrose, a religion advisor to Mayor Eric Adams who additionally participated within the vigil, emphasised the broader subject of unlawful weapons coming into town.
“We have a problem where we have illegal guns that are making it into our city,” Monrose stated.
New York State has among the strictest gun legal guidelines within the nation, together with a ban on assault weapons and a strengthened purple flag legislation. However Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Adams have acknowledged that these legal guidelines haven’t totally prevented gun violence, notably as a result of gun patrons can legally buy firearms in close by states with looser laws.
“Our laws only go so far when an AR-15 can be obtained in a state with weak gun laws and brought into New York to commit mass murder,” Hochul stated in a press release Tuesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul addresses the gang on the vigil as Mayor Eric Adams appears on.Picture by Ramy Mahmoud
On the vigil, each Hochul and Adams renewed their requires federal laws to cease the movement of assault weapons and deal with interstate gun trafficking.
“It’s time to turn the corner of a society where automatic weapons are as easy to get as a cell phone,” Adams stated.
Nonetheless, not everybody on the vigil expressed confidence within the prospect of nationwide coverage change. McDougal, who has spent years engaged on gun violence points, voiced skepticism concerning the chance of federal motion.
“Let’s change policy in D.C., which I don’t think is going to happen,” he stated.
Retaining the religion in New York
Regardless of his doubts, McDougal stays cautiously hopeful. “Hopefully it gets better,” he added.
For him, the vigil provided greater than a second of remembrance—it was a strategy to convey individuals collectively. He known as it “a good shot—it’s a start.” Whereas he believes coverage change is important, he pressured that addressing gun violence additionally requires one thing extra private.
“I want to see us respect one another,” McDougal stated. “That helps a lot.”
Folks mourn throughout a vigil in Bryant Park on Tuesday night time for the victims of the July 28 mass taking pictures at a Midtown Manhattan workplace tower.REUTERS/Ryan Murphy
Mayor Adams urged town’s numerous religion neighborhood to supply religious assist within the aftermath.
“New York is not a person who drives across the coast and comes here and commits this act of violence,” stated the mayor. “We are New York, different faiths and beliefs, different houses of worship.”
Constructing on that decision for unity, Hochul shared a second from earlier within the day, recounting her dialog with Officer Islam’s mom, who had requested merely, “Pray for us.”
The vigil offered an area for neighborhood therapeutic and reflection. Attendees described the gathering as a mandatory second to return collectively in mourning and solidarity. Carvajal stated it was “constructive” and allowed individuals to specific their grief collectively in a second of disaster.
“I like to live the civic life of the city and not be a passive witness to what is going on,” he stated, including that he sees worth in attending occasions just like the vigil to have interaction with the neighborhood and search for methods to assist.
Samuel stated the vary of religion leaders current made the occasion really feel inclusive and united. “Unity with everyone,” she stated, including that “whatever affects one person impacts the whole community.”
“We just want to show the world that there is strength in unity,” stated Samuel. “We are stronger together.”
