Morning Coffee: Blackstone shooting: hiding in pantries, barricading doors. Citi's top banker is leaving

Last night's events at Blackstone's New York office were the kind of thing that security teams spend years preparing for. Faced with a 27 year-old armed with an M4 assault rifle, though, security at Blackstone's head office disintegrated. Four people were killed at 345 Park Avenue, including a Blackstone employee, a security guard, an employee of building landlord Rudin Management, and an off duty police officer, Didarul Islam.

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Bloomberg reports that employees at Citadel and Jefferies' offices, which are nearby, went into lockdown as a result. At Citadel, employees were locked in until 9pm listening to the police scanner.

The shootings began at 6.30pm. Photos show Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas man with mental health issues, walking into 345 Park Avenue with a large rifle. The New York Post reports that he opened fire and killed a woman behind a pillar before killing a security guard. The WSJ reports that a Blackstone employee was shot in the lobby.  Tamura then took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where Rudin Management is based, and where he shot himself in the chest.  

Photos on social media show Blackstone employees piling couches up against a door. Bloomberg reports that videos inside the tower show people crying in fear and huddled in cramped spaces. Two Blackstone employees said they hid in the pantry. Some refused to leave their barricades when the all clear was called. 

The WSJ says several Blackstone employees needed hospital treatment. Late yesterday, Blackstone President Jon Gray and Chief Executive Steve Schwarzman sent employees a note describing what occurred as “unimaginable” and the “worst day in the firm’s history.” Writing on LinkedIn, Karim Al Mansour, a managing director in Blackstone's London global macro team, said he would be willing to pay for the education of Didarul Islam's children.

Blackstone doesn't appear to have been the target of Tamura's attack. 345 Park Avenue also houses the national football league (NFL) and Tamura's suicide note reportedly included a complaint that the NFL improperly handles head injuries caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Photos from inside the Blackstone office on 32nd floor of 345 Park Ave. 

Employees pushed furniture in front of doors to barricade themselves in during the attack.

The gunman was later found dead on the 33rd floor (also occupied by Blackstone) after taking his own life. pic.twitter.com/UONJOGYP6F

— Overheard on Wall Street (@OHWallStreet) July 29, 2025

Separately, Financial News reports that Philip Drury, one of Citi's top bankers and a former head of capital markets and advisory for EMEA, is leaving after nearly three decades. Drury was latterly Citi's head of TMT banking, based in San Francisco. He's leaving to join poolside, an AI start-up and says he is "captivated" by its mission.

Meanwhile...

Zion Glover, the burned out Goldman Sachs analyst, has a GoFundMe to help clear his rent arrears. (GoFundMe) 

Deutsche Bank's leveraged finance business has shrivelled. This year it's worked on 3.6% of deals globally, down from 9% in 2014. It's lost senior staff including Ludovic Ingelaere, Alexandra Barth and Celine Catherin, Anastasia Chernetskaya, Brad Dunkin and Greg Driscoll. (Bloomberg) 

2,770 UK private equity executives reported £3.3bn of carried interest gains last year, resulting in tax liabilities of £871m. (Financial Times) 

Wells Fargo is proud to have cut headcount for 20 consecutive quarters. The bank is using attrition “as our friend,” says CEO Charlie Scharf. Headcount has fallen every quarter over the past five years—by a total of 23%. (WSJ) 

QRT is combining to hedge funds after one lost 10% through to July. It gained 45% in 2022, 8% in 2023 and 31% last year. (Bloomberg) 

A tale of two millennials who did and didn't have family money but who earned the same amount. (Substack)

Life as a ladder of ever-increasing wealth. Level 1=no wealth. Level 2, $10,000 to $100,000, =“Grocery freedom” because “you can buy what you want at the grocery store without worrying about your finances.” Level 3, $100,000 to $1 million= “Restaurant freedom” because you can order what you want when you dine out. Level 4 $1 million to $10 million= you can travel wherever you want. Level 5= $10 million to $100 million, means you can afford the home of your dreams. (WSJ)

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