Following Monday’s mass shooting inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper that left four people dead, including a New York City police officer, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) rejected calls for additional gun control and instead called for “more idiot control” and a return to the stop-and-frisk policing strategy, as reported [1] by the New York Post.
The shooting occurred at 345 Park Avenue, home to the offices of Blackstone and the NFL, just after 6:30 p.m. Authorities identified the gunman as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas resident.
Nope. He has been identified as Shane Devon Temura pic.twitter.com/hVYgb7I3tF [2]
— klogan (@klogan19800) July 29, 2025 [3]
Armed with an M4 rifle, Tamura opened fire in the building’s lobby, fatally shooting Officer [4] Didarul Islam, a woman hiding behind a pillar, and a security guard before continuing to the 33rd floor and killing one more victim.
He then turned the gun on himself. One additional victim survived with critical injuries.
Suspect left note at shooting scene voicing anger that his mental illness may be linked to his having played football – numerous officials said.
https://t.co/MbjFAD0svF [5]— jonathan dienst (@jonathan4ny) July 29, 2025 [6]
Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity shortly after the attack, Kennedy anticipated renewed calls for stricter gun laws and dismissed the notion.
“On Capitol Hill, probably beginning in the morning, there’ll be the inevitable call by some of my colleagues for more gun control laws,” Kennedy said.
“We’ve got hundreds of gun control laws, Sean. Maybe thousands. We don’t need more gun control, we need more idiot control, and I don’t know exactly how to do that.”
SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY IS RIGHT: “We don’t need more gun control. We need more idiot control.”pic.twitter.com/fpQ9kUiJ86 [7]
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) July 29, 2025 [8]
Kennedy added, “I don’t want to hear anyone feeling sorry for this guy who did this. I believe there’s objective evil in this world, and we saw it today. I’m just sorry.”
The senator also suggested New York City revisit the stop-and-frisk policy, a practice that has been controversial in recent years but was once credited with reducing violent crime.
“The other thing that, frankly, New York’s going to have to face, is the issue of whether we should bring back more aggressive stop and frisk, which is a perfectly legal law enforcement tactic,” Kennedy said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch provided a detailed timeline of the incident, which unfolded in under 90 minutes. She confirmed the scene was secured and the shooter neutralized by 7:52 p.m.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) issued a statement describing the incident as “tragic and horrifying.”
“The murder of a brave New York City police officer and several innocent civilians is tragic and horrifying,” Jeffries said.
“Mass shootings are a plague. The gun violence epidemic continues to afflict our country and now has shattered lives in our great City. The time has come for decisive action.”
No additional details were released regarding Tamura’s motive [9], though police confirmed he acted alone.