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NYPD Officer Among Four People Killed in Manhattan Shooting; Israel Says, 52 Aid Packages Dropped into Gaza Today; New Report Shows Consumer Confidence Up 2 Percent. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 29, 2025 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[10:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, a shocking shooting. Investigators are now piecing together why a gunman opened fire in a Manhattan sky-rise killing four people, including this 36-year-old New York City police officer. We will bring you all the latest developments.

Plus, a desperate situation, new video shows Palestinians swarming aid trucks as the food crisis in Gaza grows more dire by the day. Two leading Israeli human rights groups are now accusing Israel of genocide. Israel's Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter will be joining me live.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off today, and you're in The Situation Room.

And we begin this hour with the breaking news on the deadliest shooting in New York City in 25 years. Police say the gunman killed four people before killing himself. A security camera captures the 27- year-old Shane Tamura as he approaches a Park Avenue high-rise with an M4 assault-style rifle. Police say he opened fire inside the lobby, got into an elevator bank. And then went to the 33rd floor where he opened fire again.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's when I heard all these loud bangs, no idea what it was. I turned around, I thought like the ceiling was going to collapse or something. I turned around, all these people were like running.

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BLITZER: The building houses, corporate offices of the NFL and a source says the killer had a suicide note voicing grievances with the league. The gunman had a history of mental illness and also claimed to suffer from CTE, a brain disease linked to head trauma. It could only be diagnosed after death.

Among the dead, the 3.5-year old veteran of the New York City Police Department who was working off duty security. He had two young sons and his wife is pregnant. Officials honored him by lining the streets outside of Manhattan Hospital as his body was transferred. Here's New York City's Mayor Eric Adams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: He was saving lives, he was protecting New Yorkers. He's an immigrant from Bangladesh and he loved this city and everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Omar Jimenez is outside the building in Manhattan where all this happened. Omar, what more are you learning?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've heard from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who says he believes that the NFL may have been targeted in this shooting, at least according to preliminary investigative findings. But that's all part of what police are now piecing through to figure out what exactly motivated this person to do this.

I want to show you a little bit of what we're seeing this morning. You can see the flags just behind me. This is the building where it happened, but the flag down at half staff, because, as you spoke about, one of the people killed in this shooting was a New York City police officer.

But as we understand, the suspect, the shooter drove from the Las Vegas area here to New York City and then got to this block just behind me, walked right up to the lobby of this building, armed with that rifle, and just started shooting. And actually this morning when we were walking over there, you can actually still see this morning remnants of cracked window panes of what appeared to be impact points at various portions of the glass leading into the lobby.

But the suspect walked, or the shooter walked into the lobby, started shooting. That is where he killed at least three people in that lobby before heading to an elevator bank, going up to the 33rd floor and killing another person.

But I want you to listen to New York City Mayor Eric Adams on what he says they are finding in regards to the elevator bank that this shooter took.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAMS: From our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters. Instead, it took him to Rudin Management, and that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.

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JIMENEZ: And, again, no matter the elevator still ended up taking the life of someone else before turning the gun on himself. [10:05:05]

At least four killed in this shooting, the deadliest here in New York City in 25 years. Wolf?

BLITZER: Omar, there was one shooting victim who actually survived. What can you tell us?

JIMENEZ: Yes. So, the shooting victim that survived here, what is an NFL employee, is expected to be okay. The NFL -- Roger Goodell put out a memo to his staff talking about this person, saying that there is going to be increased security at this location in the weeks and months to come.

I should also mention in regard to those killed, you spoke about the police officer, Didarul Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, father of two, family expecting a third was working off duty here, security detail, a New York City police officer. But we're also learning more about another person killed, Wesley LePatner, an executive at Blackstone, which also has offices here, and a statement put out by the company who describes her as brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, deeply respected.

This is how people are going to be reflecting on loved ones, on coworkers, on people that they lost in the shooting that unfolded during the rush hour moments last evening and the days and weeks to come. So, while an investigation goes on, people continue to mourn and they move forward to figure out, again, why this may have happened.

BLITZER: And our hearts go out to those families, for sure. Omar, thank you very much, Omar Jimenez, on the scene for us in Manhattan.

Joining us now, CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller, he served as deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism of the New York City Police Department. John, thanks so much for joining us.

The gunman, as you know, had a history of mental health issues, a concealed weapon permit from Nevada, and a grievance with the NFL. What more are you learning about the note found in his pocket?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the notes found in his pocket found on his body after he died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, talked about CTE, a brain disease, which is based on multiple concussions or head trauma that has become a real controversy within the world of football and the NFL, with over 300 players who have been diagnosed with CTE in connection with their death.

But what he wrote was, study my brain, please. I'm sorry. Tell Rick I'm sorry. Then he has references to Terry Long, an NFL player who committed suicide because of his suffering from CTE in 2005. And he talks about the league knowing the effects of CTE and concealing it.

This controversy has gone on before. The NFL has programs to address this but it has still been a controversy and they have denied any allegations about ignoring it. But that apparently, at least in his mind, is what brought him to that building.

BLITZER: Officers, John, they say they found a loaded revolver and ammunition in his vehicle, which had been double parked on Park Avenue just outside the building, which, of course, causes a lot of stir in Manhattan, see a car double parked like that on a busy street like Park Avenue, right outside that high-rise. What stand out stands out to you about what they also found inside his car?

MILLER: Well, he had additional loaded magazines for the M4 rifle that he carried inside. When he entered the building, that M4 rifle had a fully loaded 30-round magazine attached to it. So, it appears that when he packed up for this trip from Las Vegas he wanted to have maximum firepower. He left ammo and magazines in the car, but he walked in there and opened fire immediately and indiscriminately.

So, leaving the car, all of that in it, double parked on Park Avenue driving from Las Vegas, opening fire, the way he did, it is pretty clear based on the notes that he carried on this person that he wasn't worried about the car or anything else because he knew that he wasn't going to be coming out of that building alive yesterday.

BLITZER: Yes, that's pretty clear indeed. All right, John Miller, thank you very, very much.

And we're also following new developments right now in Gaza and the hunger crisis there. Israel says 52 aid packages have been dropped into the enclave today in coordination with Arab nations. France, Spain, and Germany are also dropping aid into Gaza by air. And just a short time ago, we heard directly once again from President Trump on the situation in Gaza.

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REPORTER: What will you say next to Benjamin Netanyahu?

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're working together. Were going to try and get things straightened out for the world. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is joining us from Sderot in Israel, that's right near the border with Gaza. Nic, I know you've been along the northern border of Gaza several times, but what are you seeing there now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, not a lot of aid trucks going in that we've seen from the northern border, Wolf. Of course, they could be going in from the south. The COGAT, the Israeli body that monitors and gets those trucks into Gaza, said 206 trucks load of food went inside of Gaza yesterday, 200 of those trucks, the food distributed inside of Gaza. But in the north here, the picture is still, it appears today, at least in this area, or at least close to the northern border where those trucks would go in, the aid trucks would go in from the north. It's really a war fighting day.

Now, the IDF has said they're putting in place tactical pauses, localized pauses in the fighting at 10:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. in the evening is when there will sort of with hold back on the fighting. But what we've seen along the northern border here today, Wolf, is multiple airstrikes from fighter jets. There was one just struck just a few minutes ago. We've seen multiple of those strikes. You can hear the heavy arms fire, the small arms fire inside of Gaza, see the armored vehicles, tanks maneuvering the dust coming up.

The north of Gaza, this area here at least looked much more on a war fighting footing than a humanitarian aid distribution footing. And, of course, this is what the U.N. says, that it is a full ceasefire that's required to get the 600 trucks a day of food that they say are required for the people of Gaza to get the food and to sort of break that cycle of malnutrition. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson in Sderot, Israel, right on the border with Gaza, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead, we'll have more on the investigation into the deadly shooting in New York City, officials saying the gunman was planning to target the NFL's offices in that high-rise building. How the league is now responding this morning.

And next, I'll speak live to the Israeli ambassador to the United States about the very dire situation in Gaza and how it's impacting the so-called ceasefire talks.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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[10:15:00]

BLITZER: All right. There's more breaking news. Two brand new key economic reports are just in and they give the clearest look yet at the impact that President Trump's ongoing trade war is having on the U.S. economy.

Let's go live to CNN Senior Reporter Matt Egan, who's looking at all these numbers. What are you seeing in these latest reports, Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, well first we're seeing that the mood on Main Street improved a little bit so far this month. The conference board in this new survey said that consumer confidence increased by 2 percent between June and July. Although I should note that the overall level of consumer confidence is well below where it was, back in 2017 during President Trump's first year of his first term in office.

Now, digging into some of the internals of this report, they were kind of mixed. It showed that Americans are less worried about the risk of a recession in the U.S. economy. And their outlook for the short-term, that also improved. Perhaps that's being driven by the rebound in the stock market and the recent series of trade agreements that the White House has reached.

However, present conditions, that did go down, and that is notable to me. This likely reflects some concerns about the availability of jobs in the United States. The conference board said that consumers, they marked down their assessment on how available jobs are in the U.S. economy for the seventh month in a row. And so that is something that we've got to keep a very close eye on. Wolf?

BLITZER: What are we seeing when it comes to the jobs front, Matt?

EGAN: Yes, new numbers out on that as well, showing that the number of job openings in the United States fell during the month of June, falling to 7.4 million. That's down from 7.7 million in May.

Now, this was more or less in line with expectations, and it likely does reflect some concern among business owners and CEOs about all of the uncertainty in the environment right now. A lot of business owners, they just don't know what's going to happen next on the trade front. So, they don't know if they should be firing workers or laying them off or hiring them.

And so a lot of them are just kind of paralyzed and they're staying where they are. And, of course, this is disappointing news for everyone out there trying to find a new job, or for people who are unemployed and they're looking for work. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Matt Egan reporting on all these latest numbers, thank you very much.

We're also following other new developments unfolding right now in the Middle East. Two leading Israeli human rights groups are now accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza amid the hunger crisis there. This comes as France, Germany and Spain are now preparing to send humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel says that it has dropped 52 aid packages today in coordination with Arab nations.

With us now is Israel's ambassador of the United States, Yechiel Leiter. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. I know how busy you are.

President Trump is breaking openly with Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledging, and I'm quoting him now, that there is a real starvation in Gaza right now.

[10:20:07]

This is what Trump has said. Listen to their very different messages. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Some of those kids are -- that's real starvation stuff. I see it. And you can't fake that. So, we're going to be even more involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Ambassador is the Israeli government willing to admit that there is deepening hunger, a crisis, starvation, potentially in Gaza?

YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Nobody could avoid seeing the pictures we're seeing coming out of Gaza, although many of them are in the service of Hamas propaganda and some of them are, are doctored in A.I.

But there is definitely a crisis in Gaza. The question is who's responsible for it? We are not preventing aid from entering Gaza. We never have. We never will. We don't want to see people hungry. And that's what the prime minister was referring to. Not only is there not a policy of starvation, but actually the amount of food that's being sent into Gaza is more than enough to feed all the Gaza populations.

The problem is, Wolf, that it's getting into the hands of Hamas and Hamas distributes the food in accordance with its political will. Those who serve Hamas get fed. Those who are fighting Hamas don't get fed. So, obviously, those who are opposed to Hamas are not getting the food and that's where we're seeing these horrible pictures of people being hungry. That has to be solved. I mean, we have to share the pain together, but we have to be careful about where we're pointing the blame. And the blame is not on Israel. The blame is on Hamas.

BLITZER: But is there starvation in Gaza right now, as President Trump is saying and as Prime Minister Netanyahu is denying?

LEITER: I think what the president was referring to was the pictures of hunger. There is no large-scale starvation. There's a starvation. There certainly isn't a policy of starvation. I think there's a lot of confusion on that issue. I mean, the president was actually expressing his heart and he's got a very big heart and he sees pictures of people hungry. We feel the same way. The prime minister feels the same way. And that's why he's taken every decision possible to have food flood into Gaza.

As a matter of fact, right now as we speak, there's 636 trucks, semi- trailers, waiting to enter Gaza and U.N. agencies are not picking them up because of their argument with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And, by the way, the pictures we're seeing are from Northern Gaza where GHF is not yet operating. But in the areas of Southern Gaza, where GHF is operating in full with four distribution sites, we don't see the pictures of hunger.

So, I think it's very important that we turn, we appeal to the U.N. agencies and say, look, stop this, you know, argument with the GHF. They are not allowing humanitarian aid to be diverted to Hamas. Work alongside of them, and we'll get beyond this.

But, look, you know, anybody who wants to leave Gaza can leave through Israel. They just need a country to absorb them. I mean, if France, for example, would be less concerned about creating, you know, political capital through declaring a Palestinian state, let them take some refugees in from Gaza, be a little bit more productive, some other European countries as well. They're too preoccupied with condemning Israel.

And the outcome of what they're doing right now in New York would be declaring October 7th a Palestinian Independence Day. Hamas started this war. Hamas started this war, and Hamas could end the war. Let our hostages go. Let the people of Gaza go. They're holding the people of Gaza hostage as well.

BLITZER: The people in Gaza, the Palestinians and Gaza ambassador, they don't want to leave Gaza. This is their homeland. They want to stay there, if at all possible. And I just want to point out that not one, but two Israeli human rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, are now calling what's happening in Gaza, and I'm quoting them now, a genocide. And as you know, ambassador, that's a very, very sensitive word for Israel and for Jews worldwide because of the horrors of the Holocaust. How do you respond to that, these two Israeli human rights groups alleging that Israel is committing genocide?

LEITER: Well, you know, those two groups are comparable to the American Communist Party declaring the Trump administration guilty of war crimes. They're on the far, far left, the extreme left. They're affiliated with anti-Israel organizations around the world. And we absolutely condemn these reports, which are fallacious. Anybody is welcome to come and see the amount of aid that we're pouring into Gaza.

[10:25:02]

And, again, I want to reiterate what you said about the people wanting to leave Gaza. Anybody who wants to stay is welcome to stay, but why keep them in a siege and cCondemn Israel for making a siege. We don't have a siege. 39,000, by the way, have less since the beginning of the war through Israel, not through Egypt or anybody else, 39,000 through Israel. And there are hundreds leaving every week if they have a visa to enter another country. And if they want to leave temporarily to get out of this mess that Hamas has imposed on them, we're going to facilitate that. The same way we facilitate aid coming in, we're going to facilitate those who want to leave out.

But stop -- I appeal to the international community, to the media. I mean, look, there have been pictures have been broadcast even on CNN, I got to say this, excuse me, but even on CNN, pictures of children who are suffering from cerebral palsy or cystic fibrosis, not from hunger, and yet we're condemned for it. This has a long history of pointing the finger at the Jewish state. It really has to stop.

BLITZER: Yes. But you heard the, the president of the United States, President Trump, say there's no doubt that there is starvation unfolding right now in Gaza. And as you know, Ambassador, because you're based here in Washington, as we all know, many of Israel's strongest supporters, traditionally very strong supporters here in the United States, are demanding that Israel expand humanitarian aid and supplies to the people in Gaza. Today, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish leader in Congress and dozens of his colleagues, more than 40 Democratic senators, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for more aid.

Yesterday, I spoke with the former Obama White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has a long history of being very supportive of Israel, and he was extremely critical of what your government in Jerusalem is now doing. Listen to what he said.

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RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: President -- Prime Minister Netanyahu's strategy is bankrupt. And the fact is he just the other day said that there is no -- or just yesterday, he said there's no hunger or starvation in Gaza, and yet you have reports of children dying from starvation by international organizations, not Hamas-related organizations.

The idea that you're calling Israeli soldiers up on the third or fourth tour of duty to shoot up hungry people trying to get food shows you how bankrupt this entire policy is. And the fact is there's no plan for this element. It has nothing to do with Israel security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Ambassador, is Israel at risk right now of losing major support from very longtime allies as this crisis unfolds?

LEITER: I want to say this, I'm absolutely shocked at what Rahm Emanuel said. What he said and what he's accusing us of is bankrupt. We're not sending soldiers to shoot at people, hungry people in Gaza. I mean, where does he get this contorted idea from? We are actually protecting our civilians and protecting Gazans, for crying out loud, who are coming to food distribution sites to get food. It's the Hamas that's shooting at them. He has a moral problem. You can't see between good and evil. Hamas is shooting at their own people. They're keeping people hostage.

Please understand that, Rahm Emanuel, get it through your head. We are not the guilty party here. We're not only fighting for our survival. We're fighting against the ghoulish enemy that slaughtered our civilians, okay? We're also trying to get our hostages out. Why is there no message from Rahm Emanuel about our hostages? Nothing in that statement, okay? Nothing about the people of Gaza, for crying out loud, being held hostage by Hamas. There's more and more evidence coming out that the people of Gaza are opposing the Hamas tyranny that rules over them.

So, again, there's 636 trucks waiting to be picked up. What would Senator Schumer like us to do? Should -- perhaps we'll go together. I mean, myself and Senator Schumer, we can get on a plane, get into those trucks and drive them into Gaza. We've opened up humanitarian corridors. We've cooperated with the Emiratis and the Egyptians. The Emiratis are doing an incredible job with their field hospital, with parachuting aid in. We're parachuting aid in. We've opened up these corridor doors.

And now we call on the various U.N. affiliates, for crying out loud, stop your petty games fighting with GHF. Come and pick up the trucks. And let's talk again tomorrow, Wolf, when 636 trucks are brought in that are waiting now at the intersection.

BLITZER: As you know, Ambassador --

LEITER: And I would refer you -- I would refer you. I got to say one more thing, please. And I would refer you and, and the good Rahm Emanuel, I would refer you to the U.N. website, the U.N. website itself, which says that in the month of June, 2,134 trucks were sent into Gaza. Only 260 arrived at their destination.

[10:30:00]

That means 90 percent was diverted by Hamas. Now you want to blame us for that too? I mean, for crying out loud.