In the wake of a deadly mass shooting in midtown Manhattan, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday called for a nationwide ban on assault weapons, arguing that stricter federal gun laws are necessary to prevent future tragedies, Breitbart reported.
Hochul, a Democrat, urged Congress to reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons after an attack in a Manhattan office building left four people dead, including a police officer, and another man critically injured.
"This is happening because there are still assault weapons in our country," Hochul said during an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics."
She described the attack as a consequence of inconsistent gun laws across states.
"I'm sitting in Midtown right now. My office is just a few blocks away, and walking in this morning, and you see the security guards down there, and everyone is just wondering, you know, is this a one-off? Could this happen again?" Hochul said.
"That sense of security is shattered when someone comes from another state carrying an assault weapon designed only for battlefields, but using it, intending to use that to commit mayhem and mass murder in our cities."
Authorities said the suspect, identified as Shane D. Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, entered a Midtown skyscraper Monday evening with a high-powered rifle and opened fire. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the New York Police Department.
A New York City police officer and three civilians were killed in the shooting, with another man hospitalized in critical condition.
The attack occurred at 345 Park Ave., which houses several major corporate offices, including those of the NFL, KPMG, and Blackstone. Police believe Tamura targeted the building due to personal grievances, citing a note recovered at the scene that allegedly blamed his traumatic brain injury on the National Football League.
Investigators have not confirmed whether Tamura had any direct ties to the NFL.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, speaking Tuesday on "CBS Mornings," described the shooting as a "tragedy that touched the core of our city" and praised law enforcement for their swift response.
Hochul pointed to New York's strict gun laws as a model for national policy.
"If every state had the same laws uniformly, you could not have a situation where we fight really hard in the state of New York to make sure that we have the toughest gun laws in the nation," she said.
"We have the lowest of all the large states' homicide rate by guns. New York City, New York state, has the lowest homicide rate by guns in the nation for large states, and that's because of laws that are working."
She concluded her remarks with a call to action: "We had an assault weapons ban in our country for 10 years. It worked successfully. It lapsed under President Bush, and I say bring that back."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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