Julia Hyman ’20, an alumna of the Nolan School of Hotel Administration, was one of the four victims from the Midtown Manhattan office building shooting on Monday.
At around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old gunman from Las Vegas, entered the lobby of 345 Park Avenue and opened fire before taking the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he shot and killed Hyman and then himself.
The gunman left four people dead and one critically wounded.
Authorities believe the gunman mistakenly took the elevator from the lobby to the 33rd floor where Hyman worked. Evidence suggests he had intended to target the National Football League's New York offices instead.
Tamura shot and killed Hyman with an AR-15-style rifle right before he fatally shot himself in the chest, officials say. Off-duty New York City Police Department officer Didarul Islam and Blackstone senior executive Wesley LePatner were killed in the building’s lobby. Building security guard Aland Etienne was also fatally shot.
Hyman, from New York City, graduated from the hotel school in 2020 and began working as a full-time associate at Rudin Management — the real estate firm that owns the building — in 2024, nine months before the tragedy, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“Julia [Hyman] was an extraordinary student whose academic achievements and intellectual curiosity made a lasting impression,” wrote Kate Walsh MPS ’90, dean of the hotel school and E.M. Statler Professor in a statement sent to The Sun. “She exemplified the drive and excellence we strive to cultivate at the Nolan School.”
In a University statement, President Michael Kotlikoff noted that Hyman graduated summa cum laude with a degree in hotel and restaurant administration and a minor in real estate. According to Walsh, her passion for real estate led her to a “successful career after graduation.”
In a statement sent to The Sun, Andrew Karolyi, dean of the S.C. Johnson College of Business, wrote that “Julia was a cherished member of our community, and her loss is deeply felt across the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.”
Kotlikoff noted that Hyman had visited Cornell’s campus earlier this year for her five-year reunion. She is survived by her parents and sister, Alison Hyman ’17.
“We extend our deepest condolences to all the families whose loved ones were lost in this senseless act,” Kotlikoff wrote.
Cereese Qusba is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and can be reached at cqusba@cornellsun.com.
