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Why Are People Freaking Out About The Blackstone Office Shooting On The 33rd Floor? Conspiracy Theories About The NYC Shooting Explained
On July 28th, 2025, a gunman opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower, killing four people before taking his own life.
The attacker, 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, carried an AR-15-style rifle into 345 Park Avenue, shooting several people before fatally shooting himself on the 33rd floor.
But some conspiracy-minded individuals online are taking a different route to processing the tragedy. They've become fixated on the idea that Tamura died on the 33rd floor and are scraping for answers in all the wrong places.
Here's a recap of all the bizarre posts surrounding the Blackstone NYC Shooting 33rd Floor Conspiracy Theories.
What Was The NYC Blackstone Shooting, And What's The Significance of the 33rd Floor?
The July 28th shooting at 345 Park Avenue left four victims dead and a fifth injured before the gunman, Shane Devon Tamura, ended his own life.
According to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press, Tamura began his attack in the building lobby with an AR-15-style rifle, where he killed four individuals, including Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and off-duty officer Didarul Islam.
He then took an elevator to the 33rd floor, mistakenly thinking he was heading to the NFL's offices. There, inside Rudin Management's suite, he killed one more person before shooting himself.
To most, the 33rd-floor detail reads as grim trivia. But for conspiracy theorists steeped in internet folklore about Freemasonry, the Illuminati and coded symbolism, the number 33 is practically bait.
In Scottish Rite Freemasonry, the 33rd degree is an honorary level reserved for elite members, and conspiracy theorists have long pointed to it as a marker of supposed hidden power. These claims, rooted in antisemitic Judeo-Masonic conspiracies, allege that Jewish people and Freemasons control global systems from the shadows, leaving symbols like "33" as winks to insiders.
Blackstone, a firm helmed by Jewish CEO Stephen Schwarzman and often the target of elite-cabal theories, is a frequent player in this narrative ecosystem. To believers, the shooting was less of a random tragedy and more of an encrypted message.
What Did Internet Users Say About the 33rd Floor In Regards To The Attack?
The online reaction to the "33rd floor" detail was immediate and conspiratorial. On July 28th, the X account @AutismCapital shared an image of a Freemason patch with the number 33 stitched on, captioned, "If he really shot himself on the 33rd floor of the Blackstone building Internet people are going to go nuts," gathering over 2,000 likes in less than a day.
The fixation spread quickly as others honed in on the conspiratorial number. For instance, X user @CilComLFC wrote, "Of course the 'Mass Shooter' in Manhattan has been Found on the 33rd Floor… and there are exactly 6 Victims. You couldn’t make this up," later adding, "Symbolism will be their Downfall," drawing over 6,000 likes since yesterday evening.
Meanwhile, X user @HustleBitch_ combined images of the shooter, Freemason iconography and terrified Blackstone employees, writing, "CONNECT. THE. DOTS." That one earned more than 20,000 likes in under 24 hours.
What Are Some More Posts About The Blackstone Shooting and the 33rd Floor?
For the full history of Blackstone NYC Shooting 33rd Floor Conspiracy Theory, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.