Monday’s mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan claimed the life of Wesley LePatner, a 43-year-old executive at Blackstone, the company confirmed Tuesday morning. LePatner was among four victims killed at 345 Park Avenue when a lone gunman stormed the office building, which also serves as the headquarters of the National Football League and features other business clients such as KPMG. The shooter has been identified by police as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas.
LePatner served as Blackstone’s global head of core+ real estate and chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), a property fund with a $53 billion net asset value and a $275 billion market capitalization.
The LePatner family provided a statement to Fortune, saying, “We cannot properly express the grief we feel upon the sudden and tragic loss of Wesley. She was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and relative, who enriched our lives in every way imaginable.” The family noted that she was a beloved, loyal, and caring friend to many others and a “driven and extraordinarily talented professional and colleague.”
The family offered its condolences to those who have also lost loved ones, and asked for privacy in the coming days and weeks. “At this unbearably painful time, we are experiencing an enormous, gaping hole in our hearts that will never be filled, yet we will carry on the remarkable legacy Wesley created.”
A decorated background
LePatner joined Blackstone in 2014 after more than a decade with Goldman Sachs and was credited with driving the firm’s real estate ventures to new heights. A Yale graduate, LePatner served on the boards of organizations including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, the UJA-Federation of New York, and Yale University Library Council, according to her Blackstone biography page. She is survived by a husband whom she met on the first day of freshman year at Yale, according to their New York Times wedding announcement. She had two children, the New York Post was first to report.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres posted on social media that LePatner “represented the very best of New York.” Calling her a “distinguished professional,” he honored her sense of civics, as a “devoted congregant” at the Altneu synagogue and a dedicated board member at the Heschel School.
Authorities say Tamura acted alone and had a history of mental-health issues. Investigators recovered a note where Tamura raged against the NFL, claiming to suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a neurodegenerative disease associated with head injuries in contact sports. While Tamura played football in high school, there is no evidence he played professionally or was ever diagnosed with CTE.
“Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” Blackstone said in an emailed statement. “She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous and deeply respected within our firm and beyond.”
[This report has been corrected with regard to Wesley LePatner’s age, which was reported as 44 because of human error.]
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
