Manhattan Office Cleaner Describes Shooting Incident

Sebije Nelovic, an office cleaner in Manhattan, recounted her experience meeting Shane Devon Tamura, the individual accused of shooting multiple people inside a high-end office building. According to a statement she provided, she heard what she thought were “firecrackers” while on her shift, shared by the 32BJ Service Employees International Union. This prompted her to leave her cleaning area for an investigation, and she noticed the glass door by the reception area on the 33rd floor was “shaking.”

Nelovic remembered how the door began to fall and described a frightening moment when Tamura came through the door, pointing a gun at her. “It started to fall—boom. And this guy came in the middle of the door and pointed his gun at me,” she insisted.

In her account, Tamura fired around her, demanding that she raise her hands. “I’m a cleaning lady, I’m a cleaning lady,” she recalled saying. Yet, amidst the chaos, she realized he was armed with a machine gun, thinking he would shoot regardless.

In an effort to escape, she found a nearby closet to hide in. “I started praying,” she said, mentioning that she could hear screams in the hallway. She reported that Tamura shot the closet door while passing by, and her thoughts turned to Julia Hyman, a 27-year-old associate she knew who typically worked late. “I knew she was at her desk, and I, God, helped her,” Nelovic prayed for Hyman as she waited in hiding. Sadly, Hyman was later reported to be killed after leaving a so-called Panic Room.

During the ordeal, Nelovic received text messages and calls from her supervisor, who advised her to stay close. Concerned that her phone might give away her location, she moved it. “I sat in my closet for two, maybe three hours,” she shared.

It wasn’t until she returned home to Queens and saw the news that she learned about Hyman’s death. “Thank God, I’m fine,” Nelovic remarked, reflecting on her 27 years of service in the building.