By: Nick Carraway

A humble lobby greeter is being hailed as a lifesaver after shielding eight people during last week’s horrific mass shooting at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan – a tragedy that left four people dead and shattered the sense of safety in one of New York City’s most high-profile buildings.

Andre Morris, 39, was at his post on the ground floor of the corporate tower when shots rang out. Without hesitation, he rushed a group of office workers who had just exited an elevator into a nearby closet, shielding them from the chaos above. “I just did what needed to be done,” Morris told the New York Post, insisting he’s no hero. “I’m completely devastated by the tragic and senseless deaths.”

As the Post was first to report, Morris has worked for building owner Rudin Management for a decade and has been stationed as a lobby ambassador at the Park Avenue location for the past three years. He was standing near a water cooler when gunfire erupted – up to 15 rounds in quick succession. Acting quickly, he dialed 911 and radioed a warning to his colleagues before gathering the workers and locking them in a small security closet, where they waited in silence, texting loved ones and bracing the door.

“It was instinct, and it was training,” Morris told the Post, referencing security preparedness drills Rudin had conducted over the years. “You never think it’s going to happen. But when it did, I knew what I had to do.”

The shooter, identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, stormed the 33 rd floor with an AR-15-style rifle, targeting the building’s high-profile tenants, including the NFL and Blackstone. Tamura fatally shot off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam, building security guard Aland Etienne, Blackstone executive Wesley Le Patner, and Rudin staffer Julia Hyman before turning the weapon on himself, according to the Post.

Two women who work for Blackstone and were among those Morris led to safety recounted their terror to the Post, saying they initially saw a slain guard on the ground and broken turnstiles before Morris ushered them into hiding. “We were just in shock. Everything is kind of hazy,” one said. The other added, “We could hear yelling, footsteps, gunshots. It was terrifying.”

Eventually, a SWAT team arrived and evacuated the group, who emerged with their hands raised amid confusion and fear.

Morris told the Post that many of the people who work in the building have become like family. “When I heard the shots, I didn’t think. I just moved. I had to protect them,” he said, adding that he is especially grieving the loss of Etienne, a close friend and fellow security professional.

A Rudin Management security source praised Morris’s composure and courage. “We are tremendously grateful to Andre.”