A New York City police officer and three other people were killed in a shooting in Midtown Manhattan on Monday evening, police confirmed at a late-night news conference.

The last killing of such a scale in the city was during a fast-food restaurant robbery in Queens in 2000. Mass murders of strangers are rare.

There were 23 shell casings and 13 bullet fragments recovered from the lobby of 345 Park Avenue and 24 spent shell casings on the 33rd floor, police said.