NYC shooting highlights the panic room as a need instead of luxury


Workplace safety concerns According to Saferwatch CEO Geno Roefaro, it has raised the need for a luxurious and strategic panic room in an office building.

Saferwatch is a safety and emergency alert platform that enables real-time communication, chip reporting and panic alerts to help individuals and businesses.

Roefarro said the company is already consulting on the construction of these rooms for dozens of companies. Shane Tamura, We entered the lobby of 345 Park Avenue and headed to the shooting lampage with an AR-15-style rifle that left four dead.

Some employees in the building that houses Global Investment Powerhouse, Blackstone, Real Estate Company Rudin Management, National Football League and Global Professional Services Company KPMG, have sought evacuation in these rooms, while other employees have evacuated to the bathroom or in the office.

But one victim, 27-year-old Julia Hyman, was shot dead after leaving a panic room inside Rudin Management’s midtown office. Rudin owns the property.

Roefarro described these rooms as “a key layer of protection during active threats,” allowing employees to safely evacuate while first responders are warned in real time.

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They would be expensive to build, and a completely safe room would cost around $150,000 to $500,000, he argued that it was crucial in protecting employees and executives from outside threats.

Samuel Fish, founder of Shield Security Doors Ltd, said the company has traditionally set up panic and safe rooms in its offices for C-Suite executives. Bullet resistant doors and windows.

Scene outside the NFL building where mass shooting took place in NYC

Investigators from the NYPD Crime Scene Unit will walk through the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Manhattan, New York City on July 29, 2025. Reuters/Kylie Cooper (Kylie Cooper/Reuters/Reuters)

“The reason this was primarily tailored to senior executives is because these individuals were the most likely targets of dissatisfied current or former employees, or because they were external individuals seeking retaliation against the company,” Fish said.

Still, he argued that the landscape has changed over the past 20 years.

The incident on Monday, particularly a photograph that surfaced employees barricades in office furniture, says, “How many people can protect their employees, where can they go?” said Roefalo.

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Scene outside the NFL building where mass shooting took place in NYC

Police officers are standing next to a glass window with a bullet hole near the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Manhattan, New York City on July 29, 2025. (Mike Fresh /Reuters /Reuters)

According to Roefaro, there is a wide range of panic room options that employees can now find in office settings, from basic safe spaces where employees can escape behind the doors of the defence device or from the direct gaze of the shooter, to basic safe spaces where employees can escape from the direct gaze of the shooter, to a wide range of panic room options that employees can now find in office settings.

These high-end rooms often require sophisticated communication systems that allow for immediate two-way communication with law enforcement. That’s where Roefarro’s company comes into play. Companies with such rooms can integrate Saferwatch’s panic alert system.

Scene outside the NFL building where mass shooting took place in NYC

People stand near the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Manhattan, New York City on July 29, 2025, people are standing near a glass window with a bullet hole. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters/Reuters)

Over the past decades, businesses have begun to recognize that “workplace shootings are equally at risk in workplace shootings,” and therefore have begun building office panic rooms in dual purpose spaces, such as meeting rooms, break rooms and bathrooms, Fish said.

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However, Roefarro argued that employee safety is not merely creating a physically secure space. Employers should ensure that staff receive timely alerts and clearly understand appropriate lockdown procedures in the event of an emergency.

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