Mere hours after a deadly shooting spree forced the evacuation of the 345 Park Ave. office tower in Midtown Manhattan, some employees came to collect their possessions.

As temperatures soared in New York City on Tuesday, they were asked to wait in the sun. The 44-story building — a symbol of the Wall Street North financial corridor home to the headquarters of private equity giant Blackstone Inc. — was shut as authorities investigate Monday evening’s rampage that killed four people as well as the shooter.

Other firms at buildings in the vicinity were open, but the mood was grim and security was tight.

Security guards patrolling the JPMorgan Chase & Co. lobby that’s connected to Grand Central asked everyone to show identification proving they’re a bank employee. At nearby Blue Owl Capital Inc., a counselor was available on site for several hours Tuesday and the company urged employees to utilize its other mental health resources.

Spencer Hakimian, chief investment officer of Tolou Capital Management, said he told his six employees to work from home Tuesday given the “very dark, very guarded,” mood in his office building about 10 blocks from Blackstone’s headquarters.

“People are just scared. We all know people at Blackstone,” he said. “This is a very small industry.”

A day after the killings, leaders of nearby businesses have expressed grief for those who were killed and concern for the well-being of their own workers, many of whom were in close proximity to the tragedy. Financial firms around the city reminded employees of security measures and mental health resources they have in place. Blackstone’s headquarters are expected to be closed for the coming week.

Paul Taubman, the veteran dealmaker whose firm PJT Partners Inc. was created with a Blackstone spinoff, kicked off his earnings conference call Tuesday with remarks on the “senseless act of violence in Midtown Manhattan, just steps from our office.”

The attack was the second within a year to stun both the city and the corporate world. The December killing of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson outside an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan hotel was just a few blocks from Monday’s attack and prompted a surge in demand for corporate security.

While questions arose after Monday’s shootings about building access and safety, Kathy Wylde, whose organization Partnership for New York City represents a coalition of more than 300 of the city’s largest banks, law firms and media companies, said she believes the tragedy is “not something that will trigger panic.”

“I think the business community — employers and employees – are concerned for the families of those who were shot and co-workers in the area, but otherwise this is a very unusual event in our city,” much like Thompson’s killing, Wylde said in an email.

Blackstone, consultant KPMG, building landlord Rudin Management and the National Football League have offices in the building where the killings took place.

Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old who last resided in Las Vegas, was targeting the NFL, and seemed to have ended up on Rudin’s floor by mistake.

The four victims were Wesley LePatner, 43, who ran the firm’s real estate fund for wealthy individuals; Didarul Islam, a uniformed police officer; security guard Aland Etienne and an associate at Rudin.

“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the tragedy that occurred at 345 Park Avenue just a few blocks from our New York office,” Kort Schnabel, co-head of U.S. direct lending in the Ares Credit Group, said on a call with analysts Tuesday. “This senseless act of violence has deeply affected our community.”

Meanwhile, PJT’s Taubman said on his own call that the tragedy “puts things like earnings calls in perspective.”

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(With assistance from Crystal Tse, Hannah Levitt, Natalie Wong, Todd Gillespie, Janet Paskin, Nacha Cattan and Olivia Fishlow.)

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