THE crazed gunman who stormed into a Manhattan skyscraper during rush hour on Monday was believed to have been targeting the NFL headquarters, according to the New York City mayor.
Shane Tamura, 27, traveled cross-country from Las Vegas to Midtown Manhattan, where he exited his black BMW on Park Avenue and casually walked into the 634-foot building armed with an AR-15-style rifle and opened fire.
EnterpriseShane Tamura reportedly wrote a note saying he was battling a brain condition caused by playing American football[/caption]
Officials named Tamura of Las Vegas as the shooter
One of the rambling handwritten notes found on Shane Tamura’s person when authorities located him dead on the 33rd floorObtained by the New York Post
Upon entering the skyscraper, Tamura sprayed the lobby with bullets, fatally shooting a New York City police officer and two others.
Tamura then walked to one of the elevator banks got into an elevator after he spared a woman who had been inside, and took the lift to the 33rd floor.
There, Tamura shot and killed an Julia Hyman, a Cornell graduate who worked on the floor, before turning the gun on himself, the New York Post reported.
Mayor Eric Adams said that investigators have reason to believe the gunman was “focused on the NFL” and entered the wrong elevator bank.
“There are two different elevators banks. Some banks don’t go to every floor,” Adams said on Good Day New York on Tuesday.
“He appeared to have gone to the wrong bank, and he ended up on the floor of Rudin Management.”
The 44-floor skyscraper is an office building occupied by several companies, including the NFL‘s corporate headquarters, the investment giant Blackstone, and the building’s owner Rudin Management.
The NFL has offices on floors five through eight in the high-rise.
In an interview with MSNBC, Adams said the building had “so many safeguards” including a way to stop the elevator from moving.
However, the security guard who was capable of operating it was killed by the gunman before he reached the elevator banks.
The security guard was identified as Aland Etienne.
“My family suffered a heartbreaking tragedy. My brother, Aland, lost his life in the shooting that happened in New York while he was at work,” Gathmand Etienne, the victim’s brother, said in a statement on Facebook.
“He was more than a brother—he was a father, a son, and a light in our lives.
“Our hearts are shattered, and we’re asking for your prayers and strength as we navigate this painful time. Rest in peace, Brother. You’ll never be forgotten.”
On Monday evening, Shane Tamura, 27, barged into a New York City skyscraper and fatally shot four people before turning the gun on himself
Victims of the horror shooting include a police officer expecting his third child and an investment company executive
Mayor Eric Adams said that an apparent suicide note left by Tamura indicates he was targeting the NFL, which is headquartered in the building
In the letter, Tamura claimed he was battling a brain condition that was caused by playing football
An NFL employee was critically injured by the gunman but is expected to survive
Mysteries continue to shroud the attack, including why Tamura spared a woman he passed in the elevator
RAMBLING NOTE
Tamura was found by police on the 33-floor, having shot himself in the chest after he killed four in the horror attack just a 20-minute walk from Times Square.
A three-page note was found on Tamura’s body that horrifically presented a health battle caused by American football as his excuse, according to the New York Post.
Tamura, who played high school football in Southern California, reportedly wrote, “Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze.
“You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.
“Study my brain please I’m sorry Tell Rick I’m sorry for everything.”
In the rambling note, Tamura praised a documentary that spoke about CTE brain injuries and a list of prominent neuroscientists, a copy of one of the pages obtained by the New York Post showed.
Tamura listed the “Frontline documentary” – an apparent reference to the program’s League of Denial doc – while also mentioning the “Fainaru brothers,” the two ESPN reporters who co-wrote the doc’s book.
The madman also listed several renowned neuroscientists, including Dr. Bennet Omalu – the first to discover and publish findings on CTE in American football.
New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a Tuesday evening news conference hours after a gunman opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraperAP:Associated Press
Obtained by NY PostShane Tamura is seen entering the Manhattan building with a rifle[/caption]
Avalon.redOffice workers fled the shooting with their hands raised[/caption]
The scene on Park Ave following the active shooting incident at a building between 52nd and 53 StreetGetty Images – Getty
‘MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY’
Tamura wrote that he suffered from the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is linked to repeated head trauma and has a major issue for the NFL with a number of former players with the disease committing atrocious acts of violence.
Terry Long, a former football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, died by suicide in 2005.
Another horror case of CTE-violence was when former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013.
Former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Phillip Adams was also diagnosed with a CTE after he killed six people and then himself in an April 2021 shooting spree.
Other notable CTE-related deaths include the NHL‘s Todd Ewen who died by suicide in 2019, and the NFL’s Ken Stabler who passed away in 2015 and was later diagnosed with a high Stage 3 CTE.
It’s unclear if Tamura had CTE as it can only be definitively diagnosed after death.
The gunman indicated in his note that he wanted his brain to be studied, which could be the reason why he decided committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
What is CTE?
CHRONIC Traumatic Encephalopathy is known as a brain condition that is often linked to repeated head trauma.
The condition is diagnosed after death and is commonly found in pro-sports players due to concussions.
Some symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and progressive dementia.
These signs can begin to appear after years or even decades after the last brain trauma.
A CTE scan is used to diagnose the brain disease after someone has passed away as there is no test to run while someone is alive.
Doctors often slice brain tissue and use special chemicals to make the abnormal tau protein visible to examine for patterns related to CTE.
Adams said in interviews that in his note, Tamura seemingly blamed the NFL for having CTE despite never having playing in the league.
“It appears as though he was going after the employees of the NFL,” the mayor said.
“We’re still going through the suicide note to zero in on the exact reason but at this time it appears as if it’s something attached to his belief he experienced CTE from the NFL.”
Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, confirmed that a league employee was seriously injured in the shooting.
“One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition,” Goodell wrote in the memo, which was obtained by ESPN.
“NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family. We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared.”
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting, writing on Truth Social, “I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence.”
“My heart is with the families of the four people who were killed, including the NYPD Office, who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“God Bless the New York POlice Department, and God Bless New York!”
GUNMAN’S HISTORY
Tamura had played football at high school in Southern California where he was said to be a standout player.
Caleb Clarke, a former classmate of Tamura, told NBC that the suspected shooter had not lived up to the promise he had shown.
“The only thing I can really think of is there was a point where it looked like the sky was the limit, and then it wasn’t anymore,” Clarke said of his former teammate.
NYPD Commissioner Tisch said there were no indication that Tamura had prior connections to Rudin Management, the floor the company occupied where the shooter took the elevator to.
Tamura had a history of serious mental health issues, according to Tisch.
Initial checks on the FBI’s internal system found no information about Tamura, The New York Times reported, suggesting he doesn’t have a previous criminal record.
Tamura was from Las Vegas
Cops are now investigating the motive behind Tamura’s shooting
XBlackstone workers barricaded the door to their office with furniture[/caption]
Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner was identified as one of the four victimsGetty Images – Getty
New York City Police Officer Didarul Islam was among those killed in Monday’s shootingGetty Images – Getty
MIDTOWN CHAOS
The shooting happened in the same area of the city as where the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed last December.
Workers in suits desperately ran for this lives during Monday’s bloodbath.
Others were trapped inside Blackstone’s office and built a barricade across the door with furniture, photos showed.
One off-duty NYPD cop and three civilians were shot and killed, while a fifth person was hospitalized in critical condition.
Beloved Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner was among those killed in the shooting, according to the Wall Street Journal.
CCTV caught Tamura exiting a double-parked BMW with an M4 rifle and walking across a public plaza into the 44-story building.
The crazed gunman – clad in a bulletproof vest and with a silencer on his weapon – then sprayed the lobby with gunfire and killed the off-duty officer working a corporate security detail.
The off-duty police officer was identified as Didarul Islam, who the force mourned as a man who “represented the very best of our department.”
The police department said, “He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today.
“We join in prayer during this time of incomprehensible pain. We will forever honour his legacy.”
Tisch said of Islam – an immigrant from Bangladesh – that he “died as he lived. A hero.”
“He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harms way. He made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Islam’s leaves behind two children and a wife, who is expecting their third child.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Timeline of NYC shooting
A gunman stormed 345 Park Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, on Monday night killing four before turning the gun on himself.
Cops are now investigating why the suspect Shane Tamura carried out the brutal attack and have released a preliminary timeline and are tracing back through his movements.
July 26 – Tamura drives through Colorado in his black BMW
July 27 – Tamura drives through Nebraska and Iowa. He also doesn’t show up for work as a security guard at a Las Vegas casino
July 28, 6.28pm – Reports of the shooting are first made to NYPD. Tamura had moments earlier double parked his car and walked across a plaza into 345 Park Avenue
Once inside, Tamura shoots off-duty officer Didarul Islam working as security dead
He guns down a woman cowering behind a pillar as he sprays the lobby with bullets
Tamura walks towards the elevators where he shoots dead a security guard crouching at his desk
Gunman spares woman’s life after she walks out of elevator in front of him
He travels up to the 33rd floor to Rudin Properties’ office and fires as he walks the floor killing one
Tamura shoots himself in his chest ending his life and ending the rampage
7.52pm – NYC Police Commissioner Tisch posted on X: “the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized.”
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