The man who killed four people in a Manhattan office building was carrying a note that appeared to blame the National Football League for a degenerative brain disease he said he had, New York Mayor Eric Adams said.
Police identified the shooter as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident with a history of mental illness struggles, took his own life following the shooting on the 33rd floor of a Park Avenue office tower.
The NFL has its headquarters in the skyscraper, but Mr Tamura apparently entered the wrong elevator bank and ended up in the offices of Rudin Management, a real estate company, where he shot employees, the mayor said.
“The note alluded to that he felt he had CTE, a known brain injury for those who participate in contact sports,” Mr Adams told CBS News. “He appeared to have blamed the NFL for his injury.”
Mr Adams said the suspect in the shooting was not on the radar of authorities.
Police officer killed in shooting was ‘protecting New Yorkers’
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a serious brain disease with no known treatment that can be caused by repeated bangs to the head from contact sports.
It has been linked to aggression and dementia, and the NFL has paid an estimated $1 billion to settle concussion-related lawsuits with thousands of retired players after the deaths of several high-profile players.
Mr Tamura was never an NFL player, but online records show he played in high school. The note found in his wallet said his football career was cut short by his brain injury, Bloomberg News reported.
Blackstone also has its headquarters in the tower, and one of the private equity firm’s executives was among those killed, while others were injured and taken to hospital.
Mr Tamura also killed a New York Police Department officer, Didarul Islam, 36, who came from Bangladesh and had been on the force three years, the mayor said.
Mr Islam was married with two young sons and his wife is pregnant with their third child.
Syed Tanjib Mujib, a childhood friend of Mr Islam from their home district in Bangladesh, said he left for the US with his parents and other family members in 2009.
“And the way he died, it’s heartbreaking, but not surprising. That’s just the kind of person he was,” he said.
“Always thinking of others, always ready to help. He died trying to save lives … Our hearts are broken, but we’re proud of him. He’ll always be remembered.”
A second victim was described by his union president as a “dedicated security guard” and, according to the New York Times, was a member of an immigrant family from Haiti.
Aland Etienne, who was working in the lobby of the building at the time of the shooting, was also described as a “New York hero”.
An NFL employee was also injured in the shooting and was in stable condition at a hospital, the WSJ reported, citing a memo sent by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to league staff.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the gunman resided in Las Vegas
Mr Goodell wrote there would be “increased security presence” at the league’s offices “in the days and weeks to come,” ESPN reported.
Authorities offered few details about the three other victims besides the police officer – two men and a woman. A third man was gravely wounded by the gunfire and was “fighting for his life” in a nearby hospital, the mayor said.
mR Tamura appeared to have driven to New York City from Las Vegas over three days and to have acted alone, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
He entered the skyscraper’s lobby, turned to his right and immediately shot the NYPD officer, who was assigned to the building’s security detail, Ms Tisch said.
An officer stands in a street as police respond to the shooting incident in New York
She said mR Tamura used an M4 Carbine, a semi-automatic rifle popular with civilian US gun enthusiasts modelled on a fully automatic rifle used in the US military.
He then shot a woman and two men in the lobby but inexplicably allowed another woman to pass him unharmed before he took the lift to the 33rd-floor offices of Rudin Management.
There he fatally shot his final victim before taking his own life, Ms Tisch said.
A widely circulated photo showed the permit issued to Mr Tamura by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department allowing him to legally carry a concealed firearm.
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A loaded revolver was later recovered from the black BMW vehicle Mr Tamura had left double-parked outside the office tower, along with a backpack and prescription medications, Ms Tisch said.
The Irish Consulate in New York extended its deepest sympathy to those affected by the shooting.
The building where the shooting occurred, 345 Park Avenue, was the home of the consulate for over 30 years.
“The Irish and Irish American community, the Consulate, and our Ireland House partners have many warm and positive memories of our long association with 345 Park Avenue and we extend our solidarity to all in the building at this very sad time,” the consulate said.
