Who is Shane Tamura? NYC shooter reportedly blames NFL, CTE in suicide note
Midtown shooter Shane Tamura blamed football
FOX 5 NY's Robert Moses has the latest about the gunman and the shooting.
NEW YORK - Police are still working to understand why a man drove cross-country with an assault rifle and opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan high-rise; killing four people, wounding one more, and then taking his own life.
Authorities identified the gunman as 27-year-old Shane Tamura from Las Vegas, Nevada. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Tamura had a history of mental illness and acted alone.
(Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)
The NYPD will question a man they say supplied the parts necessary to assemble the gun, an AR-15-style assault rifle, used in the Midtown office shooting.
"The weapon used, an AR-15-style assault rifle, was assembled by Mr. Tamura using a lower receiver purchased by an associate. We have located that associate and others. And will be questioning him about that purchase," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a video released earlier today, July 29.
Shooter blames NFL, CTE in suicide note
What we know:
The New York Post reports that a multipage, handwritten note was found on Tamura's body.
In it, Tamura blamed the NFL and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for his mental deterioration and asked that his brain be studied for signs of the degenerative disease.
Despite his references to football-related brain trauma, officials confirmed Tamura had never played in the NFL. He had played at Granada Hills Charter High School in California and was most recently employed as a casino security guard in Las Vegas.
Video obtained by the Daily News Prep Sports shows a clip of Tamura after a 2015 high school football game where he said the team was down 10-0, and that "we just have to do better as a team."
Midtown shooter injured NFL employee
New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are seen as they respond to an incident in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York on July 28, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Among the victims of the Midtown shooting was someone inside the building's NFL offices who is now in critical condition at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed league employees, urging staff to remain alert and pay close attention to emergency notifications.
Police checking a car outside of the Midtown shooting scene.
Tamura's criminal history
Tamura held a valid concealed carry permit issued by Las Vegas Metro Police in 2022, valid through 2027.
His only known criminal record was a misdemeanor trespassing charge in 2023.
How the Midtown shooting unfolded
According to the NYPD, Tamura began his deadly journey on Friday, July 25, driving his black BMW east from Las Vegas. Over the next three days, his car was tracked through Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa, reaching Columbia, New Jersey by the afternoon of Monday, July 28.
Around 6:28 p.m., Tamura double-parked his car along Park Avenue and exited with an M4-style assault rifle. Surveillance footage captured him entering the building and immediately shooting NYPD Officer Islam, who was working a security detail in the lobby. He then shot a nearby woman before heading into the elevator.
FDNY firefighters wheel a gurney across the street as police respond to a shooting in Midtown Manhattan on July 28, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Tamura proceeded to multiple floors, killing a total of four victims, three civilians and Officer Islam, and critically injuring a fifth, believed to be an NFL employee. He ultimately took the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he shot and killed another person before turning the gun on himself.
Although the office building houses NFL offices, officials believe Tamura may have gone to the wrong floor.
NYPD Commissioner Tisch explained that the building has multiple elevator banks, and surveillance video shows Tamura entered one that does not reach the NFL’s offices. Instead, he arrived at the offices of Rudin Management, where he opened fire.
"We’re still going through the suicide note to zero in on the exact reason," said Mayor Eric Adams. "But at this time, it appears to be tied to his belief that he experienced CTE from playing in the NFL."