WABC: The 27-year-old man who shot and killed four people at a Midtown office building on Monday carried a note in his pocket claiming he suffered from CTE, asked that his brain be studied and made references to the NFL.
The suspect, Shane Tamura, who the police said has a documented mental health history, played high school football in Los Angeles but did not play professionally.
Sources described the three-page letter as rambling and contained references to the NFL. The references were found to be vague by the sources.
345 Park Avenue houses, among other companies, the NFL headquarters.
One page of the note found in Tamura’s pocket accused the NFL of concealing the dangers to players’ brains to maximize profits, sources said.
A second page mentioned CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease likely caused by repeated head injuries, and blamed football. A third page asked, “Study my brain please. I’m sorry,” sources said.
Police have found no evidence so far that he suffered a traumatic brain injury or had CTE, sources said. He has no known connection to the NFL.
A former teammate of his spoke to our sister station KABC in Los Angeles about Tamura.
Tamura had two Mental Health Crisis Holds in his background in Nevada, one in 2022 and the other in 2024.
This typically allows someone to be detained for up to 72 hours if they are thought to be a danger to themselves or others.
According to one source, when there is this type of hold in Nevada, officers have to transport the person to the hospital. Once that happens, medical staff take over and decide how long to hold the person. They don’t update police so source isn’t sure how long Tamura was held either time.
A Las Vegas police source said Tamura also got his CCW (concealed carry) in 2022 and also has a previous arrest for trespassing in the state.
At the end of the rampage, Tamura died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a 33rd floor office where he had barricaded himself. The Horseshoe Casino confirmed on Tuesday that he was an employee and released a statement:
“We can confirm that Shane Devon Tamura was a surveillance department employee at Horseshoe Las Vegas. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this tragic event. We are cooperating with law enforcement and will not be commenting further.”
The Horseshoe Casino is owned by Caesars.
