Midtown Manhattan shooting: Shane Devon Tamura, the 27-year-old gunman responsible for Monday’s deadly Midtown Manhattan shooting in New York, left behind a three-page suicide note blaming the National Football League (NFL) and a suspected case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for his violent actions. Tamura, a former high school football player from Las Vegas, fatally shot himself after a standoff with police inside the building that houses NFL headquarters.
NFL accused of ‘squashing lives’
Tamura’s handwritten note, recovered from his pocket after the attack, highlighted his despair and anger. In it, he claimed that repeated head trauma from playing football had caused him to develop CTE, a degenerative brain disease often found in athletes exposed to concussions and repeated blows to the head.
“You can’t go against the NFL; they’ll squash you,” Tamura reportedly wrote, according to CNN. “Study my brain, please. I’m sorry.” He blamed the league for “destroying” his life and accused it of knowingly covering up the risks of brain injury in order to protect profits.
Suicide note mentions Terry Long and ‘Rick’
The note also referenced Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers player who was diagnosed with CTE and died by suicide in 2005 after ingesting antifreeze. Tamura appeared to identify with Long, writing, “Terry Long football gave me CTE, and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze.”
Another person mentioned in the note was someone named Rick, to whom Tamura apologised. “Tell Rick I’m sorry for everything,” he wrote. The relationship between the two is unclear, though investigators believe Rick may have been a close friend or relative. A second note discovered at Tamura’s Las Vegas home included a message to his parents expressing regret and sorrow.
Although Tamura never played football professionally, he competed at the high school level and allegedly believed that early injuries had left him mentally unwell. He had no known affiliations with the NFL or any of its teams. Despite this, he held the league responsible for what he described as the collapse of his mental health.
NYC shooting
The attack unfolded around 6:40 p.m. on Monday at 345 Park Avenue, a skyscraper that houses the NFL’s main offices as well as financial giants like Blackstone and KPMG. Tamura arrived heavily armed and wearing body armour. After opening fire in the lobby and exchanging gunshots with a NYPD officer, he fled to the upper floors and later shot himself on the 33rd floor.
Authorities have confirmed that Tamura legally owned the weapon in Nevada. His attack resulted in five deaths, including a NYPD officer, a security guard, a young professional, a top executive at Blackstone, and Tamura himself.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed she had been briefed on the incident. Meanwhile, NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani posted, “Heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in Midtown. I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer in my thoughts.”
The tragedy marks the 254th mass shooting in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.