A gunman opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan office tower on Monday, July 28, killing four people and wounding a fifth before dying by suicide. Authorities said the suspect appeared to be targeting employees at the NFL headquarters.
Police identified the shooter as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura of Las Vegas, who left notes referencing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and accusing the NFL of a cover-up.
Tamura entered the office building around 6:30 p.m. with a semiautomatic rifle and began shooting inside the building, which houses the NFL’s headquarters, Blackstone and other firms.
Surveillance footage showed Tamura sparing a woman in the lobby before taking “the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “Instead, it took him to Rudin Management, and that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.”
What did Tamura’s notes reveal?
Investigators recovered two handwritten notes — one found in Tamura’s pocket and another at his Las Vegas residence. According to ABC News sources, the notes accused the NFL of concealing the dangers of brain trauma for profit and referenced CTE. One note included an apology to his parents and a plea to “study my brain, please. I’m sorry.”
Tamura had played high school football in Los Angeles but had no known ties to the NFL. Medical professionals can only diagnose CTE postmortem. Medical examiners plan to examine his brain during the autopsy.
Who were the victims?
The shooting killed NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, a father of two with a third child on the way. The NYPD assigned Islam to the 47th Precinct in the Bronx, where he served for three and a half years. Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described him as a hero who died protecting others.
Three civilians also died. Blackstone confirmed one victim as Wesley LePatner, global head of “Core+ Real Estate” and CEO of the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. A fifth victim, an NFL employee, was hospitalized and in stable condition Tuesday, according to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Officials have not publicly identified the two remaining victims.
What do we know about the shooter?
Tamura previously worked in surveillance at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He had two prior mental health crisis holds in Nevada, one in 2022 and another in 2024. Police said he traveled cross-country in a BMW over the weekend, arriving in New York just hours before the shooting.
What weapons were used?
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that Tamura used a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 rifle and carried a legally purchased Colt Python .357 revolver, ammunition, medications and two phones. He obtained the revolver with a Nevada concealed carry permit issued in 2022.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul renewed her call for a national assault weapons ban following the attack.
“New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation,” Hochul wrote. “We banned assault weapons. We strengthened our Red Flag Law. We closed dangerous loopholes. But our laws only go so far when an AR-15 can be obtained in a state with weak gun laws and brought into New York to commit mass murder.
