New York City Shooter Left Note Blaming NFL for Brain Injury, NYC Mayor Says

‘He appeared to have blamed the NFL for his injury,’ New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

Police officers and emergency vehicles on a street as police respond to a shooting incident in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City on July 28, 2025. John Lamparski/AFP via Getty Images

The suspect accused of killing four people in a Manhattan high-rise building on July 28 allegedly left a note behind that appeared to blame the NFL for a brain injury, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams on July 29.

The alleged attacker, 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, committed suicide by shooting himself after he allegedly opened fire at the 345 Park Avenue building that houses the NFL’s headquarters, along with other businesses.

During an interview on CBS News, Adams was asked about a possible motive in the shooting. The mayor said a note was allegedly found stating that the shooter felt that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury more commonly known as CTE that some football players have been known to develop.

“He appeared to have blamed the NFL for his injury,” Adams said.

An Epoch Times review showed that no one with the name Shane Tamura ever played in the NFL, including on teams’ practice squads.

Tamura played football in high school, Adams said during an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on July 29. However, he never played in college or the NFL, the mayor noted.

“He was not an NFL player,” Adams told PIX11. “It appears as though he was blaming the NFL for his CTE ... and he shot himself and took his own life. Shot himself in the chest. It appears to have been that he wanted to preserve his brain for reasons of research.”

Adams said the preliminary investigation shows that the gunman took the wrong elevator bank and, instead of getting off at NFL headquarters, ended up at Rudin Management, which owns 345 Park Avenue.

When he went up the different elevator, “that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees,” Adams said during the “CBS Mornings” interview.

A security staffer remained hospitalized in critical condition, Adams said. The suspect allegedly shot a woman in the lobby, then a security guard who was hiding behind the counter, he said.

In what Adams called an “uncanny episode,” the gunman allegedly allowed a woman to walk past him without shooting before taking the elevator up to Rudin and discharging multiple rounds there. He said Rudin Management had a safe room on each floor, which doubled as bathrooms. It was unclear whether anyone was in there at the time, he said.

One of the four victims slain in the gun violence was a 36-year-old New York City Police Department officer, Didarul Islam, who immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh, Adams said at a July 28 press conference.

Wesley LePatner, an executive at investment firm Blackstone, one of the building’s tenants, was also killed, according to the company. The other victims were not identified by Adams.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tamura allegedly had a history of mental illness and had driven cross-country to New York City in recent days. The gunman was believed to have acted alone.

Reuters contributed to this report.