New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed that the gunman who killed four people and then committed suicide in a Manhattan skyscraper may have targeted the National Football League (NFL) offices because he blamed the league for brain injuries he claimed to suffer.
Authorities have identified the attacker as 27-year-old Shane Tamura. Police discovered a note that connected Tamura’s motive to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease often diagnosed in athletes who participate in contact sports. This note provided the first insight into the shootings that paralysed central Manhattan late on Monday.
A gunman who opened fire in a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday blamed the National Football League for a brain injury he suffered, New York's mayor said, thrusting chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) back into the spotlight https://t.co/ubXZtjU5cW pic.twitter.com/c97Ygaxaan
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 30, 2025Tamura shot a police officer outside the Park Avenue office tower before opening fire in the lobby. Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, he then attempted to access the NFL offices within the building.
Read: NYC Shooting: Shane Tamura Identified as Gunman in Midtown Rampage
Mayor Adams informed CBS News that the suicide note suggested Tamura believed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and held the NFL accountable for his injury. However, Adams clarified that Tamura never played in the NFL; he was instead known as a star high school football player in California.
JUST IN: NYC medical examiner says a neuropathology expert will examine the Manhattan gunman’s brain
The Mayor says the suspect claimed he had CTE from playing in the NFL, despite him never playing football past high school. pic.twitter.com/cGCSirpPkZ
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 30, 2025The incident highlights growing concerns over brain injuries in contact sports and the potential mental health consequences for athletes at all levels.
