NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says gunman in deadly Manhattan shooting targeted NFL office, as police seek to question shooter's associate

The Las Vegas man who fatally shot an NYPD officer and three others at a midtown Manhattan office building Monday before killing himself was apparently trying to target the headquarters of the National Football League, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday, as police sought to question an associate of the gunman.

The shooter — identified by police as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, who worked security at a Las Vegas casino — left a suicide note with his body that blamed the NFL for a brain disease he claimed to have, Tisch said in a video message to the NYPD Tuesday. 

"In the note, Mr. Tamura claimed to be suffering from CTE, possibly from playing high school football," Tisch said, referring to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the brain disease linked to repeated concussions that has been diagnosed in some NFL players. "And he blamed the NFL. He also writes: 'study my brain, I’m sorry.' Reflecting the preoccupation with CTE, Mr. Tamura mentions a Frontline documentary from 2013 on the topic and NFL players who suffered from the disease."

Two teams of NYPD detectives headed to Las Vegas Tuesday to execute search warrants at Tamura's home and at a gun store where he legally purchased a revolver on June 12 using a Nevada concealed carry permit, Tisch said. 

Detectives are also seeking to question an associate of Tamura who allegedly purchased the "lower receiver" part of the AR-15 Tamura allegedly assembled and used in the killings. Police did not provide the associate's name.

"We have located that associate and others," Tisch said. "And we’ll be questioning him about that purchase."

Detectives are also seeking to search Tamura's car, which he drove cross country to Manhattan, and two phones he allegedly left at the shooting scene, Tisch said. 

Tamura worked an overnight security job at the Horseshoe Las Vegas hotel and casino, but did not show up for a scheduled shift on Sunday, Tisch said. 

Four people were killed in the attack: Didarul Islam, 36, the off-duty officer and father of two with a baby on the way who was working security in the building, Aland Etienne, a security officer at the building, Julia Hyman, who worked for a real estate company, and Wesley LePatner, an executive at the global investment management company Blackstone, which had an office in the building. 

Julie Bolcer, the chief communications officer for the New York City Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday it had performed autopsies on the victims, all of whom died by homicide. 

The Police Benevolent Association said lateTuesday that Islam's funeral will be held Thursday at Parkchester Jame Masjid Funeral Home in the Bronx. A prayer service is scheduled from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. Interment will be at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Totoway, New Jersey, according to the PBA.

A vigil Tuesday evening for Islam and the other victims brought a somber crowd to Bryant Park that included Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and prayers said in many faiths.

Islam's cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the torso and left upper extremity. Etienne, Hyman and LePatner each died from a gunshot wound to the torso, Bolcer said. 

Tamura's cause and manner of death was a suicide by a gunshot wound to the torso, Bolcer said. 

Tamura shot himself in the chest on the building's 33rd floor, police have said. Tamura did not play professional football, but played football in high school, officials said. 

Authorities found a three-page handwritten document folded in his wallet, an NYPD spokesman said.

The first page of the note read: "CTE- Study my brain please. I am sorry. Tell Rick I'm sorry." 

That was followed by a second page, which read: "Terry Long. Football gave me CTE and it cause me to drink a gallon of antifreeze. You can't go against the NFL. They squash you."

The final page read: "Please study brain for CTE. I'm Sorry. The League knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us."

Adams, speaking Tuesday on CBS, also said Tamura was targeting the NFL.

"From our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator," Adams said. 

 LePatner, the Blackstone executive, was 43.

"We are heartbroken to share that our colleague, Wesley LePatner, was among those who lost their lives in the tragic incident at 345 Park Avenue. Words cannot express the devastation we feel," spokesperson Matthew Anderson said in a statement. 

 "Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed," the statement said. "She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD." 

Hyman, an associate at Rudin Management, which was located in the building, was a 2020 graduate of the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in a statement.

 "Julia, a native of Manhattan and an associate at Rudin Management, graduated summa cum laude with a major in hotel and restaurant administration and a minor in real estate," the statement said. "Her first job after graduating was with Sagehall Partners, founded by a fellow Cornellian. Julia was on campus earlier this summer for her five-year reunion. 

"We are devastated for Julia’s friends and family, including her parents and sister Ali, a 2017 graduate of the College of Human Ecology," the statement said. "We also extend our sympathy to the loved ones of the three other victims."

Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ SEIU, the union Etienne belonged to, said in a statement:

"We are devastated to hear the reports of the shooting at 345 Park Avenue. We extend our deep condolences to the families and friends who lost loved ones, including that of our own 32BJ SEIU security member Aland Etienne, a dedicated security officer who took his job duties extremely seriously."

An NFL employee was seriously injured in the shooting, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed in messages to employees.

Goodell said New York-based employees should work remotely through Aug. 8. 

Giants coach Brian Daboll, speaking at the team's training camp on Tuesday morning offered prayers for the victims.

The building at 345 Park Ave. remained an active crime scene on Tuesday and its offices were closed. NYPD officers stood at the building's entrance and it was surrounded by metal barricades. A  K-9 officer stood at the entrance where a window appeared still intact but shattered from gunfire. Crime scene investigators were seen examining the bullet holes.

Bouquets of flowers dotted a ramp outside the building, which had its flags at half-staff in memory of the victims.

Islam, a 3½-year veteran of the department who was assigned to the Bronx's 47th Precinct, was working off-duty in a paid detail in uniform to bring in extra money for his pregnant wife and two sons, said Tisch, who praised Islam as "a hero." 

Hochul said flags across the state were being flown at half-staff until the victims' funerals.

Late Tuesday at the Bryant Park vigil, Hochul lamented the loss of life and said the type of assault rifle weapon used by the killer needs further restrictions.

"They say that grief is the price you pay for love," Hochul said. "What does that mean? It means there were former individuals who just a little more than 24 hours ago walked this earth. They were so well loved by their parents, a husband, a wife, their children, their co-workers. That the pain is so searing right now, it seems unending," she said. "If this nation misses yet another moment to do what is right that they’ve neglected to do for decades then shame on them! This is the time to stand up and say, no more slaughter by a weapon of mass destruction designed to kill people on the battlefield, not in our buildings here in the great city of New York."

Ellen Szita, 75, a nanny who lives in midtown Manhattan, had been in a crosstown cab Monday evening when she saw police officers driving on the sidewalk, rushing to the scene of the shooting. On Tuesday, she was out for a walk in Bryant Park when she saw people gathering for the vigil.

"I just was moved to sit down and stay for it," Szita said. 'I think it’s a good thing to recognize tragedy, to not just let it be another day in the big city. Lives were lost."

She recounted the commotion in midtown in the aftermath of the shooting and Googling to see what had happened.

"It just is another example of how random life is. In this world it’s hard for people to feel protected. I was astounded at the photos of him waltzing in with the very large weapon. It just reminded me of the fragility of life, the fact he took the wrong bank of elevators. It’s just so random. I love this city, and I’m very sorry that it happened."

The vigil included condolences and prayers in the American Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

In Las Vegas, authorities told NYPD officials Monday that Tamura has a "documented mental health history," Tisch said.

Court records show Tamura was charged in Nevada on Sept. 27, 2023, with misdemeanor trespass, not amounting to burglary. He was released on his own recognizance, the court records said, and prosecutors ultimately declined to prosecute him. 

Tamura was arrested for allegedly trespassing on the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Journal-Review reported. Tamura allegedly refused to provide identification when asked by security, who called the police when Tamura refused to leave the property, the newspaper reported. 

Tamura then tried to cash $5,000 worth of chips, but again was asked for ID and again he refused, the article said. Police reported he appeared "agitated," according to the Journal-Review, and he was "obstructive" and refused to cooperate with police, the paper said. After a brief detention in a casino holding cell, he was escorted to a patrol car and again asked to leave the property.

"Instead of leaving the property, Shane leaned on the patrol vehicle and threw his ID card on the hood," the paper quoted the police report. "Shane was given back his ID and told to leave the property or he will be arrested. Shane still refused to leave the property and asked how he will get his money."

Even if Tamura had been convicted of trespassing, the misdemeanor would still allow him to legally own the rifle the NYPD said he used to carryout the shooting spree. Nevada laws do prohibit gun ownership for convicted felons and those who have been involuntarily committed due to mental health problems, but Tamura's behavior did not trigger either of those restrictions.

Tamura played varsity football his junior and senior year in high school, though for different teams each year. During his junior year he played 10 games for the Golden Valley High School Grizzlies in Santa Clara, California,  rushing for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns, according to the school sports website MaxPreps.

In 2015, he switched teams to Granada Hills Charter school in Granada Hills, California, where he played for the Highlanders his senior year. At 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, Tamura  rushed for 616 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. He added two more touchdowns on pass receptions and another on a kickoff return. He was dubbed player of the game six times during his senior year season, according to the website.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that one of Tamura's former coaches at Granada Hills said he was "in total shock" over the shooting.

"He was just a quiet kid," Walter Roby told The Times. "He was coachable. If you asked him to do something, he did it with a smile."

Roby told The Times that Tamura was a running back with athleticism, but didn't show signs of wanting to play football after high school.

"At the end of the season, I tried to help all the seniors who had aspirations to play in college," Roby said, according to the The Times. "And he was not one of them."

Tamura drove cross country over the course of days from Las Vegas and when he arrived in New York City, he double-parked his BMW outside the building at 345 Park Ave. just before 6:30 p.m., Tisch said.

The gunman was captured on surveillance video walking across a plaza outside the building carrying an AR-15 style rifle.

After he entered the building's lobby, he shot Islam in the back, Tisch said. Tamura continued to spray gunfire around the lobby, killing a security guard who had taken shelter and two others, the commissioner said.

At the elevator bank, Tamura allowed a woman exiting an elevator to leave unharmed after he had just "assassinated" a security guard, who "tried to hide himself behind the counter." Adams said the security guard could have disabled the elevators, but wasn't able to. 
"It was pretty eerie," Adams said on CNN. "When you looked at the video ... you saw that after the suspect shot several individuals, he came in contact with the woman who was leaving the elevator, and he allowed her to walk past him without any action at all."

Tamura then took the elevator to the 33rd floor and opened fired on a woman, killing her, and then walked to the end of the hallway, where he took his own life, shooting himself in the chest, Tisch said.