United States of America

NYC Gunman Blamed NFL for Brain Injury in Note

JUL 30 2025·Updated JUL 31 2025

Story

Above: A police officer stands outside the 345 Park Avenue building in New York on July 29, 2025. Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Shane Tamura, the gunman who shot and killed four people in Manhattan on Monday, has been identified as a former high school football player who, the authorities claim, left a note blaming the National Football League (NFL) for his alleged brain injuries.
The New York Times
New York Post
New York Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the note’s existence in an appearance on CBS’s “CBS Mornings,” stating it revealed that Tamura believed he had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to long-term exposure to repeated head collisions.
NYC
CDC
Adams added that, given Tamura’s vendetta against the NFL, the authorities suspect he targeted the building at 345 Park Avenue because it serves as the NFL’s headquarters, but that Tamura took the wrong elevator to Rudin Management instead.
NYC
Washingtontimes
Tamura’s note also referenced the 2005 suicide of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Terry Long, who was posthumously diagnosed with CTE after ending his life by drinking a gallon of antifreeze, claiming, “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.”
New York Post
NPR
The third page of Tamura’s letter included a request for the authorities to “study my brain[,] please,” as well as an apology for his actions and a message to “tell Rick I’m sorry about everything.” The identity of “Rick,” however, remains unclear.
Newsweek
FOX 5 New York
abc7.com
Elsewhere, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo on Tuesday, confirming that one NFL staffer remains in the hospital in stable condition and that security will be increased at the NFL’s New York headquarters in the weeks ahead.
Business Insider
FOX News

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

The discovery of Tamura’s notes opens a new avenue of investigation into the motivations behind this appalling attack. Law enforcement will reconstruct the series of events that led to this tragedy by probing the perpetrator’s social media, visiting his family home in Las Vegas, and analyzing his note further to glimpse any new clues or details.

NYC

Narrative B

The murder of a New York police officer and three civilians on Monday is yet another example of the epidemic of gun violence plaguing the streets of America. For decades, the authorities have allowed mass shootings to become commonplace in the U.S., ruining countless lives in the process. The latest shooting shows that the time has come for decisive action.