Mass Shooting in New York: Former Football Player Targets NFL Agency, Leaves Note Blaming League for CTE

Strategic Insights -

In a devastating mass shooting that claimed four lives, including an off-duty police officer, authorities have identified the suspect as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, a former high school football player who blamed the National Football League (NFL) for his chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a note left behind. The shooting, which occurred in a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, is the deadliest firearms attack in New York City in a quarter of a century. As detectives continue to investigate the motive behind the attack, the NFL has tightened security in its Park Avenue offices, where one employee was seriously injured.

Key Takeaways:

  • The suspect, Shane Devon Tamura, left a note complaining that football had given him CTE, a brain injury linked to repetitive blows to the head and concussions.
  • The note also mentioned that he was not able to go against the NFL, as they would "squash" him.
  • Tamura was a former high school football player, who had a history of mental health problems and had acquired a security guard license.
  • A search of his car uncovered a loaded revolver, ammunition, and prescription medicines.
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Long, who was diagnosed with CTE in 2005, was mentioned in the note, as well as a person named Rick, whose identity is not clear.
  • The note also expressed sorrow for everything, and requested that Rick be told "I'm sorry".
  • The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, confirmed that a league employee was seriously injured in the attack, and said that security had been tightened in the Park Avenue offices.
  • The employee is in hospital in a stable condition, and Goodell addressed league staff, saying that "every one of you is a valued member of the NFL family".

Statistics:

  • The shooting affected 4 people, including an off-duty police officer, and one additional victim who was a league employee.
  • The employee injured in the attack is in hospital in a stable condition.
  • The suspect, Shane Devon Tamura, was 27 years old and had a history of mental health problems.
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Long was diagnosed with CTE in 2005, and killed himself after drinking antifreeze that same year.
  • A 2023 study from the CTE Center at Boston University found that 345 out of 376 former NFL players studied had CTE.
  • The symptoms of CTE include depression, headaches, and sleeping problems.

Sources:

  • CNN
  • New York's mayor, Eric Adams (CBS's This Morning)
  • The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell
  • A study by Dr Ann McKee of the CTE Center at Boston University (2023)
  • A study by Mass General Brigham in Boston (2024)