On Monday night, an individual armed with an M4 rifle entered a skyscraper in New York City and began shooting, killing four people, including a police officer, and seriously injuring another before committing suicide.
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The incident occurred at 345 Park Avenue, the building where the offices of the NFL, the investment bank Blackstone, and the auditing firm KPMG are located, among others.
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How did the attack happen on Monday night in New York?
The events began when a man, captured on surveillance cameras, emerged from a black BMW parked illegally near the entrance of 345 Park Avenue with an M4 rifle in his right hand, as recounted by New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The shooter entered the lobby “immediately opening fire” at the deceased officer, who also worked in the building, before shooting another woman, a man, and a security guard.
Next, the shooter took the elevator, leaving another woman unharmed, to go to the 33rd floor, where the real estate company Rudin Management is located, as detailed by the police. There, he walked through the halls shooting as he advanced and fatally injuring another person. “Then, he goes to the hallway and shoots himself in the chest,” Tisch narrated.
According to the New York Police, the injured man is in critical condition, but stable, and also reported that “four other victims are being treated for minor injuries suffered while trying to escape the scene”.
Who was the attacker and what would be their motives?
The police identified Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas as a suspect, and in his vehicle they found “a rifle case with bullets, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack, and prescription medications for Tamura.” He is believed to have traveled over 2,500 miles from Nevada to New York in the last two days.
“The reasons are still being investigated and we are trying to understand why he chose this particular place,” explained the police official, mentioning that, according to Las Vegas authorities, the suspect “had documented history of mental health issues.”
According to NBC News, a note was found in Tamura’s wallet with several references to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma, common in American football.
“CTE study my brain, please. I’m sorry,” says part of the note, according to the sources cited by NBC News.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy cannot be detected through a scan or other tests, and can only be found through various investigations on the brain of a deceased person.
Tamura’s note would also mention Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers player who committed suicide in 2005. According to some researchers, by shooting himself in the chest, he may have intended to leave his brain intact for possible future investigation.
Tamura played American football in his senior year at Granada Hills Charter School in Los Angeles in 2015, but did not continue his career at the college level.
All of this background leads the police and investigators to suspect that the attacker’s target was the NFL offices located on the fifth and sixth floors of the 345 Park Avenue skyscraper.
The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, sent a memo to league officials informing them that a worker was seriously injured in the Monday night incident.
Condolences from Donald Trump
This morning, President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network about the incident and said, “I have been informed about the tragic shooting that occurred in Manhattan, a place that I know and love...I trust that our law enforcement will get to the bottom of why this deranged lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also extended his condolences to the victims, including Officer Didarul Islam, and stated that “this horrible crime reminds us all how easy it is to access a weapon.” “Gun violence has affected many residents and shattered too many families across the country, and we will continue to fight to do everything possible to protect our city,” he added.