Gunman Who Attacked Midtown Office Building Had C.T.E.

Shane Tamura, a former high school football player, shot himself and left behind a note that said his motive was anger at the N.F.L.

By Ken Belson and Chelsia Rose Marcius
Sept. 26, 2025

The gunman who killed four people in a Midtown Manhattan office building in July had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head injuries sustained in football and other contact sports, according to the New York City medical examiner’s office. The disease, known as C.T.E., can be diagnosed only posthumously. Shane Tamura, the gunman, killed himself after the shooting spree at 345 Park Avenue.

The medical examiner “found unambiguous diagnostic evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as C.T.E., in the brain tissue of the decedent,” according to a statement. “The findings correspond with the classification of low-stage C.T.E., according to current consensus criteria.” Mr. Tamura, a former high school football player, shot himself in the chest after shooting four people and left behind a note that said his motive was anger at the National Football League, which he blamed for hiding the effects of C.T.E. In the note, he asked that his brain be studied.

The police said Mr. Tamura, 27, drove from his apartment in Las Vegas and arrived in Manhattan and targeted the building at 345 Park Ave. because it housed the N.F.L. headquarters. The building became the scene of a shooting spree that left five people dead. He killed Didarul Islam, a Police Department officer; Aland Etienne, a security guard behind a desk; and Wesley LePatner, a senior executive at Blackstone who took cover behind a pillar; and Julia Hyman, who worked at Rudin Management. He also shot Craig Clementi, an employee for the N.F.L., wounding him but not killing him.

The note, from which the police released excerpts, also inveighed against the National Football League, which has offices at 345 Park Avenue, where the shooting took place, saying it had concealed the danger of the sport in favor of profits. Mr. Tamura’s family declined to immediately comment on the findings. The condition of Mr. Tamura’s brain revives questions about the possible long-term dangers of playing tackle football, even at only the youth level. Mr. Tamura, who played football in high school but not beyond, carried a note that referred to C.T.E. and claimed that the N.F.L. had concealed the risk of brain trauma in the sport in favor of profits. The police said he was seeking vengeance on the league, whose headquarters are in the building.

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