NYC Gunman's Mom Said He Had a Sports Concussion

The mother of the man who killed four people at a Manhattan office tower home to the NFL told 911 dispatchers during a 2022 incident when he threatened to kill himself that he suffered from a sports-related concussion and other issues, new information released by Las Vegas police Tuesday revealed, per the AP. Shane Tamura, 27, who also ended his own life, had a documented history of mental health problems and carried a handwritten note in his wallet when he carried out the shooting that claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, investigators said. Tamura, who played high school football, accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports.

His mother told the dispatchers on Sept. 12, 2022, that her son was under a doctor's care for "depression, concussion like sports concussion, chronic migraines, and insomnia." She also said he was taking sleeping pills, smoking marijuana, and kept a gun in his backpack. It was one of two incidents that led to Tamura being admitted to hospitals for mental health crises. "He said he's going to kill himself" and that "he just can't take it anymore," she said in the recorded 911 call. Tamura was committed to a hospital again in 2024 after calling his mother and making statements about wanting to hurt himself, according to a first responder captured on body camera video released by Las Vegas police.

Tamura worked at the Horseshoe Las Vegas' surveillance department. He bought the rifle he used in the attack and the car he drove from his supervisor at the casino, where his locker was searched Wednesday. Police previously found a prescribed psychiatric medication and an epilepsy drug in his apartment. His psychiatric history would not have prevented him from legally purchasing the revolver, unless relatives or law enforcement sought a so-called extreme risk protection order from the courts. However, a new state law effective this month will allow officers to confiscate firearms in the immediate vicinity of someone placed on a mental health crisis hold.