A tragic shooting at a Manhattan high-rise Monday evening has left four people dead and others wounded, including an off-duty NYPD officer, and city officials now believe the gunman may have been targeting the headquarters of the NFL.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed early Tuesday that investigators believe 43-year-old Shane Tamura intended to reach the NFL’s offices at 345 Park Avenue but mistakenly entered the wrong elevator bank. Tamura opened fire in the lobby before making his way up to the 33rd floor, where he killed another person and ultimately took his own life.
“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,” Mayor Adams told local media. “The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank.”
Tamura, a California native who played high school football nearly two decades ago, reportedly left behind a handwritten note referencing the NFL and claiming he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. The note requested that his brain be studied after his death, according to two individuals familiar with the investigation.
While authorities have not confirmed a definitive motive, the references in the note are leading police to examine whether Tamura’s alleged grievance with the league motivated his deadly actions.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement to league employees early Tuesday morning announcing that one league employee was seriously injured in the attack, and is currently in the hospital in stable condition.
“We are deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers who responded to this threat quickly and decisively, and to Office Islam, who gave his life to protect others,” wrote Goodell.
Goodell noted there would be an increased security presence for days and weeks to come at 345 Park Avenue in New York City.
In surveillance footage, Tamura is seen exiting a double-parked BMW around 6:30 p.m. Monday carrying an M4-style rifle. Police said he stormed the lobby and immediately opened fire, fatally shooting Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was working a security detail. Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, had served in the NYPD for more than three years.
“He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a Tuesday news conference. “He died as he lived. A hero.”
Tamura then shot a woman seeking cover, a lobby security guard, and another man before heading to the 33rd floor. There, he shot and killed a staff member from Rudin Management before turning the weapon on himself, police said.
The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to piece together Tamura’s movements and digital history.
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