The man who opened fire and killed four people inside a Manhattan high-rise before taking his own life had a long-documented history of mental illness, according to newly revealed 911 records from Las Vegas police.
Shane Tamura, 27, is now at the center of a disturbing investigation into how someone with clear signs of psychological distress, easy access to firearms, and possible sports-related brain trauma slipped through the cracks. Back in September 2022, Tamura’s mother made a desperate 911 call, telling dispatchers that her son was threatening to end his life and that he had become increasingly unstable. “He didn’t say he made a plan, he just said he just can’t take it anymore,” his mother told the dispatcher.
She explained that Tamura had been suffering from depression, migraines, and insomnia and had previously sustained a concussion from playing sports. At the time, he was staying at a Budget Suites Hotel in Las Vegas, and though she hadn’t told him she called the police, she hoped he would get help, the New York Post reported.
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Authorities also revealed that Tamura was carrying a handwritten note in his wallet when he opened fire at a Midtown Manhattan office building. The note allegedly stated he believed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma—and accused the NFL of covering up the real dangers of football-related brain injuries.
According to the New York Post, Tamura’s note directly called out the NFL for “hiding the truth” about how CTE affects athletes. He claimed to have been suffering in silence, blaming his migraines, mental health breakdowns, and mood swings on undiagnosed CTE.
Tamura was known to smoke marijuana and take sleeping pills, and had reportedly kept a gun in his bookbag during his episodes of crisis. Authorities also confirmed that he had been hospitalized twice for treatment following those incidents.