Police officers outside 345 Park Avenue on July 28, following a deadly incident where a gunman killed four people and himself within the office building housing the NFL’s headquarters.
The New York City medical examiner’s office has confirmed a tragic link: the gunman responsible for a fatal July shooting at a Midtown Manhattan office building suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This degenerative brain disease is notoriously associated with repeated head injuries sustained in contact sports like football. Shane Tamura, the perpetrator, died by suicide following the horrific spree at 345 Park Avenue.
Posthumous examination of his brain revealed ‘unambiguous diagnostic evidence’ of low-stage CTE, aligning with current medical standards. Tamura, a former high school football player, left behind a note expressing intense anger at the National Football League, accusing them of covering up the dangers of CTE. He specifically requested his brain be analyzed after his death.
Investigators revealed that the 27-year-old Tamura traveled from Las Vegas to Manhattan, specifically targeting 345 Park Avenue, the location of the NFL’s headquarters. The devastating attack claimed five lives: Police Officer Didarul Islam, security guard Aland Etienne, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, Rudin Management employee Julia Hyman, and Tamura himself. Another NFL employee, Craig Clementi, sustained injuries but survived. Excerpts from Tamura’s note highlighted his conviction that the NFL knowingly prioritized profits over player safety by hiding the risks of brain trauma in football. His family has chosen not to comment on these recent findings. This revelation about Tamura’s brain health reignites critical discussions surrounding the potential long-term dangers of tackle football, even at early developmental stages.
In response, the NFL issued a statement, conveying continued grief for the ‘senseless loss of lives’ and emphasizing that ‘no justification’ exists for such horrific acts. They also pointed out the evolving nature of CTE research, noting that its physical and mental manifestations are still under study. Over the last two decades, a heightened awareness of CTE has emerged as numerous former athletes from football, boxing, and hockey have been diagnosed. This has fueled increased research into the disease’s symptoms and dangers. Despite this, major sports leagues, including the NFL, have often been reluctant to fully acknowledge the direct link between their sports and brain trauma.
CTE primarily impacts the brain’s superior frontal cortex, crucial for executive functions like planning and reasoning, and the amygdala, which governs emotional control and aggression. Common symptoms include difficulty managing impulses, aggression, mood swings, impaired judgment, and a disorganized thought process. While most CTE diagnoses have historically been in athletes with extensive careers (15-20 years) and thousands of head impacts, a new trend is emerging. Increasingly, younger athletes, even those who didn’t play professionally or collegiately, are being diagnosed, though typically with less severe forms. At 27, Tamura sadly represents this growing demographic.
It’s important to note that researchers remain cautious about directly attributing specific actions, such as murder or suicide, solely to CTE, as numerous other contributing factors are often at play. Dr. Ann McKee, who leads the Boston University CTE Center and has examined thousands of brains from athletes and others with head trauma, underscores the limited understanding of the direct link between violent, impulsive behavior and CTE. She advocates for more extensive studies, acknowledging that frontal lobe damage from CTE can impair decision-making, judgment, and potentially lead to impulsivity and rage.
National attention has previously focused on high-profile cases involving former football players who committed violent acts. Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end, was convicted of murder before dying by suicide in jail at age 27. His brain showed an exceptionally severe form of CTE, comparable to that seen in much older players. Similarly, Phillip Adams, who tragically killed six people before taking his own life in 2021 at 32, also presented with an ‘unusually severe’ form of CTE after playing six seasons in the NFL.
In a disturbing pattern, some former NFL players who died by suicide, including Dave Duerson, deliberately aimed for their chests to preserve their brains for CTE research, often leaving notes with this request. However, researchers emphasize that these high-profile cases do not reflect the majority of individuals living with CTE. Dr. Daniel H. Daneshvar of Harvard Medical School cautions against directly linking brain pathology to specific violent acts, stating that most people with CTE do not commit such offenses.
Initially, CTE was thought to primarily affect professional athletes in sports like football, rugby, or boxing after years of intense head impacts. However, recent findings indicate diagnoses in younger athletes across various contact sports, some of whom never competed professionally or even collegiately. A significant 2023 Boston University study, examining 152 brains of contact-sport athletes under 30 who died with suspected brain disease, found CTE evidence in over 40 percent. A majority of these 63 CTE-positive individuals had played football, mostly at the high school or college level.
While these younger athletes also exhibited tau protein deposits, a hallmark of CTE, the concentrations were lower than in older cases. Their cognitive symptoms mirrored those of other youth athletes without CTE, suggesting that other factors, not just tau, might be influencing their experiences. Dr. Gil Rabinovici, a neurology and radiology professor at UCSF developing live CTE diagnostic imaging, cautions against premature conclusions. He stresses the need to investigate non-tau-related brain changes and exercise ‘extreme caution’ in attributing behavior solely to brain findings. Without a definitive live diagnostic test for CTE, athletes like Tamura often self-diagnose their cognitive issues. A survey of 4,180 former professional football players revealed that 34.4 percent believed they had CTE, citing symptoms such as headaches, depression, cognitive impairment, and suicidal ideation.
Tamura himself, according to his mother and New York police, was on medication for anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder, and his suicide notes reflected a deep obsession with brain injuries, convinced his mental health struggles stemmed from football-related head impacts. The pursuit of a reliable live CTE test, including blood tests and advanced brain imaging, continues steadily. Following years of PR challenges and mounting evidence, the NFL’s chief health and safety official publicly acknowledged the link between football and CTE in 2016. Since then, the league has actively promoted safer tackling techniques and advocated for flag football to deter children from the traditional, high-impact version of the sport.