In Manhattan’s Midtown office building, the 27-year-old Shane Tamura, who shot and killed four people, revealed his long-standing struggles with mental health issues and multiple suicide threats in past calls to the authorities, the exposure of which came on August 5. The Las Vegas police released a batch of related records showing signs of Tamura’s mental instability dating back several years.
According to the disclosed 911 recording, Tamura’s mother had called the police as early as September 2022, reporting that her son was carrying a gun and saying, “I can’t go on,” indicating a possible suicide attempt.
“He started crying loudly, throwing things, saying that I made him feel worse. I didn’t dare to leave, nor did I dare to let him know I called the police,” Tamura’s mother was heard saying on the recording.
She also informed the authorities that her son was undergoing treatment, diagnosed with depression, concussions from sports, migraines, and insomnia. This call for help led to Tamura being admitted to a mental health facility for treatment for the first time.
In 2024, he was hospitalized again due to self-harm intentions. At that time, his mother told the police that he was “crying loudly, saying he couldn’t handle it anymore.”
Despite these records, Tamura drove from Las Vegas to New York in July this year and during the evening rush hour, stormed into the office building at 345 Park Avenue, wielding an M4 assault rifle and carried out the attack. He proceeded to kill Wesley LePatner, a senior executive at Blackstone Group, security guard Aland Etienne, New York City police officer Didarul Islam, and 27-year-old employee Julia Hyman of Rudin Management Company. Tamura ultimately ended his own life on the 33rd floor.
In his wallet, the police found what appeared to be a suicide note, where Tamura claimed to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and accused the National Football League (NFL) of covering up the risks of brain damage stemming from playing football, requesting for his brain to be studied during the autopsy. However, in reality, he never played for a professional team and only played football in high school in California.
The Las Vegas police stated that due to the severity of the case, they decided to release the relevant police records in a departure from usual practice to help the public understand the perpetrator’s medical history. Tamura’s brain is currently part of the autopsy process to further clarify whether his condition is related to CTE.