The man who is accused of a mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan, which killed four people and wounded a fifth person on Monday, left a note that claimed he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), ABC News reports.
The suspect, Shane Tumura, died by suicide following the shooting, which took place at NFL headquarters in midtown Manhattan. The suspect has no known connection to the NFL.
The multi-page note, which was found in his pocket, included his claim he had CTE, blamed football, and accused the NFL of hiding football’s potential risks to players’ brains in order to increase profits, sources told the outlet. In a third page of the note, he wrote, “Study my brain please. I’m sorry,” per ABC sources.
CTE, a neurodegenerative brain disease that has been connected to repeated hits to the head, has been seen in athletes, including hockey players and boxers (CTE was found in a study of donated brains of NFL players), and military veterans. It has been associated with “impulsivity, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and explosivity,” according to one study, and symptoms can include loss of memory, changes in mood, confusion, and difficulty thinking clearly.
Tamura, 27, was a high school football player, but never played professionally. Sources told NBC that so far, no evidence has been discovered by police showing he had CTE or a brain injury.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told Fox 5 on Tuesday that it “appeared” Tamura was “going after” NFL employees. In an interview with CBS, he said: “He, from our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,” Adams said. “Instead, it took him to Rudin Management, and that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.”
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Four people were killed, including police officer Didarul Islam and an executive at Blackstone. A fifth victim was wounded and taken to the hospital in critical condition, but is stable following surgery, per an ABC source.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said an NFL employee had been “seriously injured” during the incident.
