A lone gunman’s rampage in Manhattan’s heart is preliminarily being attributed to the NFL’s alleged failure to confront its brain injury crisis. On Monday, Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old from Las Vegas, stormed an office tower at 345 Park Avenue, killing four before turning the gun on himself, as the Daily Mail reports. His twisted vendetta, seemingly fueled by a grudge against the NFL, reveals a deeper rot in how we handle mental health and corporate accountability.
Tamura, a licensed private investigator, drove cross-country, hitting Colorado, Nebraska, and New Jersey before unleashing chaos in Midtown. The shooting claimed four lives, including an NYPD officer shot in the back and a security guard ambushed at his desk. This wasn’t random; Tamura’s three-page manifesto railed against the NFL’s mishandling of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Born in Hawaii and raised in California, Tamura was once a promising high school running back. “Couple of touchdowns,” he bragged in a 2015 interview after a game, sounding like any spirited teen. That youthful spark makes his descent into violence all the more chilling, a cautionary tale of unaddressed mental health struggles.
Tamura’s plan was cold and calculated. He parked his black BMW near the tower, strode across a plaza with an M4 rifle in plain view, and stormed the lobby. The scene turned hellish as gunshots rang out, locking down the building and trapping workers in a nightmare.
“It was like a crowd panic,” said Anna Smith, a nearby worker. Her words capture the terror that gripped Midtown, with SWAT teams swarming and roads closing around Grand Central Terminal. Yet, the left’s obsession with “gun-free zones” didn’t stop Tamura’s legally carried arsenal.
Police found a rifle case, a loaded revolver, and medication in Tamura’s possession, pointing to a troubled mind. “Study my brain please,” his note begged, referencing former NFL player Terry Long’s CTE-driven suicide. Tamura’s plea reeks of desperation, but targeting innocents is no cry for help -- it’s cowardice.
Authorities say Tamura aimed for the NFL’s headquarters in the tower but ended up on the 33rd floor, home to Rudin Management. “He fully intended to shoot his way through,” said CNN’s John Miller, a former NYPD official. The NFL dodged a bullet, but its refusal to own the CTE crisis keeps fueling these tragedies.
Tamura’s note mentioned Terry Long, who drank antifreeze in 2006 after battling CTE. “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you,” Tamura wrote. His rage at the league’s stonewalling is understandable, but his murderous response is indefensible.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Tamura’s note added, addressing someone named Rick. The apology rings hollow when weighed against the lives he shattered. Personal grievances don’t justify mass slaughter, no matter how much the woke crowd wants to coddle mental health excuses.
Tamura had no criminal history, holding a concealed weapon permit from Las Vegas. His clean record and private investigator license paint a picture of a man who slipped through the cracks. Mental health red flags were there, but the system failed to act before it was too late.
“You never would have thought violence was something you’d associate with him,” said Caleb Clarke, a high school classmate. Clarke’s shock mirrors a society too quick to ignore warning signs in favor of feel-good narratives. Tamura’s story isn’t about a “gentle soul” gone astray -- it’s about accountability dodged.
“I’m just blown away right now,” said Walter Roby, Tamura’s former coach. The disbelief is palpable, but it’s time to stop being surprised when untreated mental illness and unchecked grievances collide. The progressive push to destigmatize everything leaves us blind to real dangers.
Midtown’s chaos saw finance workers evacuated and subways disrupted for hours. Police are scouring Tamura’s car, phone, and social media for clues, hunting for manifestos or accomplices. So far, it seems he acted alone, but the investigation continues.
“They blame their problems on other people and entities,” Miller said of shooters like Tamura. His insight cuts through the left’s obsession with externalizing every personal failing. Tamura’s vendetta against the NFL was his warped crusade, not society’s fault.
The Manhattan shooting is a grim reminder: ignoring mental health concerns can have extremely deadly costs. The NFL must face its CTE reckoning, but Tamura’s rampage proves that vengeance solves nothing. America needs tough solutions, not woke platitudes, to stop the next tragedy.
