New York gunman was targeting NFL but went to wrong office, mayor says

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CBS

A gunman who killed four people when he stormed a skyscraper in the heart of New York on Monday evening left a note that appeared to blame the National Football League (NFL) for a brain injury, the city’s Mayor Eric Adams has said. The attacker, 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, shot himself dead after opening fire in a building where the American football league has its headquarters, but went to a different part of the building after taking the wrong lift. The gunman was carrying a note in which he blamed CTE, a brain disease triggered by head trauma, for his mental illness, Adams said. Tamura played football as a teenager but did not play in the NFL, ex-teammates have told US media.

New York City police officer Didarul Islam, 36 – who was working as a security guard at the building – was among those killed. Three more victims are yet to be formally identified. An NFL employee was also “seriously injured” in the attack, the league’s commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a message to staff. Asked about a possible motive, Adams told CBS: “[Temura] did have a note on him. The note alluded to that he felt he had CTE, a known brain injury for those who participate in contact sports. “He appeared to have blamed the NFL for his injury.”

Watch: New York in shock after fatal office shooting

The gunman appears to have driven across the US from Las Vegas to New York, and used an assault-style rifle during the attack. After opening fire in the lobby, he got in a lift to the 33rd floor of the skyscraper and continued to open fire. Mayor Adams said a preliminary investigation shows that the gunman mistakenly went to the office of Rudin Management, which owns the building.