Investigators are combing through evidence in the wake of New York City’s deadliest mass shooting since 2000, trying to figure out more about the gunman who unleashed an assault-style rifle in Midtown, fatally shooting four people – including a police officer – and injuring one before killing himself.
The shooting Monday at 345 Park Avenue, a glossy skyscraper near 52nd Street and blocks from busy tourist sites like Rockefeller Center and the Museum of Modern Art, erupted as workers filed out of offices during the busy evening commute. The building houses global firms, including investor Blackstone and the National Football League, with which the gunman – a competitive football player in his youth – had grievances, a law enforcement source said.
It is among at least 254 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Here’s what we know:
The gunman
The gunman, Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, drove across the country in the days before the attack and got to New York on Monday afternoon, police said.
Tamura had a “documented mental health history,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a news conference Monday night.
He also had a suicide note in his pocket alleging he suffered from CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease linked to head trauma, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. Tamura asked that his brain be studied and wrote: “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you,” the source said, adding the short note was scribbled over three pages investigators found after the shooting.
CTE is commonly associated with football players, and studies have shown repetitive hits to the head can result in the disease. Tamura had once played football competitively, sources told CNN.
The NFL’s offices are on the fifth floor of the Park Avenue building.
Police are investigating Tamura’s motives, they said, and an FBI initial search of internal systems did not turn up information about gunman, the agency said.
Former friends and classmates expressed shock at the news of the shooting.
“When I knew him, he was a great teammate. He was a great guy in general. He didn’t cause any problems, actually at all, in the locker room or on the field. He was just a guy that really enjoyed the sport, not problematic at all,” said a former high school friend, according to CNN affiliate KABC.
Another childhood friend, who asked not to be identified, remembered Tamura as a nice guy and a good athlete. Neither had spoken to Tamura in many years.