Office gunman in Midtown Manhattan unleashes deadly rampage, firing 47 rounds according to police reports
In a shocking turn of events, a former surveillance department employee at the Horseshoe hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Shane Tamura, has been identified as the gunman responsible for a rampage in Midtown Manhattan.
Tamura, who purchased an M4-style rifle for $1,400 from his supervisor at the Horseshoe hotel and casino, Rick Ackley, opened fire in the office building at 345 Park Avenue, killing four people: Didarul Islam, Wesley LePatner, Aland Etienne, and Julia Hyman.
The shooting spree, which saw Tamura fire 47 rounds, claimed the life of Julia Hyman as the last victim before he took his own life.
Investigators are still searching for a definitive motive behind the tragic incident. However, a note found by authorities suggests that Tamura may have been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and requested that his brain be studied. The targeted building, which houses the National Football League (NFL) headquarters, has led some to speculate that Tamura may have had a focus on the NFL as part of his motive.
Tamura, who was a former high school football player, may have linked his CTE claim to sports-related brain injury often associated with football players. Police have also noted that Tamura had a documented mental health history and had prepared meticulously for the attack, travelling from Las Vegas to New York in a BMW, carrying body armor, an assault rifle, a revolver, and extra ammunition.
The timeline of events leading up to the shooting includes a 59-second call received by Tamura as he drove through New Jersey on a Monday, and a 31-second call at 7:41 p.m. on Sunday while driving through Illinois. The conversations between Tamura and the callers remain undescribed by the police.
NYPD detectives have interviewed both people who called Tamura, and investigators are currently looking for a motive beyond the CTE-connected note and potential anger or fixation on the NFL.
In a separate development, there is currently a manhunt for the suspect in a Montana bar mass shooting. This investigation, however, is not related to the NYC shooting.
[1] Source: New York Times [2] Source: CNN [3] Source: ESPN
- The investigation into the tragedy at 345 Park Avenue, New York City, has expanded to include an interview with Rick Ackley, the supervisor at the Horseshoe hotel and casino where the gunman, Shane Tamura, worked, as they try to understand how Tamura obtained an M4-style rifle for $1,400.
- As the NYPD digs deeper into the motives behind the Midtown Manhattan shooting, they are also probing politics and general-news, examining if there's a link between Shane Tamura's attack and his documented interest in crime-and-justice, as reports have suggested that Tamura may have had a grudge against the NFL, sparking speculation about a possible political angle to the incident.
