Nyc Shooting Suspect Showed Promise On The Football Field Before Abrupt Turn To Violence

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Ten years ago, nan spot wherever Shane Devon Tamura shined brightest was connected nan shot field, clad successful a greenish helmet and azygous arsenic a clutch moving backmost for his Los Angeles-area precocious school.

Fresh disconnected a game-clinching touchdown for Granada Hills Charter School successful September 2015, nan elder varsity subordinate told a section news outlet that nan team’s occurrence was each astir staying “disciplined.”

“Just clasp our heads up high,” Tamura said, “and past a bully consequence is going to come.”

But successful caller years, Tamura was apparently plagued by psychological issues and displayed troubling behavior. He knowledgeable 2 intelligence wellness incidents successful 2022 and 2024, according to rule enforcement officials briefed connected nan investigation. In nan autumn of 2023, he was arrested astatine a Las Vegas casino connected suspicion of criminal trespassing, according to tribunal records.

Then, successful midtown Manhattan connected Monday, Tamura’s evident downward spiral reached a horrific climax. He opened occurrence wrong a high-rise connected Park Avenue, sidesplitting 4 people, including a New York City constabulary officer. Tamura, 27, yet turned an AR-style firearm connected himself and fired a fatal changeable into his chest, according to nan metropolis constabulary commissioner.

In a statement near down astatine nan scene, Tamura many times mentioned “CTE” — chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a encephalon information caused by injuries to nan head. Authorities opportunity Tamura intended to target nan firm office of nan National Football League.

Tamura’s shooting spree baffled group who knew him champion arsenic a promising young athlete.

“There was ne'er thing that would moreover correlate to this type of story,” said Anthony Michael Leon, who played pinch Tamura connected nan Granada Hills varsity shot squad successful their elder year. “The Shane Tamura that we knew — nan 17, 18-year-old kid who went to our schoolhouse — was thing for illustration this.”

‘Big things’ ahead

Shane Devon Tamura was calved connected Jan. 19, 1998, successful Las Vegas, though his family yet coiled up successful California. Tamura attended astatine slightest 2 Los Angeles-area precocious schools. He started retired astatine Golden Valley High School, successful nan suburb of Santa Clarita, and past transferred to Granada Hills Charter, successful nan San Fernando Valley.

In interviews, erstwhile teammates and coaches described Tamura arsenic a talented moving backmost who kept his attraction connected nan section and moved swiftly. In precocious March 2015, Golden Valley High coach Dan Kelley told The Los Angeles Times that he was “looking for large things” from Tamura.

Lucas Leppke, 1 of Tamura’s teammates astatine Golden Valley, said they first met astatine a shot campy earlier nan eighth people and played together done precocious school, making communal friends.

“He was our guy” connected nan field, Leppke said.

Tamura’s older brother, Terry, besides played connected nan school’s team. The brothers’ parents attended each crippled increasing up, Leppke said, and Shane was known for being polite to nan different players’ parents.

“My mom did nan squad meals and she remembers each clip he interacted he was like, ‘Yes, ma’am, ‘no, ma’am,’ ‘thank you,’” Leppke said.

During his inferior year, Tamura was having problem academically and those issues were superior capable that he wasn’t going to beryllium eligible to play successful his elder year, according to Caleb Clarke, a classmate. Tamura tried to return to shot by playing “summer ball” aft his grades improved, but Tamura didn’t for illustration that he wasn’t going to beryllium nan starting moving back, Clarke said.

Tamura transferred to Granada Hills Charter aft that. At his caller school, Tamura continued to impressment connected nan gridiron. Walter Roby, who coached Tamura there, said he was a “great player” who was “real elusive, existent agile.”

“He came in, worked hard, kept his chemoreceptor down,” Roby added. “He was a quiet kid, well-mannered, very coachable. Whatever needed to beryllium done, he would do.”

It’s not clear whether Tamura graduated from precocious school. In a statement, Granada Hills Charter said he “attended nan 2015 Fall Semester and has had nary relationship pinch nan schoolhouse since his withdrawal a decade ago.” Tamura does not look to person played shot professionally aft his student days.

Clarke and Leppke said they kept up pinch Tamura connected societal media successful much caller years, though he seldom posted. In 1 of his past Instagram posts, successful April 2024, Tamura is seen wagering astatine a gaming array astatine nan Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa successful Las Vegas.

Tamura captioned nan post: “Wanted dormant aliases alive.”

Troubled times

Tamura returned to Las Vegas sometime aft precocious school. He astir precocious had a occupation successful nan surveillance section astatine nan Horseshoe, a casino edifice connected nan Strip that is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. In a statement, a Horseshoe spokesperson said nan casino was cooperating pinch rule enforcement and would not publically remark connected nan matter.

The specifications of Tamura’s life arsenic a 20-something successful Las Vegas were still coming into attraction this week. Records show that Tamura had a activity paper issued by nan Nevada Private Investigators Licensing Board from 2019 to 2024. The activity paper did not authorize him to transportation a firearm.

It was not clear whether Tamura ever practiced arsenic a backstage investigator.

Las Vegas tribunal records show that Tamura was arrested astatine nan Red Rock Casino connected Sept. 27, 2023, and charged pinch trespassing.

The constabulary study says Tamura was gambling astatine a table, wherever he was approached by a casino information serviceman who asked to spot his ID. Tamura refused, and nan information serviceman asked him to leave. Tamura past stopped astatine nan cashier cage to cod his winnings — astir $5,000 — and again refused to show his ID to cod nan money. Security called nan constabulary for assistance.

Tamura, who appeared “agitated,” was escorted retired of nan casino and into nan parking lot, but he refused to time off nan property, according to nan report. He was arrested connected suspicion of trespass aft a verbal informing and taken to nan Clark County Detention Center.

Nevada authorities opportunity Tamura knowledgeable 2 intelligence wellness incidents, 1 successful 2022 and 1 successful 2024, according to rule enforcement officials briefed connected nan investigation. The circumstantial quality of those incidents is not known, and it’s not clear whether they would person precluded Tamura from legally possessing a gun.

Day of violence

In caller days, Tamura drove a BMW crossed nan country. The car went done Colorado connected Saturday, past Nebraska and Iowa connected Sunday. It was successful Columbia, New Jersey, arsenic precocious arsenic 4:24 p.m. Monday, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch — and it entered Manhattan soon thereafter, she said.

Security video showed Tamura exit nan double-parked achromatic BMW while holding a rifle. He walked into 345 Park Ave. and unleashed a hail of bullets, sidesplitting New York City constabulary serviceman Didarul Islam, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, information serviceman Aland Etienne, and existent property institution worker Julia Hyman.

Tamura died by termination from a self-inflicted gunshot coiled to nan torso, according to nan New York City Medical Examiner. In a three-page statement Tamura near down astatine nan scene, he accused nan NFL of knowingly concealing nan dangers to shot players’ brains. “Please study encephalon for CTE,” Tamura wrote.

NYPD detectives who searched Tamura’s location successful Nevada recovered ammunition and a notepad containing a handwritten connection to his family. Tamura wrote that he saw nan disappointment successful their eyes, and he was sorry.

The aesculapian examiner’s agency said it does not person plans to nonstop Tamura’s encephalon to different researchers since it has an in-house neuropathology expert.

But Dr. Ann McKee, nan head of nan Unite Brain Bank astatine Boston University, which studies CTE, said she would beryllium willing successful doing investigation connected his encephalon for signs of nan degenerative disease.

McKee was among nan researchers whose names Tamura had scrawled successful his note.

“I cognize he played precocious schoolhouse football, and our investigation does show that precocious schoolhouse shot players are astatine consequence for CTE,” McKee said connected NBC News NOW, adding that nan illness tin “affect young group moreover successful their teenage years, and it is simply a illness that gets worse pinch aging.”

Tamura’s erstwhile teammates who said to NBC News said his position arsenic a moving backmost and protect backmost put Tamura, who was 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, successful predominant interaction during plays.

Dalone Neal, a Golden Valley teammate, said nan coaches would sometimes person Tamura beryllium retired because “he would return a batch of blows to nan head” arsenic he tried to tally done different players. “He was a mini feline but ever was fresh for difficult contact,” Neal said successful a matter message.

“For personification for illustration him, I wouldn’t moreover deliberation it’s needfully nan concussions, but you tin get deed each play, each different play,” Leppke said. “It’s for illustration those small hits to nan caput are, I think, what do a batch of nan harm later connected successful life.”

“I consciousness sorry for nan 13-year-old kid who I first knew,” Leppke added. “But nan big he turned into is not precisely nan way you ever wanted anyone to take.”