The gunman in Monday afternoon’s Midtown mass shooting that claimed the lives of five individuals — including an off-duty police officer and three civilians — may have been targeting the National Football League and its headquarters, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday morning in an interview with CBS.
The NYPD is investigating whether the shooter, who shot himself on the scene, was targeting the NFL office. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement to NFL staff Monday evening that one NFL employee was “seriously injured” in the attack.
“He 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,” Adams said on “CBS Mornings,” noting that the NFL headquarters is located in the same Midtown building where the shooting took place.
Adams said that, according to the NYPD’s preliminary investigation, the gunman may have taken the wrong elevator in his purported targeting of the NFL office, which is located at 345 Park Ave., where the shooting took place.
In the note found on the suspect by police, the suspect, Shane Tamura, claimed to be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which cannot be diagnosed until after an individual has died. CTE, a trauma-induced neurodegenerative disease, is commonly associated with football.
“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,” Adams said. “The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank.”
A spokesperson for the NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ongoing investigation into Tamura’s motives or the attack on the NFL employee who was injured, Craig Clementi.
In his statement to staff, Goodell wrote that the employee was “in the hospital and in stable condition” after the attack. Goodell wrote that those at the NFL are “deeply grateful” to law enforcement at the scene and to NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was killed in the shooting.
“Those based in New York should work remotely tomorrow,” Goodell wrote in his letter to staff. “It is understandable if you prefer to take the day off. There will be an increased security presence at 345 Park Avenue in the days and weeks to come.”
Islam was pronounced dead at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on Monday evening. Adams joined NYPD top brass and rank-and-file for a dignified transfer of Islam’s body to the Chief Medical Examiner in Kips Bay. Islam was 36 years old and is survived by his wife, who is pregnant, and two children.
The building also houses Rudin Management, KPMG, and Blackstone. Wesley LePatner, an executive at Blackstone, was one of those killed in the shooting.
Surveillance video surrounding the building shows a man carrying a rifle into the building, which he then open fired inside 345 Park Ave.’s lobby. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that officers found a rifle case, a revolver, magazines and ammunition in his car.
