NFL HQ Shooter Had Low-Stage CTE

On July 28, 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura drove to 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the NFL's headquarters, and opened fire with a high-powered rifle, killing four people — NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, Wesley LePatner, Julia Hyman and Aland Etienne — before dying by suicide. The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said its neuropathological examination found "unambiguous diagnostic evidence" of low-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in Tamura's brain, a condition linked to repeated head trauma that can only be diagnosed after death. Tamura left a multi-page note at the scene asking that his brain be studied and blaming football and the NFL for concealing brain-injury risks, even referencing former player Terry Long; reporting indicates he played high school football and had documented mental-health problems, chronic migraines and prior law-enforcement mental-health checks. The medical examiner and experts stressed that, although CTE was present, current science cannot definitively say CTE caused the shooting, while advocates say the diagnosis highlights concerns about head trauma in youth football.