Man who shot up the NFL Headquarters building, killing four, suffered from CTE

An autopsy has revealed that Shane Tamura, the former high school football player who killed four people during a shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper, was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.

Tamura, 27, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest following the July attack. Police said he left behind a note expressing anger at the NFL, claiming the league knowingly concealed the dangers of brain injuries to protect its profits.

“Please study brain for CTE,” the note read. “I’m sorry. The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us.”

Authorities said Tamura entered the building armed with a rifle, intending to reach the NFL’s offices, but exited on the wrong floor. Instead, he opened fire on employees of Blackstone and Rudin Management, killing three civilians and a responding NYPD officer.

Though Tamura only played high school football in Los Angeles and never advanced to the college or professional level, he believed repeated head injuries from the sport had left him with CTE—a disease that can cause memory loss, aggression, depression, and impaired judgment.