The gunman who killed an NYPD officer and three other people on July 28, 2025, in Midtown was largely motivated by his frustrations with the NFL.
Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old shooter who fatally shot himself, was a former standout high school football player who claimed he suffered from CTE, the brain disease that has been found to be common in football.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease that occurs with repeated head injuries.
The disease worsens over time and has been associated with second impact syndrome, which takes place when a second head injury occurs before a previous head injury is fully healed.
CTE is rare and not completely understood by doctors, and there is no way to diagnose the disease in a living person – doctors can only confirm the disease in an autopsy after death.
The disease has been linked to football, given the contact-heavy, physical nature of the sport.
A 2017 study by Boston University’s CTE Center found that of the 111 NFL brains it examined, 110 had some level of CTE.
In September 2024, a study by the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University revealed that out of a sample of 2,000 former NFL players, about a third believed they have CTE.
In a letter he carried in his pocket during the shooting on July 28, 2025, Tamura wrote he suffered from CTE, The Post reported.
The note included lines that said, “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you,” and “Please study brain for CTE. I’m sorry. The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us.”
Tamura, who lived in Las Vegas, played high school football in Southern California, although he did not play in college or professionally.
Mayor Eric Adams said in the early hours of July 29, 2025, that Tamura “alluded to having CTE from playing NFL,” although he “never played in the NFL.”
In his note, Tamura addressed Terry Long, the former Steelers player who was diagnosed with CTE after he died by suicide at the age of 45 by drinking a gallon of antifreeze.
“Terry Long, football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,” Tamura wrote in the letter.
An offensive lineman, Long played for the Steelers from 1984-91, appearing in 194 games throughout his career.
Besides Long, prominent former NFL players who had CTE include wide receivers Demaryius Thomas, Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau and Pro Bowl offensive lineman Conrad Dobler.
Aaron Hernandez, the former Patriots tight end who was convicted of murdering a man and died by suicide, was also found to have had the disease.
Other players to have had CTE include tight end Frank Wychek, linebacker Jovan Belcher and defensive back Irv Cross.