Las Vegas police: NYC gunman’s mother said in 2022 that he had a sports-related concussion

Finance·CrimeLas Vegas police: NYC gunman’s mother said in 2022 that he had a sports-related concussionBy Jaimie DingBy The Associated PressBy Jaimie DingBy The Associated Press Flower wreaths with the words "Rest In Peace" stand at a vigil for the four people killed in the previous day's shooting at 345 Park Avenue, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, in Bryant Park, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in New York

Shane Tamura, 27, had a documented history of mental health blems and carried a handwritten note in his wallet when he carried out the shooting that claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, investigators said

He fatally shot three people in the building lobby before taking an elevator to the 33rd floor, killing a fourth victim and then ending his own life, according to police

He accused the football league of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to sports

Tamura didn’t play fessional football but played during his high school years in Southern California, where he grew up

His mother told the dispatchers on Sept. 12, 2022, that her son was under a doctor’s care for “depression, concussion sports concussion, chronic migraines, and insomnia.” She also said he was taking sleeping pills, smoking marijuana, and kept a gun in his backpack

It was one of two incidents that led to Tamura being admitted to hospitals for mental health crises. “He said he’s going to kill himself,” she said in the recorded 911 call. “He didn’t say he made a plan, he just said he just can’t take it anymore.” Tamura’s mother placed the call from outside a Budget Suites Motel

She told dispatchers she would wait in the stairwell because she did not want Tamura to know she had called the police. “He just started crying and slamming things and said I’m making him worse, so I said, ‘I’ll step outside,’” she said. “I don’t want you to be upset, but I’m afraid to leave.” Tamura was committed to a hospital again in 2024 after calling his mother and making statements wanting to hurt himself, according to a first responder captured on body camera released by Las Vegas police

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the records, which would normally be withheld due to privacy tections, were being released “in light of the extraordinary circumstances.” Tamura worked at the Horseshoe Las Vegas’ surveillance department until last week, when authorities say he drove his car to New York and carried out the shooting

He bought the rifle he used in the attack and the car he drove from his supervisor at the casino

New York City detectives ed Tamura’s locker at the Horseshoe casino Wednesday and found a tripod for his rifle, a box for a revolver that was found in his car in New York, and ammunition for both guns, the police department said

Police said they also found in his apartment a psychiatric medication, an epilepsy drug and an anti-inflammatory that had been prescribed to Tamura

His psychiatric history would not have prevented him from legally purchasing the revolver, unless relatives or law enforcement sought a so-called extreme risk tection order from the courts

However, a new state law effective this month will allow officers to confiscate firearms in the immediate vicinity of someone placed on a mental health crisis hold

Las Vegas police also released records Tuesday related to two other run-ins with the law

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