A gunman who killed 4 people in Manhattan on Monday was targeting the NFL’s headquarters, according to New York City mayor Eric Adams.
The shooter, identified by police as Shane Tamura, carried a note claiming he suffered from CTE and asked for his brain to be studied, per multiple reports. Tamura died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, police said.
One NFL employee was seriously injured in the shooting, but the attack could have been much worse for the league. Adams told reporters on Tuesday morning that Tamura mistakenly took the wrong elevator bank to the 33rd floor of the building, which caused him to miss his target — the league’s headquarters at 345 Park Avenue.
“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,” Adams said, via ESPN. “The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank.”
ESPN obtained this statement from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent in a memo to NFL employees:
One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition. NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family. We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared.
The Manhattan office building is also home to Blackstone, one of the largest investment firms in the United States. One Blackstone employee, Wesley LePatner, was killed in the attack. New York City police officer Didarul Islam was also killed.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
