NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has issued a message after a gunman opened fire inside a New York City skyscraper that is home to the NFL‘s headquarters, killing four people.
Newsweek contacted the NFL for further comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.
The Context
The shooting took place in a Manhattan skyscraper where the headquarters of both the NFL and Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms, are located.
Authorities said the gunman, identified as 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura, from Las Vegas, killed four people, including a New York City police officer, and wounded a fifth before taking his own life.
An ambulance carrying the body of the police officer killed in Monday night’s Manhattan shooting departs a hospital in New York City on July 28.
An ambulance carrying the body of the police officer killed in Monday night’s Manhattan shooting departs a hospital in New York City on July 28.
Angelina Katsanis/AP
What To Know
An employee of the NFL was seriously injured in the attack and is in hospital in a stable condition, Goodell said in the message, which was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by a Fox News reporter.
“We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared,” he said. “We are deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers who responded to this threat quickly and to Officer Islam, who gave his life to protect others.”
Didarul Islam, a migrant from Bangladesh, had served as a police officer in New York City for three-and-a-half years, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
Goodell told employees that there would be an increased security presence at the building “in the days and weeks to come.”
“Every one of you is a valued member of the NFL family. We will get through this together,” he said.
Tamura had a suicide note that said he suffered from CTE and asked for his brain to be studied, CNN reported, citing a source with knowledge of the investigation.
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports like football. But because it requires examination of brain tissue, CTE currently can only be diagnosed posthumously.
Football “gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,” Tamura wrote in the note, according to CNN. “You can’t go against the NFL, they’ll squash you.”
Tamura was a competitive football player in his youth, CNN reported.
The NFL publicly acknowledged a connection between football and CTE for the first time in 2016, after years of denials. The league agreed to a settlement with thousands of its former players who have been diagnosed with brain injuries linked to repeated concussions.
The NFL has paid out almost $1.2 billion to more than 1,600 former players and their families in the years since, but the settlement regularly fails to deliver money and medical care to former players with dementia and CTE, according to an investigation by The Washington Post published last year.
What People Are Saying
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a news conference on Monday: “Mr. Tamura has a documented mental-health history. His motives are still under investigation and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a post on X: “Tonight we mourn four New Yorkers, including one of New York’s Finest, taken in a senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with their loved ones and everyone affected by this tragedy, and we honor the first responders who bravely ran toward danger.”
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement: “The murder of a brave New York City police officer and several innocent civilians is tragic and horrifying. We mourn their loss and stand with their families during this time of need. Our prayers and gratitude are also with those heroic law enforcement officers and first responders who put their lives on the line and selflessly rushed to the scene to save others.”
Jeffries added: “Mass shootings are a plague. The gun violence epidemic continues to afflict our country and now has shattered lives in our great city. The time has come for decisive action.”
What’s Next
The investigation into the shooting and the gunman’s motive is ongoing.