MANHATTAN MASSACRE: What We Know

A massacre in Midtown Manhattan. What were the killer's motivations and what could this mean going forward? Welcome to America Uncovered. I'm Chris Chapel. On Saturday, 27-year-old Shane Devin Tamura set out from his home in Las Vegas in a black BMW with guns, ammunition, and body armor. By Monday, around 6:30 p.m., he had driven across the country and arrived at his destination, a 44story office tower in Midtown Manhattan. This building is home to the corporate giants Blackstone, KPMG, and the official headquarters of the NFL. Upon entering the lobby, Tamora immediately shot an offduty NYPD officer, killing him instantly. He continued the violence in the lobby, fatally shooting a senior executive at Blackstone. He then moved toward the front desk near the elevators and killed a security guard. He also injured NFL employee Craig Clemente, who thankfully survived. Tamura then proceeded to the elevators and rode up to the 33rd floor to the offices of Ruden Management. There he shot and killed a female employee, and he likely would have killed more. Thankfully, the remaining nearby staff were quick to react and managed to barricade the door with office furniture. Finding no other targets and likely frustrated by the employees resistance, Tamura turned the gun on himself. Thus ended New York City's deadliest mass shooting since 2000. Now, you're probably asking, what's the motivation? Was this another Luigi Manion style attack on big moneyed interests? Sort of, but not really. The victims from Blackstone and Ruden had nothing to do with Tammora's perceived grievances with corporate America. And technically speaking, none of the victims had anything to do with it since we're talking about a maniac randomly shooting people in an office building. Plus, the only reason he went up to the Ruden offices in the first place was because he took the wrong elevator. His real target was the NFL offices. We know because police found a note in his wallet. It repeatedly mentions CTE, a brain injury common among football players. It also claims that the league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us. And he urged authorities to study his brain. Now, as a rule, spree killers usually aren't the most forwardthinking of people, but this one seems kind of obvious. Really, he should have taken his own stationary's advice to plan, pause, and reflect. Just saying. But what's with all the stuff about CTE and the NFL covering it up? Was this guy a professional football player? I don't exactly remember seeing him on Monday Night Football. Well, no. Tammora did play football in high school, but he never went pro. His former football coach told reporters that Tamura never suffered more than an ankle injury, let alone brain damage. And one of Tammora's former teammates, who asked not to be identified, agreed, saying, "I think relatively tomorrow was healthy and that I don't remember any injuries." He added that their games were not rough at all and that injuries were far in between. So, where did he even get this idea? Well, it seems he got it from watching this PBS Frontline documentary about the dangers of CTE and professional football, which he specifically called out in his note. There you have it. The key to solving America's gun violence epidemic is obvious. We need to ban PBS documentaries. I blame you, filmmaker Michael Kirk. But in all seriousness, the shooting wasn't the result of too much television, the NFL, or even a chronic head injury, as far as we know. This was one insane person shooting random bystanders in an office. Is it really surprising he had a documented mental health history? And yet many were quick to assume that this had some deeper political motive, drawing comparisons to United Healthcare assassin Luigi Manion. And this is the real danger. Regardless of their circumstances, their goals, people who commit these acts of violence are insane. And I don't mean insane just by the fact that they're murdering random people. I mean insane in so far as their plans have exactly zero chance of achieving their desired effect. Never in American history has a domestic terrorist achieve their ultimate goals. In most cases, it's quite the opposite. Did Luigi Manion's assassination of the United CEO do anything to change healthcare in this country? No. Did Dylan Roof spark the race war he wanted by shooting up a black church? No. All it did was provoke sympathy across churches of all races and led to scores of Confederate monuments being torn down. Did Ted Kazinski's bombing campaign manage to turn back the industrial revolution? No. Today, everyone's going full gooner mode with AI generated anime girls. And this time is no different. Demora's attack isn't going to move the needle on how the NFL deals with brain injuries in its players. And the company is still going to rake in billions of dollars every year. My point is, these sorts of killers aren't revolutionaries. They're not martyrs. They're not even very smart. Every single time this happens, the outcome is either nothing at all or the exact opposite of what they wanted. So, when examiners go to look at tomorrow's brain, all they'll be able to conclude is, "Wow, this guy was nuts." Now, YouTube really doesn't like when we talk about this sort of thing. So, please make sure you're subscribed and leave a like and comment. Every bit helps. Better yet, head over to americanaunover.tv. There you'll always get updates on our recent episodes, access to exclusive deep dives, and a chance to talk with me and the team. That's america.tv. Once again, I'm Chris Chapel. Thank you for watching America Uncovered.