Third Violent Attack on Sports Governing Bodies’ Main Offices Since 2022: NYC Shooter Targets NFL Headquarters, Kills 4

The shooter, who attempted to target the NFL headquarters but took the wrong elevator, killed 4 people at a Manhattan office building before taking his own life.

Photo: NFL ball on the pitch (source: https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-wilson-ngl-ball-ZSunLS878Yk)

The building in Manhattan, in which the NFL, the US professional league for American football (one of the most popular sports leagues in the world), has its headquarters, was targeted by a gunman.

Gunman Had History of Mental Illness

After shooting multiple people in the building’s lobby, investigators are certain that a 27-year-old Shane Tamura, a casino employee in Las Vegas, was attempting to reach the NFL main offices by entering the wrong elevator banks. An off-duty New York City police officer was among the four fatalities. According to investigators, Tamura had a history of mental illness after playing American football in high school in California about 10 years ago, but he never competed in the NFL.

One of the most well-known streets in the country, 345 Park Avenue, is where the shooting took place. Tamura, a security guard at the Horseshoe Las Vegas who didn’t report for duty on Sunday, drove across the nation in the days prior to the massacre and entered New York City, investigators discovered. At the time, NFL workers were instructed to shelter in place. The 44-story structure’s 5th through 8th floors house the NFL offices. Tamura began shooting after riding an elevator to the Rudin Management, the building’s owner, and entering its 33rd-floor offices.

Tamura allegedly had a grievance against the NFL over a claim that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to a 3-page note discovered in his wallet. Although it can only be identified after a person has passed away, the degenerative brain illness has been connected to repetitive head trauma, including concussions, which are common in contact sports like football.

The attack that was supposed to hit NFL headquarters came just a little over a month before the beginning of the new season, which will kick off on September 4 with the match between the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys, with the former carrying the role of the biggest favorites on sites for online American football betting to win back-to-back titles.

Istanbul and Tbilisi Before NYC

The mass shooting in the Manhattan building at 345 Park Avenue, where the NFL offices are located, hasn’t been the first violent incident targeting the headquarters or offices of major sports organizations in recent years.

Shortly after opening, the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) headquarters in the nation’s capital of Tbilisi were attacked. In late August 2022, after a gunfight, 2 cartridges were found at the scene. The European governing body for football, UEFA, reported that shots were fired at 2nd-floor windows, though no injuries were reported. Officials suggested it may have been accidental but still categorized it as a violent incident targeting the building.

Next was the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) headquarters in the nation’s most populated city of Istanbul. Unknown assailants fired between 7 and 11 bullets from outside the organization’s main offices while the board was in session. No injuries were reported. FIFA, the international football governing body, and UEFA publicly condemned the act as a violent attack on the TFF’s staff and premises. This happened on September 1, 2022.