NEW YORK — Park Avenue gunman Shane Tamura, who killed an NYPD cop and three civilians before taking his own life inside a Midtown Manhattan office building last week, was polite to cops during multiple encounters with the Las Vegas Police Department, body-worn camera footage released Wednesday shows.
Between September 2022 and August 2024, the Las Vegas Police Department had four interactions with Tamura, 27, whose obsession with CTE, a brain disease football players often suffer from repetitive blows to the head, sent him on a deadly rampage to NFL headquarters.
During his interactions with the Las Vegas police in the years leading up to the mass shooting, Tamura appeared calm and poised and apologized to the officers repeatedly for inconveniencing them.
Two of the incidents were mental health related, in which he said he felt suicidal — but each time he appeared calm, documents show.
On September 12, 2022, Tamura was hospitalized after he contemplated suicide “due to numerous life and family issues,†according to Las Vegas police documents. His worried mother called 911 that afternoon reporting her son had a pistol in his backpack.
“He said heÃÛèÖÊÓƵ going to kill himself,†his mother told the 911 operator. “He didn’t say he had a plan. He just said he can’t take it anymore.â€
“I was just inside the apartment with him and he started crying and started slamming things and said I was making it worse, so I said ‘I’m going to step outside.'†she added, calling police from her car. “I’m afraid to leave.â€
While being questioned by the 911 caller, TamuraÃÛèÖÊÓƵ mother said he takes sleeping pills for insomnia and was “under a doctorÃÛèÖÊÓƵ care for depression, sports concussions, chronic migraines and and insomnia,†according to the 911 call.
On Sept. 27, 2023, cops arrested Tamura for trespassing at the Red Rock Resort casino.
Tamura was angered when he was told that he couldn’t cash out the $5,000 he won at the casino that night but he never screamed or lashed out. He refused to leave the cashier cage after refusing to provide ID, which was in his wallet the entire time.
“How do I make rent?†he pleaded with the officers, the video shows. “Can you guys can’t go in there and cash me out?â€
The cops ordered Tamura to walk away, astounded that he had his ID on him the entire time and could have easily given it to the cashier.
“Shane, you’re about to talk yourself back into handcuffs,†one officer warned him. “You should have made better decisions.â€
After he was brought into a back security office in handcuffs, Tamura appeared upset but apologetic and respectful to the cops around him.
“I’m under arrest?†the wide-eyed Tamura asked the officers, apparently confused over the entire issue.
Cops ultimately escorted him out of the casino and let him go, warning him that if he ever returned he’d face criminal charges.
“I didn’t mean to do anything wrong,†he said sheepishly. “My bad, my bad.â€
TamaraÃÛèÖÊÓƵ final interaction with Las Vegas police was on Aug. 28, 2024, when he was pulled over for driving a black BMW without license plates. It was the same luxury vehicle he later drove across the country and double-parked in front of the Park Ave. skyscraper before the mass shooting.
“I know, I’m sorry, sir,†Tamura told the officer, providing him with all the pertinent information. Cops quickly learned that his license had been suspended and told him to park the car in a nearby parking lot and take an Uber home.
“Ok, so park the car, call my mom or Uber,†he said. “Thank you sir.â€
About 6:30 p.m. July 28, a raging Tamura walked into the lobby of 345 Park Ave. armed with an assault weapon and opened fire, first killing Officer Didarul Islam, who was in his NYPD uniform working a paid security detail authorized by the department.
The gunman shot three civilians in the lobby, killing security guard Aland Etienne, 46, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, 43, and badly wounding an NFL employee before taking the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he killed 27-year-old Rudin employee Julia Hyman, and then took his own life.
