Walters falsely claims investigators cleared him in nude images investigation, ignores questions seeking clarity
He also accused Governor Stitt of orchestrating the entire thing as a 'character assassination,' but refused to answer reporters' questions seeking clarity and evidence to back his claims.Walters made the comments during a press conference just outside Governor Kevin Stitt's office Tuesday afternoon, where he accused the governor and his appointed board members of political sabotage.'These board members decided to construct a lie to destroy my character,' Walters said. 'Lies will have consequences.'
RELATED: Ryan Walters reacts to investigations into nude image allegations
Walters called the press conference after Oklahoma State School Board members Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson told The Oklahoman and NonDoc last week they saw nude images of women playing on a TV inside Walters' office during Thursday's board meeting.They said they immediately confronted Walters, who looked at the screen, scrambled for a remote, and turned off the TV without acknowledging what had appeared on it.Gov. Stitt appointed both Deatherage and Carson to the board earlier this year amid a falling out with Walters.
On Friday, the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) opened an investigation.
News 4 reported that OMES asked the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) to begin a criminal investigation Monday.OCSO told News 4 Monday it was way too early to jump to any conclusions.'We're aware of what has been told to the media, but obviously we have to do our own due diligence to speak with those witnesses that are involved to determine whether there was anything criminal,' said OCSO spokesperson Aaron Brilbeck said Monday.24 hours later on Tuesday, Walters falsely claimed investigators had already cleared him.'We have had our name cleared by both OMES and the sheriff's office,' Walters said. 'There is nothing scandalous that I was a part of whatsoever.'
On Tuesday, Brilbeck told News 4 that Walters' claim is not remotely true.
'That simply isn't the case,' Brilbeck told News 4 on Tuesday. 'Our investigation is still ongoing. In fact, I would categorize it as being in its infancy. This is going to be a very thorough investigation. And once the investigation is complete, we're going to be very transparent with our findings.'
Walters offered no evidence to support his claims about investigators clearing him
RELATED: Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office joins investigation into Walters nude images allegations
Instead, he turned his focus toward the two board members who first raised the concerns.'I cannot begin to describe the disgusting nature of the lies leveled against me by board members, by the media, and by the teachers' union,' he said. 'This has been a coordinated attack to crucify my character. They should resign immediately in disgrace for the lies that they've told.'He also turned his attention to Governor Stitt, questioning whether the governor directed the board members to lie.'Did he direct these board members to lie about me? Did he direct his board members to go in and disrupt everything in these board meetings?' Walters said.Walters did not deny nude images appeared on the screen in his office.
He claimed the TV was tuned to a cable network and said none of his personal devices were involved with what may or may not have happened.'None of my devices were ever connected to that TV,' Walters said.When reporters asked which cable network was playing, Walters said he didn't know.
He also didn't respond when News 4 asked whether someone else's device could have cast content to the screen.'You're saying none of your devices, but have they ruled out that it couldn't have been someone else's device casting something on that TV?' News 4 asked.'I'm telling you, I just met with the sheriff's office yesterday and I met with them the day before,' Walters said. 'They've concluded there weren't devices connected to that.'Brilbeck, again, said that's not true.'Again, I'd like to reiterate that our investigation is ongoing,' he said. 'We haven't cleared anyone. We haven't determined whether there is any wrongdoing at all.'Walters never explained what he believes Deatherage and Carson lied about.In a joint statement Tuesday, the Deatherage and Carson told News 4:'No board member has accused Superintendent Walters of anything, we only brought attention to inappropriate content on a TV—content that would cause a teacher in our state to lose their license. As the investigation continues, we urge Superintendent Walters to cooperate with law enforcement and refrain from smearing the names, characters and reputations of board members.'Walters also lashed out at the media for reporting on Deatherage and Carson's claims.'So many in the press, the opponents of what we're doing, they despise the work being done by Oklahomans,' he said. 'They despise the will of the people.'
RELATED: Supt. Walters unapologetic in latest statement regarding 'nude women' allegations
Since Friday, News 4 has been reaching out to Walters' office with questions about what happened and asking for any facts or evidence to back up his claims.After five days, News 4 still has not received a response.Walters ended his press conference after taking only three questions.
News 4 attempted to continue asking Walters for facts and clarity as he walked away, but Walters ignored News 4's questions.'Are the board members lying that you turned off the TV?' News 4 asked. 'Did you see what was on the TV?'He didn't respond.News 4 tried again.'Superintendent Walters, why has your office not responded to our inquiries at all this week?' News 4 asked 'We've tried to get facts from your office, but they've not responded. How can you say the media is not getting the facts?'Still, no answer.
Another reporter asked Walters if he would allow the press to see the inside of his office and show the press how the TV works.
RELATED: Investigation inquiry underway after bombshell reports say board members saw naked women on Ryan Walters' office TV during meeting
Walters ignored that question, too.State troopers attempted to block News 4 from following Walters down a public staircase, giving him time to exit through a side door before News 4 could ask anything further.State Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, witnessed the press conference and aftermath.'Ryan Walters came up here and lied about the scandal, lied about the media, lied about teachers unions, uses and another opportunity to attack anybody that he could,' Bennett said. 'Lied about the investigation, lied by saying that it was over when it's not. Created a spectacle of himself.'Bennett also attempted to ask Walters questions as he walked away.'I was asking him if he was happier to be talking about this scandal than us being 50th in education under his watch… and he didn't answer at all,' Bennett said. 'He did tell me he liked my hair.'Bennett said the superintendent's attitude is not something any Oklahoman should accept.'This is a scandal that shows he's a childish, immature, irresponsible politician,' Bennett said. 'But the reality is the people of Oklahoma don't need to be bothered by meaningless scandals like this. Nothing is not meaningless. And this is a serious dereliction of duty.'News 4 reached out to Governor Stitt's office to see if he had a response to Walters' accusations.News 4 did not hear back.News 4 did hear from both House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) and Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle).
In a statement, Hilbert said:
'From the start, I have stated the need for a transparent third-party review of this situation. Regardless of one's thoughts on the State Superintendent, he deserves to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, the same as anyone in this situation.
As Speaker of the House, my desire is to let the independent investigation play out and where ever that investigation leads, the House stands ready to take appropriate action, if any is needed.'
In a statement, Paxton's spokesperson said:
'After discussions this afternoon with OMES and the Sheriff's Office, we understand the investigation remains ongoing. We believe Superintendent Walters is entitled to due process as this inquiry continues. It's important that he, along with members of the board, are given a fair opportunity to explain their account of what took place.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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21 Former (And Current) Cheaters Exposed Their Reasons For Being Unfaithful, And I'm Truly Shocked At Some Of These
A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share the reasons they decided to cheat on their significant others. Here's what they said: 1."I've been a terrible partner for several people, and the ones I cheated on were all for the same reason — boredom, and it would be easy to get away with it. I never once got caught, but I'm divorced because I caught my ex cheating, whom I had never cheated on. So karma." —Anonymous 2."My high school boyfriend kind of spiraled after we graduated. I was going off to college, and he was staying in our hometown. We'd had a rocky relationship our senior year, too. I joined a sorority and started flirting around with some of the guys joining fraternities. I slept with one of the guys that I'd also met during freshman orientation, and my friends forced me to tell my boyfriend. I did it because I felt disconnected from my boyfriend and wanted to start over new in college. I definitely should have talked to my boyfriend and either broken up with him or worked things out rather than cheating." —Anonymous, Indianapolis 3."I didn't realize it then (early 20s), but I was acting out because of childhood trauma. I was repeating patterns, pushing people away before they could abandon me, etc. It was a really stressful time." —Anonymous, 39, Minneapolis, MN 4."Our marriage had a serious lack of intimacy for a couple of years. Not just sex, but no affection shared at all, which was hard since my love language is physical touch. I ended up meeting someone I had an immediate connection with, who filled in everything I was missing. I'm getting divorced now, but my ex and I are in a very good place and rallied around raising our child." —Anonymous, 34, Vermont 5."It was too easy. Too many women. But the one I feel guilty about was my long-term girlfriend in college. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. So maybe I didn't deserve her anyway. Either way, I feel guilty. But she seems to have a good life, and her husband seems to be a decent man. We still run in the same circles." —Anonymous, 49, Washington, DC 6."I cheated on my boyfriend when I was 21 years old. He had cheated on me in the past. He constantly tried to make me feel worthless, and then I met someone who was just a genuinely nice person, and I realized I could actually be with someone who treats me better. We flirted for a few days, and then we kissed, and he spent the night. We did not have sex, but kissing is still cheating. I broke up with my ex a few days later and dated the guy I cheated with for seven years." —Anonymous, 31, NC 7."I was with her for nearly six years, but I knew I never really loved her. I was trying to do the right, normal thing by settling down. I'd been living overseas and partying, and everyone was pressuring me to come home and settle down. She was emotionally controlling and highly insecure. I was drained and felt so stuck. Every time I tried to end it, she would threaten to harm herself. So I just stayed. I started a new job and met a woman who completely blew me away. We were just friends for a while, and then one day we kissed in the elevator at work. I went home and immediately ended the relationship, and ended up marrying my colleague. We are still happily married today, five years later. I have deep shame that I cheated and that I wasn't strong enough to leave, but it definitely made me realise that there are sometimes reasons people do cheat." —Anonymous, 37, Australia 8."I got married when I was 21 to a very nice but clueless workaholic young man. After the honeymoon phase, he basically ignored me. I was in the best shape I had ever been in, teaching Jazzercise classes as a substitute while going to nursing school. He didn't even want to take vacations with me, just wanted to work all the time. We were able to buy a house, which was great, but I thought there should be more to a marriage. I ended up having an affair with my college speech teacher that lasted until he broke it off for an even younger student!" —Anonymous, 68, Bay Area 9."I had no good reason. That would imply that I had every right to do it. I didn't. What I did was break a social contract I had with my then-girlfriend, now wife, and it caused every disruption you can imagine. I've cried and been annoyed and worried because I am the one who did it, and I considered myself a moral, loyal guy, so I know what ANYone is capable of doing. If I had any guesses as to what was actually going through my brain, it would be this: 'I'm not good enough to keep my girlfriend. She knows me too well and knows I'm not as great as she says I am. I don't deserve more than the drama this will eventually cause. I'd rather someone interact with me who has no idea how messed up I really am than face the person who actually loves me.'" —Anonymous, 44, Indianapolis 10."I met someone WAY better and have been married to her for 20 years this July." —Anonymous, 47 Kingston, Ontario 11."We've been together several years now — and he's been angry for most of them. Any time I try to communicate with him turns into a battle. We have had sex maybe 12 times in the last three years, and he mocks me whenever I told him that I wanted to have more sex, never mind what happens when I bring up how I'd like to spice things up. So, after a particularly stressful few months (a huge career move for me, selling and buying a house), one of my immediate family members almost died. I was crying to my partner about how scared I was, and he completely blew me off. Then something in me snapped. I wanted to feel desired and wanted; I didn't want to beg for attention. I wanted to just not fight with someone. So, I sexted an old flame." "I should have left, hell, I should have let him leave me during my pregnancy like he threatened many, many times. But I didn't, and my partner found the messages. We're still together, and he decided to stay once he saw my commitment to 'never again.' I'm in therapy twice a month. He's still always angry. We still aren't having sex. I'm so miserable and lonely that I want to leave, but I don't want to lose my daughter 50% of the time." —Anonymous, 42, Canada 12."A close bond with my coworker turned into my best sexual experience of my life. We both know each other like no one else, and I've never wanted anyone as much as I want him. His genuine connection is unlike anyone else." —Anonymous, 36 13."I cheated on my ex. We were long-distance, but it wasn't the distance that caused me to cheat; it was the fact that I knew I could get away with it. A have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too scenario. This was 10 years ago. I have since formed a friendship with the ex and told her what I did and apologized. She accepted and appreciated it. I have been with my current partner for nine years. I would never dream of cheating again." —Anonymous, 31, UK 14."I was young and stupid. I didn't know what a healthy relationship was and didn't understand that if I wanted things to be fixed, I needed to communicate those wants and needs. I thought he could read my mind and just KNOW that I wasn't feeling loved, important, or attractive to him. I started getting attention from the guys I worked with. The acceptance, validation, and attention were like a drug for me. He was such a stick in the mud, he didn't question anything, which made me feel like he didn't care." "We were in our mid-20s. In my mind, as a couple that was living together and talking marriage, there should be no logical reason he didn't want to smash at every opportunity. I would literally be wearing just panties and a tank top, standing over or right in front of him, saying, 'Play with me!' And he'd be more into his video games or whatever he was working on. I called off our engagement because I realized if I was willing to cheat on him with multiple guys, I was NOT ready to get married." —Anonymous, 38, Texas 15."I had been with my spouse for 15 years, and we shared five kids. They had undergone a gender transition two years prior, and our marriage was on the rocks. We fought all the time. First, I was looking for a way to repair and recover our marriage, but my spouse said that there was no point in getting therapy. I then asked for a separation, but my spouse said that we couldn't afford to live apart. I interviewed for jobs out of town, thinking that we could afford to live apart if I made more money, but that didn't pan out. I felt trapped." "I began to fall for someone I worked with. I resisted the feelings for months until I couldn't stop thinking about him. One day, I confessed my feelings, and an affair began. I told my spouse right away, and we separated shortly thereafter. Years later, I am now happily married to my affair partner, and my former spouse has happily remarried, too. I deeply regret allowing myself to get that far and cheat. I really hurt my spouse and kids, and I damaged my own character and reputation." —Anonymous 16."I got a UTI every time I had sex with my husband. I was always freshly showered and clean as a precaution, and had him do the same, but it still happened. I would be the one who needed to take a full course of antibiotics and suffer the side effects from that. Meanwhile, he was scratching his privates in his sleep. I think he had something akin to jock itch, which he refused to see a doctor for or try any OTC treatment. After years of this, I was averse to having sex with him, though I still had a high sex drive. He was not interested in exploring alternate ways to bring each other pleasure, so I found a person who could satisfy my needs. Lack of intimacy, whether physical or emotional, is a relationship killer. " —Anonymous, 60, USA 17."Loneliness. My husband was an alcoholic and would choose alcohol over me. I met someone at work who treated me well, and one thing led to another. The validation and companionship were what I was missing." —Anonymous, 37, California 18."Honestly, IDK. A coworker and I got close. I wasn't that unhappy with my partner, but I was feeling depressed at the time and lost a lot of weight. I was going through the motions of work and home life, but felt dead inside. Until my coworker asked if I was depressed out of the blue. I didn't think so at that time. I was eating normally. My coworker and I spent more time together. Turned into a full-on affair, and the sex still is like no other. I'm now back to my normal weight and better mental state. " —Anonymous, 34 19."We were together for a total of five years. A year into our relationship, he cheated when I was out of town. I found out the day after I got back, I 'forgave' him the same day. But really, I resented him for isolating me from everyone, so I had no one to turn to when this happened, and he had made me think that he was the best I could ever get. The following year, I moved back to my hometown for the summer, and there I realized how desired I was by other men, and it was intoxicating. I never had gotten that type of attention from my then-boyfriend. And with the resentment building up for a year, I started going out on the weekends looking for that attention." "I ran into some guys I went to high school with, and one of their friends was really flirty with me. At that point, I knew I should have broken up with my boyfriend, but I didn't. I would continue to flirt with this guy every time I saw him at the bars until one night he asked me to go home with him, and I said yes. On the way there, the excitement turned into guilt, and I realized I was stooping down to my boyfriend's level. I told the guy I had to go home, I couldn't do this. Before the summer ended, I tried to break up with my boyfriend, but he manipulated me into staying with him. I stayed loyal until the end but I wish I would have stuck to my guns and left him that summer. I was so miserable. That was 10 years ago, and now I'm happily married to the love of my life. I would never even think of doing anything like that to him." —Anonymous 20."He was my first everything (kiss, boyfriend, sex, love), and he was a sweetheart, but we started dating freshman year of college before I knew who I was. We had nothing in common, and I tried to break up with him three times junior year, but he BEGGED me not to, so I stayed. That summer, I went to work at a summer camp and met someone who made me feel all of the things my boyfriend never did. I ended up sleeping with him and called my boyfriend to break up first thing the next morning. I felt instant relief, but the guilt has eaten away at me ever since. The guy I cheated with ended up cheating on me constantly for two years, and he gave me chlamydia, so I believe I got my karma, but damn, I still feel bad." —Anonymous, 35, US "I often think about why I cheated, and I'm not sure there is one answer. In short, I would say I was unhappy but didn't realize it. An ex came back in my life who I had deep-rooted rejection issues from, and when they expressed interest, it was easy to fall back into being wanted by them. After so much rejection from them in the past, I finally, for a moment, felt wanted. My partner and I at the time hadn't been intimate in a long time and lacked the ability to communicate were healthy relationships. My cheating broke all the trust my partner had in me, and when they found out about it, we never recovered. I do think our breakup was for the bes,t but forgiving myself for the hurt I had caused him is still something I struggle with years later." —Anonymous, 34; Seattle, WA Responses have been edited for length/clarity. Have you ever cheated on a partner? Tell us your motives for why you did it, and how it all turned out. Or, if you prefer to stay anonymous, you can submit a response using this form here. Solve the daily Crossword
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence. During evening rush hour in New York City on Monday, a man calmly walked into a Park Avenue office building lobby and killed a police officer, then opened fire on other innocent strangers. Within a minute, the gunman had disappeared into a labyrinth of elevator banks and hallways, armed and loose somewhere in the 44-story building. The day's violence would become the deadliest mass shooting in New York City since 2000. The gunman shot and killed four people and wounded another, before killing himself, police said. From the moment the first panicked 911 calls were received, the New York Police Department unleashed a torrent of cops, specially trained units, heavy weapons, sophisticated technology and a swift information exchange among its 32,000 police officers and law enforcement partners across the country. As calls flooded in, the NYPD's electronic log system captured the horror happening in real time inside the Park Avenue skyscraper. The shorthand notes, obtained by CNN, show the desperation of frightened callers as operators attempted to piece together what was happening. 'INVESTIGATE/POSSIBLE CRIME: SHOTS FIRED/INSIDE\ACTIVE_SHOOTER,' read one note. 'ACTIVE SHOOTER IN THE BUILDING AND LOCKED SELF IN ROOM,' the log notes a female caller reported. Additional calls are logged: '7-8 SHOTS HEARD,' 'LOCATION IS NFL HEADQUARTERS,' 'SHOOTER IN BUILDING.' Another female caller reported her husband telling her he's in a locked room, according to the log. From precinct officers to specialized commands, swarms of law enforcement teams raced to the scene. The NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, which operates as a SWAT team, entered the building and began a systematic search for the gunman, who was somewhere inside. At the same time, officers from the Strategic Response Command, providing an additional long-weapons team, set up a perimeter and established a safe corridor known as a 'warm zone' to get medical personnel in and wounded victims out while the search for the gunman continued, law enforcement officials said. While those teams secured the area outside, detectives made their way into the skyscraper and examined surveillance video in the building's control center. They took a screengrab of the gunman, and using technology developed by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, blasted the image to NYPD officers' department-issued phones. Within minutes, every officer searching the building or holding the outside perimeter had a picture of a man taking large strides and carrying an assault rifle, the officials said. The gunman was identified after responding teams found his body on the building's 33rd floor: 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura of Las Vegas, Nevada. New details from law enforcement sources shed light on Tamura's travel to New York City, the gunman's movements inside the building and the police investigation. Here's what we've learned about the shooting at 345 Park Avenue: From Las Vegas to New York City Officers found Tamura's black Series 3 BMW double-parked in front of the Park Avenue building, and then used his name, vehicle registration and a disjointed suicide note found in his back pocket to pull together a timeline of Tamura's path to the carnage. On Saturday, July 26, two days before the shooting, a license plate reader in Loma, Colorado, recorded Tamura's car with Nevada license plates passing through at 1:06 p.m., according to a law enforcement official. On Sunday, Tamura did not show up for his surveillance job as part of the security team at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. He was miles away. Tamura's black BMW was spotted driving eastbound on Interstate 80 by a license plate reader (LPR) owned by the Nebraska State Patrol. Later, an LPR operated by the Scott County Sheriff's Office recorded the car on I-80 near Wolcott, Indiana. At 4:24 p.m. Monday, a camera attached to the New Jersey State Police's real-time crime center took a picture of his BMW, this time along I-80 in Columbia, New Jersey, nearly two hours before the rampage would begin. Tamura arrives at his intended target Two senior law enforcement officials who reviewed video from the Midtown Manhattan office building provided the following account of the gunman's movements on Monday: At 6:26 p.m., Tamura double-parked outside 345 Park Avenue. He got out of the car carrying the M4 semi-automatic rifle, crossed the sidewalk and then the broad plaza leading to the office building's entrance. One minute later, Tamura entered the building. Inside, Tamura turned to his right to face uniformed NYPD officer Didarul Islam and shot him, killing the 36-year-old father of two who was expecting his third child. As Islam fell, Craig Clementi, who works in the NFL's finance department, was also shot. Clementi called his coworkers to warn them that a gunman was in the lobby firing shots, and then called 911, according to one of the senior officials. Wesley LePatner, a 43-year-old Blackstone executive, was shot as she moved toward a pillar in the lobby, police said. LePatner died from her wounds. Tamura then shot Aland Etienne, a 46-year-old security guard. Wounded, Etienne crawled toward the console behind the security desk and collapsed. Tamura went to an elevator bank on the opposite side of the lobby to the elevators that go up to the NFL offices. Officials have said investigators believe Tamura was headed for the NFL offices at the time of the shooting, but took the wrong elevator. He ignored a woman exiting an elevator car, entered it and then pressed 33, the lowest available on its panel, according to one of the senior law enforcement officials. Once on the 33rd floor, Tamura faced glass walls with locked doors on either end of the hallway. These were the offices of Rudin Management, the company that runs the building. Tamura tried opening the doors, then opened fire on the glass and kicked through it to enter the floor, officials said. By then, it was likely he realized he wasn't at the NFL offices, according to the officials. Tamura saw an office cleaner, Sebije Nelovic, and opened fire but missed her, she said in a statement released by her union. Nelovic said she ran down the hallway and locked herself in a closet. She heard screams and more gunfire, she said, describing the gunman at one point shooting the door she was hiding behind. As shots rang out, frantic employees called 911 and barricaded themselves in offices and conference rooms. Their desperate calls reported how many shots they had heard, where they were hiding and where they believed the gunman was moving, according to a radio call log reviewed by CNN. Over the years, Rudin Management conducted active shooter drills and training for its employees. Their offices on the 33rd floor have bathrooms designed as safe rooms, in the event of an incident just like the one that unfolded Monday, the officials said. The rooms are outfitted with bullet-proof doors that lock with bolts from the inside, and their walls are lined with Kevlar. Each bathroom is equipped with a video feed showing the hallway outside and a dedicated telephone line. Julia Hyman, a 27-year-old Rudin Management employee who was working late, was in one of those very bathrooms designed as a safe room. It is not clear whether she had heard the shots or understood what was unfolding outside. She stepped outside the bathroom, and walked three or four steps, apparently unaware that the gunman was behind her. He fired, striking her in the back. Wounded, Hyman stumbled to her desk and died from her wounds, according to one of the officials who reviewed the video. By this time, it appeared Tamura realized there were no more accessible targets in the office, and, with police swarming the building, it was not likely he was going to find his way to the NFL, the official said. A few seconds after shooting Hyman, video is said to show Tamura stood next to a desk, held out his arms to aim the rifle at his own chest and used his thumb to pull the trigger, firing a single round, the official said. His body dropped to the floor, his rifle falling next to him. Tamura had fired most of two 30-round magazines of .223 ammunition in a matter of minutes, the official said. Throughout the night and into the morning, police collected evidence from where the victims lay and from the areas where shots were fired. In the building lobby, 23 shell casings and more than a dozen ricocheted bullet fragments were recovered, according to an NYPD official. In the 33rd floor offices of Rudin Management, investigators from the NYPD's Crime Scene Unit found another 24 shell casings from Tamura's M4 rifle, as well as 15 bullet fragments, the NYPD official said. Tracing the gun Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents on the scene received the rifle's serial number, and within minutes detectives learned the rifle had been purchased on August 29, 2024, by a Las Vegas man identified as 'Rick,' a coworker of Tamura's at the Horseshoe Casino, according to documents reviewed by CNN. 'Rick' has not responded to CNN's requests for comment. The NYPD Intelligence Bureau's SENTRY unit, which maintains a national network of law-enforcement contacts, then reached out to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who sent detectives to interview 'Rick.' 'Rick' had also sold Tamura the black BMW he drove across the country, according to Nevada DMV records. Other Las Vegas sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Tamura's apartment to seal it while awaiting a search warrant. Another team went to interview Tamura's parents, who lived nearby. The Las Vegas Metro Police Crime Stoppers hotline received a call at 8:25 p.m. the night of the shooting. A licensed gun dealer had seen the picture of Tamura and remembered his face. In June, he had sold him a modified trigger for an M4 rifle. Tamura had also told the dealer that he planned to buy 500 rounds of .223 ammunition for the assault rifle, a law enforcement official told CNN. Back in New York, Tamura's BMW was cleared by the bomb squad. Detectives recovered 827 rounds for a stainless steel .357 magnum Colt Python revolver. According to the same official, the gun was fully loaded with another six rounds in the cylinder.
