LAPD officer's son identified as Manhattan shooter

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

California government salary records obtained by Daily Mail show his father, Terence Tamura, was an LAPD police officer from at least 2011 to 2018. Tamura, who grew up around Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles city, obtained a security guard license from the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services on March 7, 2019, which expired on March 31, 2021. The now-dead shooter most recently worked at the Horseshoe Las Vegas hotel and casino as a surveillance department employee, a spokesperson for the business stated. He also had a private investigator license in Nevada, with his most recent residence listed at his parents' house, issued December 26, 2019, and expired December 28 last year.
An apparent arrest record for his father Terence from 2008 states that he was booked by LAPD's 'Internal Affairs Division' and assigned a bond of $5,000 for an unspecified alleged offense, according to public records. However, there are no criminal charges against Terence filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. In response to Daily Mail's questions about Terence, LAPD said they are investigating. 'The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the online rumors and media inquiries suggesting a possible connection between the individual involved in the recent New York shooting and our department,' a spokesman said. 'We take these matters seriously and are actively investigating the information. At this time, we are working to confirm details and gather the facts.'
LAPD salary records documented by organization Transparent California list Terence K. Tamura as an experienced police officer with total pay of $101,403 in 2011. Tamura may have begun working with the department earlier, but records were not available from Transparent California. His last full salary recorded by the site was in 2017, for the same role of 'Police Officer III'. Terence earned $284.17 in 2018 according to the records, suggesting his work for LAPD ended very early that year. Terence and the Tamura family did not respond to Daily Mail's requests for comment.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Shane Tamura had a 'documented mental health history' and he appeared to blame the NFL for a brain injury according to a note found in his pocket. Police say they found medication in his car. Despite his alleged mental health issues, Tamura was able to obtain a concealed firearms permit from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, issued on June 14, 2022. However, his Nevada private investigator's license lists 'no' firearm status on his work card, meaning he wasn't legally allowed to carry while on the job.
Authorities say Tamura arrived in Midtown Manhattan by car on Monday afternoon following a mammoth cross-country trip. New York mayor Eric Adams indicated that authorities believe his target was the NFL, which has its headquarters in the tower. A note found on the gunman's body mentioned the league. The three-page note outlined Tamura's perceived grievances with the NFL over its handling of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is strongly linked to sports in which players experience repeated head impacts. 'Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze,' Tamura wrote, according to CNN. 'You can't go against the NFL, they'll squash you.'
The shooter was referring to former Pittsburgh Steeler Terry Long, who committed [self-murder] by drinking antifreeze in 2006 after suffering from CTE. 'Study my brain please I'm sorry Tell Rick I'm sorry for everything,' the note read. Tamura was born in Hawaii and grew up in Santa Clarita, California, where he was a high school running back. He later moved to Las Vegas. When Tamura arrived at 345 Park Avenue in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, he parked his black BMW around the corner before brazenly striding across a wide city plaza with his long-form M4 rifle in plain sight, by his side. Tamura had his concealed weapon permit issued by the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department on him as he walked straight into the building's lobby and opened fire.
Once in the lobby he sprayed it with gunfire, shooting NYPD officer Didarul Islam in the back and a security guard who took cover behind a desk, before heading to the elevator bank and headed up to the 33rd floor and the offices of Rudin Management who run the building and other offices across New York City. One other victim, Julia Hyman who was an associate at Rudin, has been identified. Police believe was the shooting was premeditated and likely [self-murder]. 'It appears that he knew it would be his last stand,' said CNN chief law enforcement analyst John Miller, a former NYPD deputy commissioner. 'He fully intended to shoot his way through the lobby and make his way to that target – whatever that might have been.'
The building became the scene of a frantic lockdown as gunshots echoed through the corridors and heavily armed police teams swarmed the floors. Authorities believe Tamura was trying to target the NFL headquarters but took the wrong elevator. And NYC Mayor Eric Adams said the Midtown Manhattan gunman missed the NFL office, which investigators believe was his intended target, because he got on the wrong elevator. 'From our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,' Adams told CBS Mornings. 'Instead, it took him to Rudin Management, and that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.'
The NYPD revealed on Monday night Tamura had traveled through Colorado on July 26, through Nebraska on July 27 and through Columbia, New Jersey as recently as 4pm on Monday before arriving in Manhattan to carry out his deadly rampage. And during a late night press conference NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the police found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, as well as a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. 'Police want to know what brought him to that building, who or what the target was, and what the grievance or motive behind it might have been,' Miller explained. 'These cases often involve people who experience a downfall and begin to blame others - bosses, institutions, society at large. Then they decide to get even with everybody, even though in most cases, the problem is usually them,' Miller said.
Tamura was a promising football player in junior varsity, obsessed with the game and once on a path that suggested a future defined by discipline and teamwork. In a video posted online from the 2015 season, Tamura can be heard giving a post-game interview in which he spoke of his victory with the Granada Hills football team based in Southern California. Tamura was instrumental in his team's victory after scoring several touchdowns. 'We were down 10-0, stayed disciplined and came together as a team. Couple of touchdowns,' he said on the day of his interview.