Las Vegas police video, audio details NYC gunman’s mental health struggles
Las Vegas police released 911 calls and video footage Tuesday that showed New York City office tower shooter Shane Tamura as a troubled man with a history of mental health issues.
The trove of videos, documents and recordings released by the Metropolitan Police Department included Tamura’s mother telling a call dispatcher in 2022 that her son was suicidal and suffered from chronic migraines and sports concussions.
As recently as Aug. 10, 2024 — less than a year before he fatally shot four people in New York before turning his weapon on himself — Tamura’s mother called 911 about what she described as her son’s suicidal ideation. She told a dispatcher then that he suffered from depression and anxiety, and that he was bipolar.
Video showed him calm and cooperative inside the apartment as one paramedic relayed suicidal comments he had made. At one point, Tamura thanks responders for helping him as they took him off for a mental health hold known as a “Legal 2000” or “L2K” hold.
Tamura, 27, at the time of his death and a former Strip casino security worker, was transported that day for a mental health crisis hold.
Two years earlier, a woman who identified herself as Tamura’s mother told a 911 dispatcher that she was concerned he would harm himself at a Las Vegas apartment.
“He has a gun,” she said in the Sept. 12, 2022, call. “He said he’s going to kill himself. He said he can’t take it anymore.”
The woman went on to say that Tamura had been “crying” and “slamming” items around his apartment. She also said he had smoked marijuana and that he had a gun that he kept in a backpack with a holster.
“He’s under doctor’s care for concussion, like sports concussions, chronic migraines and insomnia,” the woman told the operator.
Tamura’s mental state leading up to the New York shooting has come under scrutiny, partially because of his perceived struggle with the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
After the shooting, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tamura’s suicide note referenced his desire for his brain to be studied. She also said the note mentioned a 2013 documentary on CTE and former NFL players who had the disease.
Tamura played football at the high school level in Southern California. Whether Tamura had CTE, however, is unknown and may take longer to learn.
Casino cage and other issues
Police also released footage from an incident at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in 2022, and a traffic stop in 2024.
On Sept. 27, 2022, police were called to Red Rock to help with a man, later identified as Tamura, who claimed casino workers had not let him cash out chips worth several thousands of dollars. Casino officials told police that Tamura had not presented required identification when he attempted to cash out.
In a police report, an officer noted that Tamura appeared “agitated” and that he attempted to “grab” a security officer before he was detained.
In video released Tuesday, Tamura can be seen in a room inside the casino repeatedly asking why he was being arrested, though multiple officers can be seen telling him he was only detained and not under arrest.
Tamura later was arrested after failing to leave the property after being escorted out of the casino in handcuffs. Despite a warning that he needed to quickly leave the property or be arrested, Tamura remained and repeatedly asked police how he can get his money back.
“How do I make rent?” Tamura asks.
One officer can be seen telling Tamura to “call the corporate office” for Red Rock Resorts. Another tells Tamura to “come back a different day,” though he refused to leave, which led to his eventual arrest. The Clark County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute the case.
Court records also indicate that on May 30, 2024, Tamura was stopped by Metropolitan Police Department officers and ticketed for driving an unregistered BMW convertible. According to body camera footage of that stop released by Metro on Tuesday, an officer tells Tamura that he was pulled over because he didn’t have a license plate.
Officers also found he didn’t have a valid driver’s license, though a report detailing the traffic stop noted that Tamura’s attitude was “courteous” and that he “did have valid proof of insurance.”
In August 2024, Tamura pleaded guilty to operating an expired or unregistered vehicle, court records show. As stipulated by his plea, Tamura paid a reduced fine of $115 after providing proof of valid registration within 90 days.
In October 2024, two months after the mental health hold, Tamura purchased an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle from his supervisor at Horseshoe Las Vegas, where he worked an overnight surveillance shift.
NYC shooting
On July 28, using that weapon, Tamura targeted a building where the National Football League and Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms, as well as other tenants, are headquartered. After killing four people, he shot himself in the chest with the rifle, preserving his brain for possible future study.
Last month, an attorney representing the man who sold Tamura the assault rifle used in the shooting spree said the sale was legal.
“Rick Ackley legally sold a firearm to the suspect in the New York shooting and is not a suspect or considered to have any nefarious involvement,” the statement from defense lawyer Chris Rasmussen said. “Mr. Ackley obviously is heartbroken by this tragedy and will move forward with his life and asks for privacy in this difficult moment.”
Rasmussen said the sale took place about 10 months ago. He added that Ackley “did everything right. The transfer was through a federal firearms licensee, and it was all lawful.”
The attorney declined to give Ackley’s job title but said that he did not expect Ackley to be charged. LinkedIn lists a Rick Ackley as a “Surveillance Supervisor at Bally’s Casino,” which is now Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com. Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.
