Gunman's brain to be tested for CTE after deadly NFL building shooting

NZ Herald

2 days ago

Investigators found a three-page handwritten note in Tamura's wallet that referenced CTE, according to a person familiar with the law enforcement investigation.
'Study my brain please,' the note read.
According to a copy of the note obtained by the New York Post, the gunman also apparently mentioned by name Boston University, a leader in CTE research, and prominent researchers, including Ann McKee and Bennet Omalu.
New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) did not specify whether Tamura's brain will be tested for CTE, saying during an interview with CNN: 'The medical examiner here in the city, he will make that determination on the next steps in collaboration with the district attorney in Manhattan County'.
CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously.
The brains of many high-profile athletes have been donated to the UNITE Brain Bank and studied at Boston University's CTE Centre. Its CTE diagnoses include Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL tight end who was serving a life sentence for murder when he died by suicide in 2017 and was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE, and Phillip Adams, a 32-year-old former NFL player who killed six people and himself in 2021 and was found to have stage 2 CTE.
Chris Nowinski, the CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, which works with the BU centre and helps operate the brain bank, said he didn't anticipate Tamura's brain making its way to BU's researchers unless requested by New York's medical examiner's office. Unlike medical examiners in many other cities, the New York City office has doctors qualified to make a CTE diagnosis, he said.
'They have neuropathologists on their team who understand CTE,' Nowinski said in a phone interview. 'They can do the study for CTE and all other known brain abnormalities themselves. Whether they ask anyone to review their findings, I don't know. But I have full confidence in them.'
Nowinski said he was confident that CTE would be among the pathologies looked for by the New York officials. In a more routine case, CTE might not be on the checklist. The diagnostic process involves first fixing a brain sample in a formalin solution to harden.
Researchers then stain the sample to highlight deposits of tau protein, an indicator of CTE.
'I'm sure they'll probably do the same kind of work-up we do,' Nowinski said.
'We don't just look for CTE. We look for all brain abnormalities – could see genetic disorders, tumours, all sorts of things.'
He cautioned that even if Tamura is determined to have CTE, that wouldn't necessarily explain his actions in the Manhattan high-rise and certainly wouldn't rule out other contributing factors such as mental illness, genetic disorders or drug use.
Experts in the field don't expect quick answers. The process for studying the brain and diagnosing CTE can take two or more weeks and wouldn't necessarily be made public until the medical examiner's office and investigators choose to release the findings. In the case of Adams, a CTE diagnosis wasn't made public for eight months.
Most high-profile CTE cases have been linked to NFL players, and researchers don't know how prevalent CTE might be in athletes who only played through high school.
One 2023 study from Boston University focused on athletes who died before the age of 30. It included the brains of 45 players who didn't play football beyond high school; 14 of them – 31% – were found to have CTE. (Researchers note the brains were donated by families who sought a neuropathologic examination and might have suspected CTE.)
Tamura played football in high school but not college or the NFL.
The note found in his wallet cited Terry Long, a former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman who committed suicide in 2005.
The Allegheny County coroner's office first ruled Long died of meningitis, but a revised death certificate filed one month later listed the manner of Long's death as suicide from drinking antifreeze.
The medical examiner's office called Long's football-related brain injuries a contributing factor to his death but said he did not die as a direct result of them, the Associated Press reported in January 2006.
The note found in Tamura's wallet said the 'league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximise profits' and 'failed us'.
Adams said in broadcast interviews Tuesday that the shooter was targeting the NFL.
'From our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,' Adams told CBS.
'Instead, it took him to Rudin Management. And that is where he carried out additional shootings and took the lives of additional employees.'
The NFL has closed its offices through at least the end of next week.
Commissioner Roger Goodell instructed employees to work remotely until then. Goodell participated in a virtual town hall for NFL employees Wednesday.