A man stormed a Manhattan skyscraper, fatally shooting four people before taking his own life. He was carrying a suicide note stating that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), accusing the NFL of causing the condition [1], [2].
In the note, the shooter also requested that his brain be studied and accused the league of concealing the risks associated with the sport.
He had previously been involved in football, and police are investigating whether his intended target was the NFL headquarters, which are located in the building.
CTE is commonly found in NFL athletes due to repeated head trauma and can eventually lead to dementia.
One NFL employee was seriously injured and is in stable condition. Among the victims were a police officer—who was the first to be shot when the gunman entered the building’s lobby at 6:28 p.m.—a security guard, and two other individuals who were also in the lobby.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said investigators believe the gunman entered an elevator that did not have access to the NFL offices, which led him to move in a different direction.
According to police, the shooter had arrived in the city just hours earlier, after driving for days from his home in Nevada.
