NYC gunman bought his rifle from his boss in Las Vegas

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who killed four people at a Manhattan office building bought the rifle he used in the attack and the car he drove across country from his supervisor at a Las Vegas casino, authorities said Wednesday.

Shane Tamura, 27, fatally shot three people Monday in the building lobby before taking an elevator to the 33rd floor, killing a fourth victim and then ending his own life, according to police. The building housed the National Football League’s headquarters and other corporate offices.

In a note found on his body, Tamura assailed the NFL's handling of concerns about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and the former high school football player claimed he himself had the degenerative brain disease, according to police. Known as CTE, it has been linked to concussions and other head trauma.

At Tamura's Las Vegas studio apartment, investigators found a note with a different troubled message, police said Wednesday. They said the note expressed a feeling that his parents were disappointed in him and included an apology to his mother.

Police said they also found a psychiatric medication, an epilepsy drug and an anti-inflammatory that had been prescribed to Tamura.

Investigating his movements as well as his mindset, detectives learned that he purchased the rifle and car from his supervisor at a job in the surveillance department at the Horseshoe Las Vegas, the New York Police Department said.

The supervisor legally bought the AR-15-style rifle he sold to Tamura for $1,400, police said, adding that they had erred in saying earlier that the supervisor supplied only parts of the rifle. It wasn't immediately clear whether the gun sale was legal.

Police didn't identify the supervisor, who has been forthcoming with them and hasn't been charged with any crimes. Tamura had alluded to him, apologetically, in the note found in the gunman's wallet after the rampage, police said.

As investigators worked in both New York and Las Vegas, one of the victims, real estate firm worker Julia Hyman, was buried after a packed, emotional Wednesday service at a Manhattan synagogue.

Her uncle, Rob Pittman, said the 27-year-old lived “with wide open eyes” and “courage and conviction."

Hyman had worked since November at Rudin Management, which owns the building and has offices on the 33rd floor. A 2020 graduate of Cornell University, she had been the captain of Riverdale Country School's soccer, swimming and lacrosse teams in her senior year, school officials said.

Relatives and colleagues of another victim, security guard Aland Etienne, remembered him at a gathering at his union's office. The unarmed Etienne, who leaves a wife and two children, was shot as he manned the lobby security desk.

“We lost a hero,” younger brother Smith Etienne said. “He didn’t wear no cape. Had no fancy gear. He wore a security officer’s uniform.”

Police were preparing for a funeral Thursday for Officer Didarul Islam. A member of the force for over three years, he was killed while working, in uniform, at a department-approved second job providing security for the building.

Funeral arrangements for Etienne and the fourth victim, investment firm executive Wesley LePatner, haven't been made public.

An NFL employee who was badly wounded in the attack is expected to survive.

Teams of New York City detectives continued working Wednesday in Las Vegas, where they had a warrant to search Tamura's locker at the Horseshoe casino and were awaiting warrants to search his phone and laptop, police said. They also planned to speak to his parents.

Besides the note and medication at his apartment, they found a tripod for his rifle, a box for a revolver that was found in his car in New York, and ammunition for both guns, the police department said.

Police have said Tamura had a history of mental illness, but they haven't given detail. In September 2023, he was arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge after allegedly being told to leave a suburban Las Vegas casino and becoming agitated at being asked for his ID. Prosecutors later dismissed the case.

His psychiatric history would not have prevented him from legally purchasing the revolver just last month.

Nevada is among 21 states with a red-flag law that allows for weapons to be taken from people if courts determine they pose a risk to themselves or others. First, relatives or law enforcement must seek a so-called extreme risk protection order.

A new state law, effective this month, also lets officers confiscate firearms in the immediate vicinity of someone placed on a mental health crisis hold.

“These laws only work if someone makes use of them,” said Lindsay Nichols, policy director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Contributing were Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo in East Meadow, New York, and Jim Mustian in New York City.

Australian nationals identified by initials as PT, left, and MC, the suspects in the fatal shooting of an Australian tourist in June, take part in a police reenactment in Badung, Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

People embrace each other following a funeral of Julia Hyman, associate at Rudin Management Company, one of the victims of Monday's deadly shooting, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

The casket of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam arrives at Parkchester Jame Masjid after Monday's deadly shooting, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

People raise their phone lights during the vigil for the victims killed in the previous day's shooting at 345 Park Avenue, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, in Bryant Park, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

People embrace before a vigil for the four people killed in the previous day's shooting at 345 Park Avenue, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, in Bryant Park, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

CORRECTS TO NEVADA DEPT. OF MOTOR VEHICLES This undated image provided by Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles shows Shane Tamura. (Nevada Dept. of Motor Vehicles via AP)

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a vigil for the people killed by a gunman at a Manhattan office building a day prior, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at Bryant Park in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

KOHALA, Hawai‘i--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2026--

Kuleana Rum Works, the Hawai‘i-based distillery known for its additive-free, award-winning rums, today announced the release of “An Open Letter on Additive-Free Rum,” written by Founder & CEO Steve Jefferson, addressing why rum is now facing the same scrutiny and market shift that reshaped tequila a decade ago.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260107792953/en/

Consumers across spirits are demanding more honesty about how products are made. Additive-free labeling has already transformed tequila and is reshaping whiskey and RTDs. Drinkers now expect producers to protect natural flavor instead of masking it, and bartenders increasingly use transparency as a measure of quality. The letter positions rum as the next category entering this accountability cycle, as more consumers begin to question undisclosed sweeteners, flavorings and added color.

Tequila provides the clearest precedent. Producers who embraced additive-free methods helped premiumize the category, while brands relying on undisclosed additives now face growing skepticism. According to the letter, rum is approaching the same turning point. Jefferson explains that Kuleana Rum Works was founded on additive-free principles: growing heirloom Hawaiian kō (sugarcane), fermenting and distilling fresh juice at lower proof to preserve natural character, adding nothing after distillation and holding all blending partners to the same standards. Every rum — whether distilled in Hawai‘i or sourced — is verified additive-free through independent lab testing and supplier documentation.

“Consumer expectations are changing fast across spirits,” said Steve Jefferson, Founder and CEO of Kuleana Rum Works. “People want honesty in what they drink, and they’re rewarding producers who protect natural flavor rather than covering it up. Additive-free isn’t a trend — it’s becoming the standard, and rum is now facing that shift head-on.”

Additional detail in the letter underscores how production choices such as fresh juice fermentation, low-proof distillation and a strict no-additives policy create transparency and flavor integrity that align with what the market is valuing.

About Kuleana Rum Works

Founded on the island of Hawai‘i in 2013, Kuleana Rum Works crafts award-winning, additive-free rums — led by its signature Hawaiian Rum Agricole® — from fresh kō (heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane) grown on its regenerative Kohala farm. Now available in 17 states and Japan, Kuleana Rum Works champions excellence, transparency and community stewardship. Visit kuleanarum.com to learn more.

https://kuleanarum.com/additive-free/