The NFL has temporarily closed its headquarters at the Midtown Manhattan high-rise that was targeted in a mass shooting on Monday evening.
In a memo to league employees, commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that staff should not return to the office until further notice.
“For those of you based in our New York office, please plan to work remotely at least through the end of next week (August 8),” Goodell wrote. “The office will remain closed during this time, and we ask that you do not attempt to enter the building until we confirm that it is ready for us to return.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a Tuesday morning interview that authorities “have reason to believe” the gunman targeted the league when he entered the building, but went to the wrong floor of the 44-story high-rise, where the league office occupies multiple levels.
The attack killed four people, including off-duty police officer Didarul Islam, and injured one NFL staff member.
A high-ranking NFL employee told The Athletic that the league identified the wounded employee as Craig Clementi in a message to team owners. Clementi was on the phone warning other NFL staff members to evacuate when a bullet struck him in the back, the source said, and he continued to make calls while en route to the hospital in an ambulance.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain especially with our colleague who was impacted,” Goodell said in the Tuesday statement. “He is currently surrounded by his family and members of the NFL community, and we are all continuing to hope for and support his full recovery.”
Police have identified the shooter as 27-year-old Shane Devin Tamura, a former high school football player who traveled cross-country from Las Vegas before attacking the building at 345 Park Ave. Tamura took his own life after the rampage, according to police, but left a note indicating that the NFL headquarters was his target.
According to The New York Times, the note criticized the league for concealing the dangers of playing football. Tamura’s note requested that authorities analyze his brain for signs of CTE, a degenerative condition tied to repeated head trauma that doctors cannot definitively diagnose while a person is alive. In the excerpts of the note reported by The Times, Tamura mentioned former NFL player Terry Long, who died by suicide in 2005.
The New York City medical examiner’s office said it would perform an autopsy on the gunman, including an examination of his brain.
Tamura played high school football in California, according to MaxPreps, as a running back and defensive back. He never played in the NFL.
Blackstone, an investment management firm that has offices in the building, said executive Wesley LePatner was among the shooting victims. Manny Pastreich, the president of the union 32BJ, which represents New York City workers, said security guard Aland Etienne was also one of those killed. Rudin Management associate Julia Hyman was the fourth victim killed in the shooting, according to a Tuesday letter from Riverdale Country School in New York, where she attended grade school.
“Thank you to all of you for the compassion, care, and support you are showing to one another right now. It means so much to see how our team is pulling together,” Goodell said in his statement. “In the midst of this difficult time, we hold on to hope and optimism for healing and brighter days ahead.”
Goodell also said that “to provide a space for our community,” the NFL will hold a virtual town hall on Wednesday, “where we can connect, share, and support each other.”
Nicki Jhabvala contributed reporting.
(Photo of 345 Park Ave. entrance: Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)
