Image source, Katharine Lotze/Santa Clarita Valley Signal/Getty Images
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- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
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Shane Tamura, a 27 -year -old resident in Las Vegas, opened fire on Monday afternoon in a New York office building, killing four people.
The murderer, who died after shooting himself on the 33rd floor of the skyscraper, carried a note in which he blamed the NFL (the National Football League) for the disease that, according to him, suffered: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (etc).
According to the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, Tamura's attack seemed to be aimed at that institution, whose main headquarters is located in the building where the events occurred. An NFL employee was seriously injured.
But what is the etc that the murderer claimed to suffer and what does the NFL have to do with this condition?
Image source, Getty Images
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative disease of the brain that causes behavior disorders and is caused by supporting repeated blows to the head.
It is a condition that has been previously documented in athletes who practiced contact sports, such as boxing, rugby, and also American football.
It is related to an increase in aggressiveness, depression, lack of emotional control, as well as cognitive problems such as memory loss and dementia.
It was a disease that was found, for example, in Aaron Hernández's brain, a former American football team who committed a murder and ended up committed to jail.
Patients who suffer from the disease often have excessive accumulation of the Tau protein that ends up killing nerve cells in the brain.
Although it is normal for this protein to be in the brain, in people suffering from some degenerative diseases, such as etc, it is presented with a modified structure.
This has the effect that certain functions – for example, emotions or memory – are compromised.
The prevalence of etc in American football players has been several times in the public eye.
In 2017, the New York Times published a study in which the brains of 111 former NFL players with brains from a control group were compared.
The result was overwhelming: 110 of the 111 players showed signs of etc.
Image source, MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News vía Getty Images
“Study my brain”
In the three -page note that the police found on Monday in Tamura's wallet referred to etc.
The full note has not been publicly announced, but police reports have mentioned some details.
According to these reports, Tamura accused NFL there to cover up the dangers of practicing American football.
As some photos that have been announced after his death, Tamura played American football at high school in southern California and, according to the CNN chain, was one of the stars of his team.
“Study my brain,” said the note left by the attacker, who took his life shooting in the chest.
According to media in the US, in recent years Tamura had suffered several episodes of deterioration of his mental health that required the intervention of the authorities.
The etc is a condition that can only be diagnosed definitely after the person who suffers from it and examines his brain.
The forensic doctor in charge of the case confirmed that his brain will be examined in Tamura.
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