What we know about Shane Tamura, the former L.A. football standout accused in NFL mass shooting
The gunman suspected of targeting National Football League headquarters In New York and killing four, was a former standout football player at two Southern California high schools.
Shane Tamura, 27, was a celebrated varsity high school player at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita and Granada Hills Charter.
Tamura played football at Golden Valley High School in the Canyon Country neighborhood of Santa Clarita for three years before transferring to Granada Hills Charter School for his senior year in 2015. Tamura did not play for the NFL.
‘A hard worker’
Dan Kelley, Golden Valley coach, told The Times that he only remembered Tamura as “a good athlete.” A 2015 Times article quoted Kelley as saying he was expecting “big things” from Tamura and several other players.
In his senior year at Granada Hills, the 5-foot-7, 140-pound player had 126 carries, 600 rushing yards and five touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. He also won several “player of the game” awards. He graduated in 2016, the site said.
Walter Roby, his coach at Granada Hills, told Fox 11 that he was stunned by the news.
“Shane was very quiet. He was a quiet, hard worker. He was coachable. So whatever we asked him to do, he was doing it. He led by, you know, his actions on the field. He was our, you know, one of my top offensive players at the time,” he said. “Could I have done more? Could I help the kid? Could I have reached out to him or could you reach out to me? It’s just a lot of things I’m trying to process right now.”
‘So shocking’
Granada Hills teammate Anthony Michael Leon told NBC News: “This is so shocking. I’m telling you, this was one of those kids who never exerted bad energy or a negative attitude.”
“He was quiet, but when he did actually talk, people listened,” Leon added.
It is unclear what Tamura did after high school.
Mostly recently, he was living in Las Vegas.
A path to mass shooting
The initial investigation indicates that Tamura had traveled from Las Vegas to New York, driving a BMW cross country through Colorado, Nebraska and New Jersey over the weekend.
Law enforcement said that officers searched the vehicle that the gunman left double parked on Park Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets and found a rifle case with rounds, a loaded revolver, ammunition and magazines, a backpack and medication prescribed to Tamura. No explosives were inside.
“Mr. Tamura has a documented mental health history,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday night at a news conference, citing Las Vegas law enforcement. “His motives are still under investigation, and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location.”
New York Mayor Eric Adams said said Tamura was trying to target the NFL but took the wrong elevator.
