Email
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Link<\/p>\n
\n New York City\u2019s deadliest shooting in 25 years \u2013 in a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the nation \u2013 is raising questions about how a gunman with a history of mental health issues was able to obtain multiple firearms and drive undetected across several states to carry out the attack.\n <\/p>\n
\n The gunman who walked into a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday, M4 assault-style rifle in hand, and sprayed it with gunfire, had a license to carry a concealed weapon<\/a> in his home state of Nevada, officials said.\n <\/p>\n \n He also had been placed on psychiatric hold in 2022 and 2024, law enforcement sources told CNN. But that may not have necessarily prohibited him from obtaining his license in 2022 or buying firearms \u2013 depending on the circumstances of the holds, according to gun law experts.\n <\/p>\n \n Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, killed four people at the 345 Park Avenue office building and injured another before he died by suicide,<\/a> police said.\n <\/p>\n \n While public health experts continue to stress<\/a> that the vast majority of people experiencing mental health challenges are not violent, questions remain about the details of Tamura\u2019s psychiatric holds and if they would have shown up in a background check.\n <\/p>\n \n The case underscores the wide gap in sharing mental health data with the federal government \u2013 an issue that can be attributed to inadequate funding to manage or require the data, as well as privacy issues, according <\/strong>to Thomas Chittum, former associate deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.\n <\/p>\n \n Tamura had \u201ca documented mental health history,\u201d according to New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and a previous run-in with law enforcement.\n <\/p>\n \n Tamura was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in 2023 in Clark County, Nevada, after he refused to leave a Las Vegas casino after attempting to cash out about $5,000, according to a police incident report. A court database suggests a district attorney declined to pursue the case, meaning the incident wouldn\u2019t have prevented him from obtaining a gun.\n <\/p>\n \n The case also throws private gun sales under the microscope.\n <\/p>\n \n The AR-15 style weapon used in the shooting was legally purchased last year by the gunman\u2019s supervisor<\/a> at the Vegas casino where he worked, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The supervisor then assembled it and sold it to Tamura for $1,400, the officials said, citing an interview with the supervisor who is cooperating with authorities.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s not yet clear <\/strong>whether the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor involved a background check.\n <\/p>\n \n But the supervisor, who has not been named by authorities, could face legal jeopardy if the investigation reveals the firearm transfer took place in Nevada and the private sale didn\u2019t follow a state law requiring background checks for private sales, according to Warren Eller, gun violence expert and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.\n <\/p>\n \n As police work to uncover a motive behind the shooting, investigators are digging into Tamura\u2019s history and examining are how he obtained multiple firearms and made his way from Las Vegas to New York City with the assault rifle.\n <\/p>\n \n A search of the gunman\u2019s car turned up a host of items, including additional ammunition, another loaded weapon, headphones potentially used for target practice, two cell phones, the antidepressant Zoloft and cannabis, a law enforcement source told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n A note found in the gunman\u2019s pocket claimed he had<\/a> CTE<\/a>, a disease linked to head trauma, one that\u2019s often associated with football players, a source told CNN. New York City\u2019s chief medical examiner\u2019s office will test Tamura\u2019s remains for CTE, an office spokesperson told CNN Tuesday. The only way to diagnose the disease is through an autopsy of the brain.\n <\/p>\n \n As for the psychiatric holds, it\u2019s difficult to say without knowing the details whether they would have shown up in a background check or prevented Tamura from purchasing weapons, experts say.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf you were on a 48-hour hold, if you were released at the end of that, it would not affect your ability to possess firearms under federal law,\u201d Chittum said.\n <\/p>\n \n Most states barely touch on the area of mental health when a person applies for a gun license due to concerns over privacy issues and stigmatizing people who have mental health issues, according to Eller. One concern, for example, is soldiers who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, might be reluctant to seek help because they fear their treatment history would deprive them of possessing firearms.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBetween the lack of funding to make sure the background check system is effective for those problems and the legal hang ups with advocacy groups who will challenge this, that\u2019s a long road ahead,\u201d Eller said.\n <\/p>\n \n There\u2019s a concerted effort by veterans\u2019 groups and advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union to fight against the sharing of mental health records with the National Crime Information Center and local law enforcement, which most states rely on for background checks, according to Eller.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cGroups have been combating that because simply being mentally ill doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re mentally incompetent, nor does it mean you\u2019re a danger,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n \n However, in cases where a person was declared incompetent by a court, faced a restraining order, involuntarily committed or deemed a danger to themselves or others due to a mental illness, the federal government restricts firearm ownership and states largely follow federal law with some variations, according to Chittum.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cEven when we have someone who has a mental health issue that prohibits them under the law, the next question is whether the background check identifies that. Historically, mental health records have been some of the hardest for FBI to obtain when doing background checks,\u201d Chittum said, adding there have been efforts to improve the availability of those records in some legislation.\n <\/p>\n \n As New York homicide detectives work to piece together a timeline of events leading up to the deadly Manhattan attack, the way Tamura obtained the high-powered M4 rifle from an associate and whether Nevada\u2019s background check laws were violated will likely come under scrutiny.\n <\/p>\n \n In Nevada, the private sale of a firearm between two parties<\/a> requires a federal background check before the transfer is complete. Both individuals must go to a federally licensed firearm dealer, which conducts the background check on their behalf. There are limited exceptions, including firearm transfers between immediate family members, which do not require this process.\n <\/p>\n \n If the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor did abide by the law and the facts can\u2019t prove the supervisor had any knowledge of possible disqualifiers in Tamura\u2019s history, including intended use of the firearm, then the seller likely won\u2019t be prosecuted, according to Eller and Chittum.\n <\/p>\n \n Federal law doesn\u2019t impose any obligation on private gun sellers to identify the buyer, conduct a background check or keep any record of the sale, Chittum said.\n <\/p>\n \n The Nevada law enforcing background checks for private sales was implemented in January 2020, closing the so-called \u201cgun show loophole\u201d that gun safety advocates have long criticized as a means for bypassing records checks that can flag past criminal history.\n <\/p>\n What does federal and Nevada state law say about background checks?<\/p>\n \n Most states conduct background checks through federally licensed dealers relying on the FBI\u2019s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), while some states like Nevada have a designated \u201cpoint of contact\u201d system that offers access to state criminal history records.\n <\/p>\n \n Under federal law<\/a>, an unlicensed person buying a firearm directly from a gun dealer must also undergo a background check, however, those who already have a concealed carry permit \u2013 like Tamura had \u2013 may be exempt because they would have already undergone a background check to get the permit.\n <\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/screenshot-2025-07-29-171730-rifle.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/screenshot-2025-07-29-173048.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Approved](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img-8662-copy.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ap25210260329308.jpg\")
<\/p>\n