Overview

• The City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner has initiated a complete autopsy including neuropathological study of Shane Tamura’s brain to investigate his claim of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
• Neurologists estimate that post-mortem testing for CTE, which involves preserving, dissecting, staining and examining multiple brain regions, could require one to two weeks for conclusive results.
• Tamura’s note, recovered by police, expressed remorse and requested his brain be studied for CTE while voicing a grievance against the National Football League.
• Experts caution that a positive CTE finding does not establish a causal link to violent behavior and stress that mental health factors must also be considered.
• Authorities continue to assess both the potential role of CTE and Tamura’s long-standing history of mental illness in determining his motive for the mass shooting.