The Unraveling of Mental Health in Mass Shootings: A Troubling Trend
Republished with permission from AbleChild.
Last Monday, the nation bore witness to yet another tragic mass shooting, this time involving Shane Tamura, a man whose mental health history looms large over the events that transpired. It raises an urgent question: why do those in power seem reluctant to confront the longstanding failures of our behavioral health system that have persisted for decades?
Tamura, a resident of Nevada, embarked on a cross-country journey, reportedly on a mission to target the National Football League’s headquarters. However, rather than waiting to reach his destination, he unleashed a barrage of gunfire in a midtown office building lobby, claiming innocent lives without any evident motive. This horrifying tragedy underscores a critical issue: Tamura was purportedly under treatment for mental illnesses, utilizing powerful psychiatric medications.
In a three-page note discovered beside his lifeless body, Tamura expressed concerns about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease often linked to repeated head trauma. Though he played high school football, there are no records of him sustaining significant injuries, nor did he ever play at the collegiate or professional level. His former coach confirmed that Tamura did not experience any head traumas.
Despite this, Tamura had consistently consulted a neurologist who conducted annual MRI exams and provided various treatments, including Sumatriptan injections—none of which indicated signs of CTE.
While the specifics of Tamura’s high school sports career may be irrelevant, what is critical is that law enforcement was aware of his mental health issues right from the start. Yet, the details of his diagnosis remain shrouded in mystery. Why is this information concealed? After all, it was purportedly this mental illness that led to the tragic loss of innocent lives. Shouldn’t the public have access to information regarding Tamura’s specific mental health diagnoses, the treatments he received, and the duration of his treatment?
While full details about Tamura’s mental health history may never surface, reports indicate that he had been employed in security at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, despite a troubling mental health background. Tamura had been subjected to two Mental Health Crisis holds in Nevada—first in 2022 and again in 2024. This begs the question: How did he manage to obtain a concealed carry permit and work in security at a casino under such circumstances? Additionally, in 2022, he faced trespassing charges at a Las Vegas casino after reportedly physically confronting a security guard. Strangely, those charges were dismissed, raising further concerns about the efficacy of the casino’s background checks.
Even these incidents do not provide a complete picture of Tamura’s mental decline. To comprehend the root causes of this senseless act, investigators should consider subpoenaing his mental health records.
Reports indicate that a medication was found in Tamura’s abandoned car in Manhattan, and antipsychotics were discovered in his Las Vegas apartment. This leads to an unsettling conclusion: Tamura’s issues may have had little to do with the NFL and everything to do with the mental health system. Law enforcement recovered multiple prescription bottles and documentation from his residence, including various medications.
Thus, the question arises: How many psychiatric drugs had been prescribed to Tamura? Understanding the duration and nature of his treatment is crucial in examining how these medications might have altered his mental state over time.
Consider the potential adverse effects associated with the antipsychotics prescribed to Tamura. These medications are typically aimed at managing psychosis—a condition marked by a disconnect from reality, often encompassing hallucinations and delusions. Side effects may include insomnia, anxiety, agitation, confusion, and delirium. If Tamura was on a complex regimen of psychiatric medications, each with its own potential side effects, it raises the alarming possibility that he may have been suffering from drug-induced Tardive Dyskinesia (TD)—a movement disorder caused by long-term use of certain medications.
Is it conceivable that Tamura’s delusions were exacerbated by his psychiatric medications, leading to an obsession with the NFL’s CTE history? Ironically, as part of the autopsy, Tamura’s brain will be examined for CTE, but this investigation will only yield meaningful insights if the effects of his psychiatric drug use are also considered.
The crux of this case revolves around Tamura’s mental health history and the medications he was prescribed. It’s striking that while the public receives exhaustive details about the firearms involved in these heinous acts, we are rarely privy to the identities of the shooter’s prescribing physicians or the specific drugs administered.
This pattern of obfuscation is not new. Take, for instance, Audrey Hale, who perpetrated a mass shooting at a school in Nashville in 2023. Despite her extensive history of psychiatric treatment spanning two decades, the public remains in the dark about the specifics of her mental health journey.
In fact, many mass shooters exhibit long histories of psychiatric treatment. Tamura appears to be yet another tragic example of the failures of our mental health system. While the public knows the actions he took, the underlying reasons for such violence remain elusive. Law enforcement would do well to begin their investigation not at the scene of the crime but rather in Tamura’s medicine cabinet.
AbleChild is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has recently co-authored landmark legislation in Tennessee, establishing a national precedent for transparency and accountability at the intersection of mental health, pharmaceutical practices, and public safety.
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