Shane Tamura has been identified as the gunman who opened fire in Midtown Manhattan on Monday. The attack left four dead, including NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was working security for Rudin Management – the owners of the building at 345 Park Avenue, at the time.
Eventually, Tamura turned the gun on himself. Details about him emerged that he battled health issues and lived with his parents. Tamura, from Las Vegas, reportedly stayed in a gated community and played football in his school days.
Now, a former classmate and football teammate has shared some more insights into the killer's life.
Ex-classmate remembers Shane Tamura
Caleb Clarke, a former classmate and football teammate of Tamura, spoke about the killer's early days. Tamura was “the biggest goofball in the world, just a ton of energy, class clown,” he told NBC.
The two had played in California together till Tamura transferred to from a high school in Santa Clarita to Grenada Hills High School in 2015, before senior year.
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{{/usCountry}}As per Clarke, he and Tamura had only been in contact over social media in recent years, and the latter had shared that he was working at a casino in Las Vegas.
“You never would have thought violence was something you’d associate with him,” Clarke noted, recalling that Tamura was never a troublemaker in school. “You know, he could make a joke about people, but that’s just typical. Shane was a jokester. Everything he said was a joke. He had a ton of energy,” he additionally said to the publication.
Clarke continued that it seemed as though Tamura was destined for greatness as an athlete. “I feel like it was definitely on the table for him,” he said, adding, “I don’t think he walked around to be like, ‘Oh, I’ll have NFL games one day.’ I think it was more of everybody just telling him how great he was ... how special he was.”
Tamura's motive behind the shooting has not been made public yet as cops are looking into the matter.