New York City's deadliest shooting in 25 years – In a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the United States, it is being asked about how gunmen with a history of mental health problems can obtain multiple guns and undiscovered gunmen in several states to conduct attacks.
Officials said the gunman walked into a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday, holding an M4 attack rifle and sprayed it with gunshots, and obtained a license to carry a hidden weapon in Nevada, Nevada.
Law enforcement sources told CNN that he was also appointed to mental illness in 2022 and 2024. But that may not necessarily prohibit him from obtaining a license or purchasing a gun in 2022 – depending on the circumstances of his possession.
Shane Devon Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, killed four people at 345 Park Avenue office building and was injured before committing suicide, police said.
Although public health experts continue to emphasize that the vast majority of people experiencing mental health challenges are not violent, details about Tamula psychiatry and whether they will appear in background checks.
The case highlights the huge gap in sharing mental health data with the federal government – a problem that may be attributed to insufficient funds to manage or require data as well as privacy issues. Thomas Chittum, former deputy director of alcohol, tobacco, guns and explosives.
Tamura has a “recorded history of mental health” and previous failures with law enforcement, according to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Tamura was arrested in Clark County, Nevada in 2023 and was charged with misdemeanor crimes in Clark County, Nevada in 2023 after he refused to leave the Las Vegas casino after he refused to cash out about $5,000. The court database advised the district attorney to refuse the lawsuit, meaning the incident would not prevent him from obtaining the gun.
The case also sells private guns under a microscope.
Two law enforcement officers told CNN that the AR-15-style weapon used in the shooting was legally purchased by the gunman supervisor at the Vegas casino where he worked. Officials said supervisors gathered it and sold it to Tamula for $1,400, and interviewed by supervisors who worked with authorities.
Not clear yet Is the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor involved a background check.
However, if the investigation shows that the gun transfer is conducted in Nevada and that private sales do not comply with state laws requiring a background check for private sales, supervisors who have not been named by authorities may face legal dangers.
Investigators are digging out Tamula's history and examining how he obtained multiple guns and went from Las Vegas to New York City through assault rifles.
Law enforcement sources told CNN that searching for gunmen's cars searched for many items, including other ammunition, another loading weapon, headphones that could be used for target practice, two cell phones, antidepressants Zoloft and Cannabis.
Sources told CNN that a disease found in the gunman's pocket claimed he had a disease associated with head trauma, which is often associated with football players. An office spokesman told CNN on Tuesday that the New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office will test Tamura’s remains for CTE. The only way to diagnose a disease is through an autopsy.
Experts say that as for the establishment of mental illness, it is hard to say if they are not sure whether they will appear in background checks or prevent Tamula from purchasing weapons.
“If your holding is 48 hours, if you are released at the end of this, it will not affect your ability to own a gun under federal law,” Chittum said.
Eller said that when a person applies for a gun permit, most states have little to do with mental health because people’s concerns about privacy issues and stigmatize those suffering from mental health issues. One problem, for example, is that soldiers struggling with PTSD or PTSD may be reluctant to seek help because they fear that their treatment history will deprive them of possessing a gun.
“It will be a long way to go between lack of funds to ensure that the background check system is effective on these issues and is linked to the legal links of advocacy groups,” Eller said.
Veteran groups and advocacy groups such as the American Liberties Union have made a concerted effort to fight shared mental health records from the National Crime Information Center and local law enforcement, which most states rely on for background checks.
He added: “The group is always fighting because just mental illness does not mean you are mentally incompetent nor does it mean you are in danger.”
However, if a court declares a person powerless, faces a restraining order, poses danger to himself or others or is considered dangerous, the federal government restricts gun ownership, and states largely comply with federal laws, with some differences.
“Even if we have someone with a mental health problem that prohibits solving these problems under the law, the next question is whether the background check is certain. Historically, mental health records are the hardest to obtain when conducting background checks.”
As New York homicide detective efforts piece together the incident that led to the deadly attack in Manhattan, the way Tamura gets a high-powered M4 rifle from colleagues, and whether a background check law is violated in Nevada may be under scrutiny.
In Nevada, guns were sold privately between the two parties before the transfer was completed. Both people have to go to a federally licensed gun dealer who conducts background checks on their behalf. Limited exceptions, including direct firearm transmission between family members, do not require this process.
If the private sale between Tamura and the supervisor does comply with the law and the facts cannot prove that the supervisor’s historically possible disqualification, including the intended use of the gun, the seller may not be sued.
Chittum said federal law imposes no obligation on private gun sellers to identify buyers, conduct background checks or retain any record of sale.
Nevada's enforcement of private sales that enforce background checks was implemented in January 2020, ending what is called a “gun show loophole,” which gun safety advocates have long criticized the means of bypassing the checks of record that can mark past criminal history.
What does federal and Nevada law comment on background checks?
Most states conduct background checks through federally licensed dealers, relying on the FBI's National Instant Crime Background Check System (NIC), while some states such as Nevada have designated “point of contact” systems that provide access to state criminal history.
Under federal law, unlicensed people purchase guns directly from gun dealers must also undergo a background check, however, those who already have a hidden carrying license (such as Tamura owned) may be tax-free because they have undergone background checks to obtain a license.
Hours after the Manhattan shooting, Las Vegas police criminals received a tip from licensed gun dealers who remembered he wanted to buy an aftermarket trigger for the M4 rifle at the Las Vegas gun show in June and told CNN in a senior law enforcement official in June.
Tamura returned to the trigger conference the next day, saying he needed money to buy 500 rounds of .223 ammunition, the ammunition used in the New York shooting. The official said the gun dealer told police officer Tamula had returned the next day and repurchased the trigger conference.
Eller said Tamula’s case calls attention to the “gray area” in federal regulations and the enforcement of private sales that exist when people buy gun cash in private sales.
Since a hidden carry-on license is exempt from background checks for five years when purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer, it creates a “subtle area” where a person can get a license to carry and then be convicted or convicted, and may still be able to use their card to buy telegrams and avoid using telegrams and avoid using telegrams, and say.
Chittum said some states recognize the problem and frequently conduct background checks on license holders to determine if their license remains valid. The Red Flag Law, including a Nevada law, aims to place firearms in the hands of people who pose a threat to themselves or others.
However, such laws are only valid if an individual displays a warning sign so that others can remind law enforcement and initiate the process of revoking that person’s gun. It is unclear whether there is any warning signs in Tamura that will trigger dangerous laws in the state.
Tamura's weapon style that once massacred four people was often seen in the deadliest mass shootings in the United States and prompted calls from progressive lawmakers to update to increase regulation.
“In New York State, you can't buy one of them,” Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN on Tuesday.
Hawkel called on federal lawmakers to pass a national assault weapons ban that would limit access to high-powered guns, such as the AR-15-style rifle used in Monday's massacre, and blasted her for being accused of “a GOP counterpart who was intimidated by the gun hall.”
“We need to have a national awakening here, and people need to talk about people again, and it shouldn't just happen after such a tragedy,” Hochul said.