Michigan medical experts on NYC shooting after CTE mentioned in shooter's note

Metro Detroit experts on mental condition of NYC mass shooter

The New York Police Department investigated the scene of the deadly shooting on Monday evening at an office building in Midtown Manhattan. Officials say 27-year-old Shane Tamura walked in, opened fire and killed four people.

(FOX 2) - Questions continue to linger after a mass shooting in New York City left four people dead. The gunman mentioned in a letter he was suffering from CTE. 

While authorities investigate his claims, Metro Detroit experts weigh in on the disease and what it could lead to. 

The backstory:

The New York Police Department investigated the scene of the deadly shooting on Monday evening at an office building in Midtown Manhattan. Officials say 27-year-old Shane Tamura walked in, opened fire and killed four people. 

Investigators say Tamura took his own life, but left a note saying he was suffering from CTE and was trying to shoot up the NFL office in that building. 

Authorities have not yet confirmed if Tamura was actually diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, but they are looking into it.

"He only played high school football," Broglio  said. "And there was an international group that reviewed all the literature a couple of years ago and they found it they reported that individuals that played amateur sports, high school level, did not suffer from CTE."

What they're saying:

Experts like Professor Steven Broglio at the University of Michigan's Concussion Center weighed in on what CTE is.

"The idea, we don’t know this for sure, is that concussions and maybe head impacts without concussions lead to microstructural change in the way the brain functions," Broglio said.

Athletes can suffer from it and people can also get it from car crashes. Meanwhile, it can have long-term effects on the brain. 

FOX 2 also talked with Dr. Peter Lewitt, a Professor of Neurology at Wayne State University and at the Detroit Medical Center.

"It’s well documented that there can be various kinds of outcomes, such as progressive dementia or loss of good gait abilities or loss of coordination or tremors," Lewitt said.

If untreated, it can lead to impulsivity, depression, and social isolation, but the goal is treatment. Lewitt says if anyone feels they have suffered a concussion, please get checked out soon. 

"All of these things can be a medical problem. It could be a neurological problem. It could be a psychiatric problem," he said. "So the gatekeepers for this are psychiatry and neurology in order to assess somebody to see if they can be helped."

NYC mass shooter's note claimed CTE; doctors explain condition

Manhattan gunman Shane Tamura killed four people, then himself Monday, with a note claiming he suffered from CTE. Metro Detroit doctors break down the condition and its effects.