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Source: NYC Shooter Who Killed Four Had Grievances with NFL; Trump: 'Never Had the Privilege' of Going to Epstein's Island; Trump Wraps Up U.K. Visit at New Golf Course in Scotland. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 29, 2025 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[06:01:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish, and we are following breaking news on this Tuesday morning. A possible motive in the murder of four people in a midtown Manhattan mass shooting. The NFL headquarters are at the center of the investigation.

The gunman, identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, walked into a Park Avenue high-rise with an M-4 assault-style rifle and opened fire.

That building is home to the corporate offices of the NFL. A law enforcement source telling CNN the shooter had grievances with the league.

A source tells us a suicide note was found on his body, and the shooter wrote he was suffering from CTE, a brain disease linked to head trauma, which can be caused by contact sports. You can be only -- you can only be diagnosed with it after death. And the suspect died of a self-inflicted wound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, NYC POLICE COMMISSIONER: According to our law enforcement partners in Las Vegas, Mr. Tamura has a documented mental health history. His motives are still under investigation, and we are working to understand why he targeted this particular location.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A three-and-a-half-year NYPD veteran was shot in the back and killed by the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: He was saving lives. He was protecting New Yorkers. He's an immigrant from Bangladesh, and he loved this city. And everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: According to an internal memo, one employee was seriously injured in the attack.

I'm going to bring in now Jason Pack. He's a former FBI crisis management and tactical operations leader.

Thank you for being with us.

I want to start with what we're learning about the investigation. What are you hearing in that press conference we heard earlier that strikes you?

JASON PACK, FORMER FBI CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND TACTICAL OPERATIONS LEADER: Good morning, ma'am. And first, our condolences to Officer Islam and his family and, certainly, the victims that were affected by this.

So, what's interesting from the press conference last night is the things that they found in the double-parked car outside, as your John Miller and others reported last night. Those medication bottles were key, and the note were key pieces of evidence that investigators found that -- the NYPD there -- to kind of answer this question of why.

Like, certainly, we're trying to make rational thoughts out of irrational behavior that the suspect has done. But just knowing that now, the NFL is presumed to be the target, kind of at least leads you in a direction where investigators can focus more.

So, what they'll be doing likely now, Audie, is going back to Las Vegas, to the residents there, interviewing his family, his friends, and those he worked with just to kind of see if there were any leakage -- we call that leakage -- before this happened.

When people are down the path of violence, often just before they choose to act on it, they let things slip, as we say, in this world, where they allude to what they may be doing. So, investigators are going to be looking for that.

They'll also look at his digital footprint with affidavits going out for search warrants for, certainly, his social media accounts and anything else on his computer: Internet history, those types of things.

CORNISH: I want to take a moment to think about the victims. As you mentioned, the police officer, but there were other victims. And is it clear that they were targeted? Or were they the subject to a random attack?

PACK: Well, I think maybe a little bit of both. It seemed like, from what the police commissioner detailed in that press conference last night, a very chilling, actually, account of him walking in, opening fire in the lobby. Clearly, he was trying to get to a specific place in that building.

And so, as he progressed, we heard about the -- the lady in the elevator whom he let -- walks right by him while he was on his way up to that floor to address -- address his grievances there with the NFL. So, we don't know if he was actually targeting any specific person

there, or just the idea of the NFL as an institution.

[06:05:02]

CORNISH: And I just wanted to give you a chance, Jason, to comment on this image that a lot of people are waking up to this morning of this person just walking, you know, broad daylight with this weapon, sunglasses, I mean, kind of sauntering in. Sort of what is your view when you look at this?

PACK: Well, a few things, ma'am. So, if you take a look at this case and each case, as we know, have their own individual set of facts. But just a few months ago, we were looking at -- we're in a manhunt, looking for Luigi Mangione when he lied in wait for the CEO of UnitedHealth.

So, this is much different. He was disguising his face. He was covered up and then fled. He had an exit plan.

This says to me there's no exit plan here. This person looks determined and on a mission.

And the question is now trying to go back and see what the -- this -- the final thing that actually caused him to drive all the way from Las Vegas to New York City. What was that one thing or the one thing that led to say, hey, I have to act on this now?

That's the key question investigators will be looking for.

CORNISH: We'll be reporting more on this throughout the day. Jason Pack, former FBI crisis management and tactical operations leader. Thank you for being with us.

PACK: Thank you.

CORNISH: And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump hitting the links, wrapping up his trip to Scotland and heading home to the scandal he cannot escape.

And a heat wave gripping the East Coast. It could feel like 115 degrees in some places.

And should Ghislaine Maxwell get a pardon? President not ruling it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:11:16]

CORNISH: President Trump once again mixing business with pleasure. Right now, he's wrapping up his U.K. trip by playing the first round of golf at his newest property in Scotland.

He held a grand opening in the past hour, and after that, he says it's back to Washington.

The morning caps a whirlwind weekend for the president. He put the finishing touches on a trade deal with the European Union. He met with the British prime minister, issued a new ultimatum to Russia, and applied pressure on Israel, and gave new details about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I never went to the island. I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Phil Mattingly, CNN anchor and chief domestic correspondent; Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist and former adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign; and Jonah Goldberg, CNN political commentator and co-founder of "The Dispatch."

There's a lot to unpack here. I actually want to start with you, Phil, just because of that very extensive and wide-ranging press conference that I guess, part one, the Starmers were sort of part of, and then it extended.

For you, was there anything that took precedence beyond his cross- promotion -- right? -- for the new golf course?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Look, I --

CORNISH: He was saying that a bunch of wars have been stopped. So, I want to get some sense of what you're thinking.

MATTINGLY: I think, when you see the large golden scissors and the ribbon cutting, I do think -- credit where it's due -- he multitasks. Right? He goes on these trips. And yes, what he's doing today is completely an anathema to what we think a U.S. president should be doing.

But he does many things on these trips. He's very capable of that.

It is true that, throughout the course of his six and a half months in office, he has been able to get on the phone with people and kind of jawbone various conflicts into pauses for a time. None of those, though, have really been long-lasting.

CORNISH: Pauses for a time. I see what you mean. Like India, Pakistan?

MATTINGLY: Exactly.

CORNISH: OK.

MATTINGLY: And so, I think when he mentions those and mentions that nobody seems to pay attention to him, there's a -- there's a fair point there.

I think the reality, though, is what was most interesting for me, coming -- especially coming out of the Starmer meeting, was -- and I know we're going to talk about it in a little bit -- but was kind of a turn that he had on Gaza, which is reflective of a turn that we've also seen on Russia; which is reflective of kind of trying to grapple with "America first" in this moment; what it means; the U.S. role for the world in the midst of humanitarian crises, in the midst of other bilateral crises that are going on in this moment.

And watching him kind of grapple with that in real time, I think, has been interesting this trip.

CORNISH: Yes. The kind of limits of his power, limits of the -- his ability to kind of shake loose some of the more intractable issues.

I don't know, Jonah, you want to jump on this?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean --

CORNISH: That -- that head tilt sometimes means you're like, wondering what's happening.

MATTINGLY: It means I walked into something.

CORNISH: Yes.

GOLDBERG: No, no, no, no. No, not at all. Not at all. I mean, I agree on the multitasking thing and -- and the -- the stopping all the wars thing. That's a function of the fact that he's obsessed with getting a peace prize, Nobel Peace Prize. And he thinks he can incept this idea that he's stopped all these wars in everybody's heads.

I think coming out of this, one of the more interesting things to me is trying to, since they don't release the paperwork on what these trade deals are, it's very difficult to score them independently for a while.

CORNISH: "Deals" is a very vague and broad term.

GOLDBERG: Right. But at the same time, there are pro-Trump people who are saying, look, just go by what European leaders are saying about this.

They say they got taken to the cleaners. They say that this is the best they could do, and 15 percent tariffs are a minor victory. And maybe that's true. But the problem is, in this environment, everyone knows that the way

-- not -- the way to work with Trump is to flatter him, say that you got rolled, say that he's the most brilliant negotiator.

[06:15:02]

So, it's entirely possible that a lot of the European leaders are, like, this is the story line we got to push.

CORNISH: Right.

Because if we say, Hey, we came out of this great, they're going to reopen this thing. And we got to get this thing dealt with. So, it just -- it just --

CORNISH: Yes. Although if you look at what's happening in Japan, right? People are really looking at that deal, and it's sort of falling apart between their fingers, Chuck.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST/FORMER ADVISOR TO BERNIE SANDERS' PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: You know, last night on this network, Harry Enten talked about the popularity of the president overseas in foreign policy.

And it's one of the policies where -- one of the areas he's still doing very good in: he's, like, plus 18. It's because, from the political perspective, folks like to hear what he says, which is, I stopped wars. Whether he did or he didn't, whether he had any responsibility for that or not, the American people like that.

I think what's going to come home to roost is another part of this meeting, which is this tariff piece. Folks really react politically when they have to pay more for gas and eggs, or whatever they're doing every day, because it's a reminder. They're not reminded about what's happening overseas until they see devastating things in Gaza, children starving. And that sticks with everybody.

So, politically, that's where I think he is on this trip.

CORNISH: Yes. And that was an interesting moment, as well. The conversation shifting a bit on Gaza. Part of it may be that even in Israel, you had two humanitarian groups coming out and saying that they believe this is moving as a genocide.

But you also had the images, starvation images coming out. And Trump just saying, we're going to do something. We don't know what that something will look like.

ROCHA: Acknowledging starving children. On camera.

CORNISH: You think the acknowledging was the -- was the --

ROCHA: Because with people -- every day I deal with people's emotion, trying to get them to vote for somebody. When you invoke children and starving and simple things like that, they get the simple messages. And Donald Trump is good at the simple message. CORNISH: Jonah, what --

MATTINGLY: Can I just --

CORNISH: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Just quickly. He's a visual president. Right?

CORNISH: Yes.

MATTINGLY: And I'm not saying -- I don't mean that in a condescending way.

CORNISH: No.

MATTINGLY: I think a lot of times in the first term, people would say, well, you have to present them charts and pictures. That's the only way he understands things.

He responded in the first term, in foreign policy issues, to photos in Syria that kind of pushed him to take action on things. And clearly, something along those lines happened here, as well. And there's no reason to denigrate that, if he moves in a position that could perhaps help what is a serious catastrophe.

The other element of this that I think is really important: his relationship with Keir Starmer is underappreciated in terms of the -- I think the ability Starmer has had to create a very real relationship between the two of them with a ton of flattery, over and over and over again. And --

CORNISH: But also speaking up when necessary. Right? Like he spoke up for the mayor.

MATTINGLY: And he's giving him the space to actually speak up --

CORNISH: Yes. Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- when necessary next to the president, which no other foreign leader is really doing with intent right now.

GOLDBERG: Although in fairness, I mean, I agree with you on the political analysis, but Keir Starmer's "I love your Musk" routine with Donald Trump has not won him any points domestically. He's a remarkably unpopular guy.

You can credit the statesmanship, but like, as a politician, this is the bind that Trump puts foreign leaders in. Is that --

CORNISH: Right.

GOLDBERG: -- by cozying up to him and sucking up to him, they -- it costs them credibility at home. Even though it's probably the smart play internationally.

CORNISH: All right, you guys stay with me. We've got a lot to talk about this hour.

Coming up on CNN, we're going to be continuing to monitor that breaking news out of New York. We're hearing about a possible motive. This after four people were killed at an office building in Manhattan.

And forcing a deposition. Why the Trump administration wants Rupert Murdoch to testify ASAP.

Good morning, Port Canaveral, Florida. A gorgeous sunrise there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:22:33]

CORNISH: It's now 21 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning roundup.

As pressure mounts on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, there's a big question looming over today's meeting of the Central Bank. Will they cut rates like the president wants? Well, not likely.

The Fed is widely expected to hold its key interest rate steady. The two-day meeting starts later this morning. We'll find out about the rates tomorrow.

A dangerous heat wave will peak on the East Coast today. Record heat will stretch from the Northeast to Florida, where it will feel well above 100 degrees. That means half of all Americans are under some type of heat alert today.

And every step counts. A new study shows walking daily can help reduce the risk of cognitive decline, especially for people with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's.

Researchers found that, if participants were maintaining or increasing their steps, they had greater improvements on how they processed information and executive function.

And still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, Israel facing global pressure. And now, why two Israeli rights groups are calling out their actions in Gaza.

And a gunman drove across country and shot up a New York office building. The investigation into the motive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:30]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CORNISH: Back to our breaking news coverage and the search for answers after a 27-year-old Las Vegas man carried out a mass shooting in the heart of New York City, killing four people, including an NYPD officer.

The suspect died of a self-inflicted wound on the 33rd floor of 345 Park Avenue. That building is home to the corporate headquarters of the National Football League. This morning, police are examining whether the league was the gunman's

target. One NFL employee was seriously injured in the attack.

A law enforcement source tells CNN that papers on the shooter's body indicate that he had a grievance with the NFL over its handling of CTE. That's a progressive neurodegenerative disease found in athletes with a history of repetitive head trauma.

Joining me now to discuss, CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey. He's also the former commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Good morning and thank you for being with us.

I want to start with some of your takeaways here. Just from what investigators have said so far. We'll come to these ideas of the motive. But what are you hearing from your sources?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, my condolences to the family of the slain officer, as well as the other murder victims from yesterday's horrific and senseless attack.

It's still unclear what the actual motive is. Now, it's certainly pointing in the direction of some displeasure with the NFL.

[06:30:00]