LAS VEGAS -- An attorney for the man who sold a rifle used in the Monday mass shooting in New York City said Thursday that the sale of the firearm to the gunman was done in compliance with state and federal law.
Shane Tamura, 27, killed four people in a Park Avenue office building before killing himself. Investigators believe Tamura, a Las Vegas casino worker, was trying to reach the NFL offices in the building but, after shooting several people in the lobby, entered the wrong set of elevator banks.
Authorities have said Tamura bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack and the car he drove across the country from his supervisor at the casino. New York police have said the supervisor was cooperating with investigators.
In a statement to ESPN, Las Vegas attorney Chris Rasmussen said Thursday: "Rick Ackley administered the transfer of the firearm used in the tragedy in New York lawfully complying with Nevada and Federal gun laws on October 2, 2024." In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rasmussen said Ackley "legally sold a firearm to the suspect in the New York shooting and is not a suspect or considered to have any nefarious involvement." Rasmussen added that Ackley was "heartbroken by this tragedy and will move forward with his life and asks for privacy in this difficult moment."
Ackley did not respond to ESPN messages Thursday. A LinkedIn page shows Ackley as a "Surveillance Supervisor at Bally's Casino," which is now Horseshoe Las Vegas, and that he has worked in surveillance for more than 20 years.
Tamura, who played high school football in California roughly a decade ago but was never in the NFL, had a history of mental illness, police said. A note found in his wallet suggested he had a grievance against the NFL over a claim that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE -- a degenerative brain disease that can be diagnosed only by examining the brain after a person dies. Brain experts have told ESPN that it could take weeks to learn whether Tamura had CTE.
