LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Suspected New York City shooter Shane Devon Tamura had a history of mental health holds in Nevada but still managed to keep a concealed weapons permit he got in 2022, as well as purchase multiple firearms.
How?
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's website, several things can disqualify a person from getting a concealed weapons permit. On the list:
- A felony conviction;
- A conviction for a crime involving the use or threat of force, domestic violence or stalking;
- A drunk driving conviction within the last five years;
- Being on parole or probation;
- Holding a medical marijuana card;
- A dishonorable discharge from the U.S. military;
- Being in the United States illegally;
- Making a false statement on your permit application;
- Being declared mentally incompetent (being admitted to a mental health facility in the last five years).
Tamura obtained his concealed weapons permit on May 14, 2022. In that same year — it's not clear exactly when — he was subject to a mental health hold, in which officers can ask for a person's involuntary hold for up to 72 hours.
Another hold came in 2024.
But it's not clear if Tamura was ever admitted to a mental health facility after those holds.
An email to the department's public information office was not returned Tuesday.
Randy Sutton, a retired Metro Police lieutenant who now leads the charity TheWoundedBlue.org — which aids police officers who have been injured in the line of duty — says the priority for cops is getting help for people in crisis.
"Many times when law enforcement officers respond to someone who is in crisis, the procedure is to take them to the nearest emergency room in order for an [medical doctor] to perform an examination," Sutton said. "Very often, it's at that point, at that juncture, where the physician doesn't send the individual to a mental health facility."
One of the reasons: There aren't a lot of those facilities in Las Vegas, so doctors may send only the worst cases. In the rest, the doctor may decide the person has been stabilized enough to return home.
During the 2025 Legislature, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 347, by Sen. Melanie Scheible, D-Clark County. The bill, signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo, allows police officers to immediately confiscate any firearm on the person or in the immediate vicinity if a person is placed on a mental health hold.
Although the original version would have allowed the agency to keep the firearm and file with the court a petition to determine if returning it would have the potential to harm the owner or other people, the final version says the agency must return the weapon after the person is released from treatment, unless officers file for a protective order in court.
That law went into effect July 1, however, and was not in force in 2022 or 2024 when Tamura was referred for mental health holds.
Sutton said the law has to strike a balance between preserving Second Amendment rights — which the U.S. Supreme Court have determined are personal, fundamental civil rights — and public safety.
"It's my thought process that if someone has evidenced enough mental or emotional issues that they're going to be institutionalized, then that would preclude them from regaining possession of that firearm," he said. "I think this is something that really has to be examined closely. We have to be very careful about the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, but at the time time, we have to weigh that against the interests of public safety."
Lax laws to blame?
New York officials — including the state's Gov. Kathy Hochul — lay the blame for Monday's murders at the feet of looser gun laws in other states. In New York, assault weapons of the kind Tamura used are banned, while they are legal in many other states, including Nevada. (He allegedly drove across country with at least two weapons in his car.)
But officials there, and here, both acknowledge that gun control laws aren't going to stop anyone bent on committing a crime.
"Gun laws in the country, in New York City, doesn't stop the gun violence that's taking place there," Sutton said. "An individual who wants to commit murder isn't going to listen to any laws whatsoever. They're beyond that."
Sutton denounced Hochul as "anti-gun" and said she shouldn't impose that philosophy on a tragic killing.
Despite the fact that assault-style rifles are banned in New York City, surveillance video shows Tamura calmly walking down the street and into a building openly carrying his weapon.
"I can tell you that right now that security is being re-examined all over New York City and probably all over the country after a situation like this," Sutton said. "So you can be sure that this is something that is going to be examined and there will be changes made in regards to security in New York City and elsewhere."
Monday's shooting took the life of four people, including New York City Police Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was working off-duty as a security officer at the Manhattan office building.
He was the 50th police officer to die in all of 2025, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Of those, 27 have died as a result of gunfire. In 2024, 167 cops died in the line of duty, 52 as a result of gun violence.
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