A gunman barged into a New York City office building on Monday evening and killed four people. The victims were Wesley LePatner, a mother, wife and employee of the company Blackstone, who co-workers described as “brilliant, generous, passionate and warm. Didarul Islam, a father to two boys with a third child on the way, a husband and an NYPD officer; an immigrant from Bangladesh who was called a “hero” by New York City officials in the wake of the tragedy. Julia Hyman, a brilliant young real estate professional who a former professor described as “determined, strong and warm" and Aland Etienne, a security guard whose brother told CNN that Aland was “a light in our lives.”
You are reading this on a sports website because the killer, whom I would prefer not to name, decided to link this despicable act to his belief—and I emphasize that word, belief—that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE. His belief manifested into a warped crusade against the NFL, which is headquartered inside the building the gunman targeted. The killer played high school football and had a documented history of mental health concerns, according to multiple reports, though CTE cannot be diagnosed in a living individual. He took his own life in hopes that his brain might be studied.
