According to law enforcement, Shane Tamura, a Las Vegas man suspected of killing four people on July 28 in a Manhattan office building, had a history of mental illness, which raised questions about his access to weapons.
Four people were killed, including a police officer who worked for a corporate security detail, and then himself when Tamura, 27, was identified as the shooter who opened an M4 rifle in the building where the NFL headquarters is located. Former high school football player Tamura, according to reports, had a note claiming to have CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is thought to be related to head trauma.
On July 28, Las Vegas police commissioner Jessica Tisch told them about Tamura’s history of mental illness. No more details were provided by her.
In Nevada in 2022 and 2024, according to news reports citing unnamed law enforcement sources, Tamura had two mental health crisis “holds” that allow for a person to be held illegitimately for evaluation and treatment for up to 72 hours.
Tisch claimed Tamura used an AR-15-style assault rifle while possessing a Nevada gun license. According to Tisch, Tamura was able to purchase a revolver with his concealed carry card in June. Tamura’s 2022 permit was captured by CBS and CNN, along with other photos of it.
Before a violent act occurs, “Red flag” laws are intended to remove weapons from insular individuals. Sometimes the laws go by different names, such as “high risk protection orders” or “extreme risk protection orders” in Nevada.
A high-risk protection order is not made by the state attorney general as a result of a mental health crisis hold. In Nevada, law enforcement or family members have the right to request that a court grant a person’s request to temporarily revoke their firearms or the right to keep a gun if they pose a threat to themselves or others.
No response was provided when we inquired about the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s response to whether Tamura had reacted to the law in order to grant the department’s request to use it.
A growing number of state laws aim to stop gun injuries and deaths, including Nevada’s high-risk protection orders.
Since enacting in 2020, the Nevada law has not been very widely used. According to experts, states typically put their red flag laws slowly, with some exceptions, into effect. For instance, Florida issued roughly 2,500 orders in the first 18 months of its 2018 law, according to University of California, Davis assistant professor Veronica Pear, an expert on violence prevention.
What laws have red flags?
Since 1999, 21 states and Washington, DC, many of which have Republican support, have passed red flag laws.
Who can begin a civil petition process to remove or restrict access to weapons is defined by state laws. Some states permit requests for orders from only law enforcement. Other states permit petition filing by relatives or close friends, such as coworkers or teachers. Law enforcement files the majority of petitions, and courts typically grant them.
Nevada law enforcement uses a detailed description of conduct and high-risk behavior as well as a question to the petitioner about having a firearm.
Orders are issued for longer-term and weeklong periods in Nevada. Following a hearing where only one party’s cause for action was presented, the seven-day order is issued. Up to a year can be placed in an extended order.
Former President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which provided funding for states to implement red flag laws.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, these laws can save lives when properly implemented. Additionally, the organization claimed that linking mental illness with violence is a harmful stereotype.
People who commit violent crimes, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression, account for 3 to 5 percent of violent crimes. More frequently than the general population, those who have a mental illness are victims of violence.
Nevada’s red flag law
Nevada’s 2020 law was sponsored by Democratic State Representative Sandra Jauregui, who was present at a 2017 music festival where a gunman killed 58 people.
Former Governor Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, signed the legislation, which Republicans opposed. Former Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the current Republican governor, campaigned in 2022 on a promise to “remove antiquated laws”, including Nevada’s red flag law. But the law remains on the books with Democrats controlling the Legislature.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, these laws have been used nationwide more than 49, 000 times up to 2023.
How frequently do red flag laws be used can depend on how well-versed in law enforcement is in them. Every year, orders are filed in Florida, New York, California, and Connecticut.
Nevada started out slowly, but it has since increased its legal usage.
In 2024 and 2023, there are 28 high-risk protection orders listed on the website of the Nevada attorney general. According to a spokesperson for the office, there have been six orders so far in 2025.
How effective are red flag laws?
There are varying opinions on whether red flag laws actually work.
In July 2024, The Rand Corp., a nonprofit public policy research organization, reviewed studies on red flag laws. According to researchers, there was little evidence of the laws’ impact on mass shootings and violent crime, and it was limited to suicide.
It’s difficult to predict the effects of the laws because most of them have been implemented in the last ten years, according to Rand. There are also differences between the frequency of use of the laws in states and cities.
Other researchers point to studies that demonstrate how red flag laws can help stop crime or, perhaps, suicide.
According to a study conducted in August 2024, Florida’s red flag gun law, which was passed in response to the 2018 Parkland mass shooting, was linked to an 11 percent decrease in firearm homicide rates between 2019 and 2021. One of the authors demanded further investigation because the study did not show a significant reduction in gun suicide.
One significant law in a network of laws aims to stop access to firearms by professor Pear of the University of California, Davis, according to a statement made by PolitiFact in 2022 is called “extreme risk protection orders.” However, there are other laws that can be supported by evidence, such as those that forbid the purchase and possession of firearms following a violent misdemeanor conviction, waiting periods, and laws governing firearm licensing.
