CNN anchor lands in hot waters for calling NYC Midtown Manhattan shooter ‘possibly white’

A lone gunman named Shane Devon Tamura shot four people at 345 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, but the reporting of his suspect description inadvertently turned the other tragic details of the NYC shooting into secondary information.

According to multiple reports, Tamura was recorded by a surveillance camera arriving and parking a black BMW between 51st and 52nd Street before exiting his vehicle with an M4 rifle. He was in dark pants and a jacket, with a light blue shirt and sunglasses. The still from the footage certainly suggests he’s a person of color. But CNN reporter Erin Burnett saw otherwise.

In a broadcast in the immediate aftermath of the horrific shooting, Burnett described the shooter as “sunglasses, mustache, male, possibly white.” CNN is no stranger to controversy, and this was no different — people online were not at all happy with that description and immediately jumped to call CNN propagandists, zeroing in on the shooter’s hair looking “African.”

Middle-Eastern to maybe black? The hair definitely looks like it's an African man.

— Bobbert (@COBobbertHill) July 28, 2025

Middle-Eastern to maybe black? The hair definitely looks like it's an African man.

— Bobbert (@COBobbertHill) July 28, 2025

As information inevitably started trickling in about Tamura, a clearer picture of him was eventually posted by the New York Post, which speculated that he might also be of Middle Eastern descent. Another user on social media went on to declare that the race of the lone gunman was ultimately “irrelevant” to the whole tragedy.

According to CNN, Tamura targeted the Park Avenue skyscraper because it’s home to very specific companies he had personal gripes with, such as the NFL. Reportedly, Tamura had an issue with the NFL’s handling of CTE — a brain disease caused by blunt-force trauma to the head — and apparently entered the building with the intention to confront members of the NFL staff.

Upon entering the building, Tamura reportedly shot a woman who was hiding behind a pillar. He then walked as he sprayed bullets and went on to shoot a security guard who was guarding the elevator bank. Tamura reportedly let a woman who had just gotten out of the elevator pass before heading up to the 33rd floor, where he walked the floor while firing his automatic assault rifle. One other man died on that floor. Tamura then took his own life. An NYPD officer was among the four people reportedly killed.

Tamura is now believed to have been suffering from mental health problems. At the scene, there was a note found in his back pocket in which he self-diagnosed himself as a person living with CTE. Tamura had played competitive football when he was younger. In his note, he apparently also asked for his brain to be studied.

CNN seemingly got it wrong there. Burnett jumped the gun, and people got upset at the mere suggestion that the news network might be trying to turn this into a culture war. But whether this is unethical is another question entirely — everyone makes mistakes from time to time, and the veteran reporter did mention that it was just a possibility he was white. That may be enough for some of the network’s viewers, but there will certainly be a contingent who want something more substantive — such as an apology or a retraction.