The police officer fatally shot by a gunman in a Manhattan office building was an immigrant from Bangladesh and “true blue New Yorker” whose wife was pregnant with their third child, according to city officials.
The gunman was seen on surveillance video entering the lobby of the skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue with a rifle and opening fire “immediately” on a police officer on Monday, before killing three others, New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.
Didarul Islam, 36, worked in the New York City Police Department’s 47th Precinct in the Bronx. He was father to two young boys, with another child on the way, the commissioner said.
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“He was doing the job that we asked him to do,” Tisch said. “He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city.”
“He died as he lived: a hero,” she added.
The NYPD said Islam “represented the very best of our department.”
“We join in prayer during this time of incomprehensible pain. We will forever honor his legacy,” the department said in a statement on social media.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he had met with Islam’s family, and “I told them that he was a hero, and we admire him putting his life on the line.”
“He’s an immigrant from Bangladesh, and he loved this city,” Adams said. “And everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith and a person that believed in God and believed in living out the life of a godly person.”
“He embodies what this city is all about. He’s a true blue New Yorker, not only in the uniform he wore, but in his spirit and energy of loving this city,” he continued.
He was a model member of a Bronx Muslim community, a family friend, Marjanul Karim, told The New York Times.
Relatives, friends, and Muslim community leaders in the Bronx were paying their respects into the early hours of Tuesday, the Times reported.
Islam was an active member of his mosque and mentored young men in his community, according to the Times, encouraging congregants to consider joining the police department. He had completed the pilgrimage to Mecca last year, a neighbor said.
Karim said his friend “came as an immigrant, started working as a security guard at a school,” and fell in love with law enforcement.
“At the time, my mother told him, ‘You left a safe job working for a school in security, and being a cop is dangerous. Why did you do that?’ He told her he wanted to leave behind a legacy for his family, something they could be proud of,” Karim said.
In a statement on X late Monday night, Adams said the city was “reeling and four families are mourning,” including Islam’s.
Adams also posted a video, saying he was en route to the hospital to “do a dignified transfer for the slain police officer.”
He said a fifth shooting victim, who officials said earlier was in critical condition, is “still fighting for their life.”
An additional four people were being treated for minor injuries sustained during their attempts to flee the scene, the police commissioner said at the earlier news conference.
The suspect was named by police as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas. His motives are still under investigation.
According to the police commissioner, the gunman was seen “spraying” the lobby with gunfire, and also shot a security guard and another man there, before making his way up to the 33rd floor.
One person was struck and killed on that floor before the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Tisch said.
The Park Avenue building that was targeted, owned by real estate firm Rudin Management, houses major financial firms, the National Football League headquarters and other companies. It’s located in Midtown’s bustling commercial district.
Tisch said the 33rd floor is occupied by the Rudin Management team.
