Arrived from Bangladesh to the United States and tried to protect the people who were in the building
Didarul Islam, an agent of the 36-year-old New York Police Department, was one of four people killed on Monday night in Midtown Manhattanr when an armed man broke into the 345 park Avenue Office Tower atrium and opened fire.
Islam, a Bangladesh immigrant that New York authorities described as a hero, leaves two young children and his wife – who is pregnant with his third child.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said Islam was off, but she was uniformed and making the building’s security when she was shot and killed by Shane Devon Tamura, 27.
“He was doing the work we asked to do,” Tisch said at a press conference on Monday night.
“He put himself in danger, made the ultimate sacrifice – killed in cold blood, wearing a uniform that represented the promise he made to this city. He died as he lived, a hero.”
Didarul served at the 47th New York Police Squad in Bronx for three and a half years, Mayor Eric Adams told the press conference.
He was his father’s only son, said Adams. The mayor met with Islam’s family early Monday night and told them that “he was a hero and we admire him for put his life at risk.”
“Everyone we talked to stated that he was a person of faith and a person who believed in God and believed in living the life of a godly person,” Adams added.
“He was saving lives. He was protecting the New York. He personifies what this city is. He is a true New Yorker, not just for the uniform he wore.”
New York governor Kathy Hochul and other police departments from places as distant as Los Angeles have published messages in honor of the deceased agent and expressing condolences to her family.
“Police agent Didarul Islam represented the best of our department,” published the NYPD account in X. “He was protecting New York from danger when his life was tragically interrupted today. We joined in prayer during this period of incomprehensible pain. We will honor his legacy forever.”
Police say Tamura has shot five people, including Islam, before killing themselves with a shot in the chest. One person has survived and is in critical but stable condition, according to the authorities.
