South Asian NYPD officer killed in mass shooting is honored nationwide

Thousands of police officers from across the country joined New York’s South Asian community Thursday to mourn Didarul Islam, the NYPD officer slain in a mass shooting at a Manhattan office building earlier this week.

About Didarul Islam: Islam, 36, was fatally shot by Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old former high school football player from Las Vegas who opened fire at 345 Park Avenue on Monday evening. The Bangladeshi immigrant and four-year department veteran was working an NYPD-approved security assignment at the time of the incident, which left four others — including Tamura, who shot himself later — dead.

With the tragedy, Islam became the first Bangladeshi NYPD officer to die in the line of duty, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two young sons. Friends characterized him as deeply religious, regularly attending his local mosque on his off days.

A hero remembered: Officials and community members attended Thursday’s memorial service at Parkchester Jame Masjid mosque, while thousands of officers lined the surrounding streets. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch posthumously promoted Islam to detective first grade, noting that despite having only four years on the job, he “did the work of a cop with twice that time.” She also praised his immigrant journey, saying he believed in the American dream “not as something handed down but as something built with your own hands.”

At a press conference shortly after the shooting, Mayor Eric Adams, who also attended Thursday’s funeral, described Islam as “a true blue New Yorker, not only in a uniform he wore.”

What his family, community are saying: “To our family, he was our world. To the city, he was a proud NYPD officer who served with compassion and integrity,” Islam’s widow said in a statement read at the service. Meanwhile, Kamrul Hasan, his brother-in-law and fellow officer, described him as his “protector.” Imam Zakir Ahmed noted that Islam lived “at a time when people like him are too often feared, vilified and made to feel like outsiders,” calling for New York to give back and protect Muslim Americans’ dignity.

On Tuesday, Queens Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, the first South Asian American woman elected to New York State office, said New York City’s “tight-knit” Bangladeshi American community “are collectively devastated by the tragic loss.” Muslim and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who sat with Islam’s loved ones at the service, said it was “a solemn honor to pray alongside his family, hear words of solace and strength and learn about the legacy” the fallen officer had left behind.

Islam will be buried at a cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey.