Mourners honor the NYPD officer killed in the attack at the NFL headquarters building
NEW YORK AP Mourners packed a New York mosque on Thursday to honor a Bangladesh-born police officer who embraced the job of protecting his adopted city and gave his life for it when a gunman opened fire in an office building this week Officer Didarul Islam did believe in the American dream not as something handed down but as something built with your own hands Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch narrated Islam s family and friends as his fellow officers lined up rows deep outside the Bronx house of worship Dignitaries and members of the New York s thriving Bangladeshi area also paid tribute to the fallen officer during a memorial that emphasized the importance he placed on his family background and function to the city A married father of two with a third child on the way the -year-old was working a New York Police Department-approved private measure detail in uniform when he and three other people were killed Monday at the Manhattan skyscraper that houses the NFL s headquarters and other corporate offices To our family he was our world To the city he was a proud NYPD officer who served with compassion and integrity He lived to help others Islam s widow disclosed in a declaration that a relative read on her behalf at the organization at the Parkchester Jame Masjid mosque With officers stationed on surrounding rooftops for safety fire trucks used their ladders to hold a huge American flag over a nearby street A flatbed truck carried a digital billboard showing photos of Islam and a commemorative message from his union White House sends condolences After coming to the United States Islam began building a career in the nation s largest police force He described policing as a blanket of the society there to provide comfort and care the police commissioner commented Islam served as a school safety agent before becoming a patrol officer less than four years ago and he was promoted posthumously Thursday to detective He could have gone into any other occupation he longed but he demanded to put on that uniform and he requested to protect fellow New Yorkers And he demanded to let us know that he presumed in what this city and what this country stood for Mayor Eric Adams a Democrat recounted the gathering That s the greatest symbol of what we know we are as a country In Washington White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her daily briefing by expressing President Donald Trump s condolences to Islam s family saying he made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of his fellow New Yorkers A humble steady and reliable officer Like others who spoke Imam Zakir Ahmed highlighted the officer s immigrant background and Muslim faith But commented Islam lived at a time when people like him are too often feared vilified and made to feel like outsiders It s time for New York and America to give back to see us to hear us to protect our dignity the way Officer Islam protected yours Ahmed declared The eldest of several siblings Islam supported his parents in Bangladesh as well as his wife and two young sons in the Bronx the imam announced The police commissioner announced Islam worked a long day at a parade Sunday then picked up private safety hours Monday at the office building Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ashraf the commander of the busy Bronx precinct where Islam worked revealed he was a humble steady and reliable officer He knew what it meant to protect the place that gave him a new beginning and in return he gave everything back Ashraf explained at Thursday s system After the operation the streets filled with people mostly men kneeling in prayer A few Muslim officers took part as colleagues stood in formation behind them and looked on Later officers saluted as Islam s casket draped in U S and NYPD flags was brought to a hearse for burial at a cemetery in Totowa New Jersey Other shooting sufferers laid to rest Mourners also gathered Thursday for the funeral of expenditure firm executive Wesley LePatner a married mother of two who was shot in the building s lobby There s a huge gaping Mount Everest-size hole in my life right now her husband Evan LePatner stated during his eulogy at Central Synagogue in Manhattan More than people attended the funeral the New York Post stated LePatner was one of Blackstone s top executives specializing in real estate Another victim real estate firm worker Julia Hyman was mourned at an emotional institution Wednesday at the same synagogue located just blocks from where the shooting happened Funeral arrangements for the fourth shooting victim measure guard Aland Etienne have not yet been finalized Governor praises officer for saving lives Police identified the gunman as Shane Tamura a -year old former high school football sportsman who most of of late worked in a Las Vegas casino s surveillance department Leadership say he maintained he had a brain disorder linked to contact sports and accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of playing football On Thursday police announced they revealed more than rounds of ammunition in Tamura s car and had recovered shell casings in the building s lobby and the office floor where Hyman was killed Police announced Tamura had a history of mental illness but they haven t elaborated other than to say they located psychiatric medication prescribed to him at his residence in Las Vegas Agents reported he was heading for the NFL s office but took the wrong elevator and went by mistake to another floor The gunfire seriously injured an NFL employee in the lobby Islam saved lives He was out front Gov Kathy Hochul a Democrat disclosed at Thursday s provision Others may be alive in the modern day because he was the barrier Associated Press reporters Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo New York and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this analysis
