Slain Off-Duty NYPD Officer 'Always Wanted to Be a Cop'

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NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant and father of two with a third child on the way, was killed while working off-duty security during a shooting at a Manhattan office building.
Islam, assigned to the 47th Precinct, had served since 2021 and made over 70 arrests; he was the first target of the gunman and died in uniform at the hospital.
Remembered as a dedicated officer and family man, Islam’s death prompted citywide mourning, with flags lowered and tributes from NYPD leadership and community members.

Didarul Islam, the NYPD cop killed by a rampaging gunman in a mass shooting in a Park Ave. skyscraper, was a Bangladeshi immigrant who joined the force to leave behind a legacy his family could be proud of, mourners said Tuesday.

Islam, 36, a father of two with a baby on the way, was one of four people gunned down by Shane Tamura inside the Midtown high-rise Monday evening.

He “always wanted to be a cop,” his brother-in-law, Jamil Rahman, told the Daily News Monday night. “He was a hard-working family man,” Rahman said. “Everybody is shocked and terribly saddened at the same time.”

Islam was working a second job as a security guard when Tamura stormed inside the building at 51st St. with an M-4 assault rifle about 6:30 p.m. and started firing.

Tamura killed three others and wounded a fourth person before getting lost in the building and taking his own life, officials said.

As part of a program with the department, Islam was wearing his NYPD uniform while working off-duty, officials said.

At the time of his death, he was assigned to the 47th Precinct in the Bronx. Islam has been a police officer since 2021.

In his five year career, he racked up 26 felony arrests and 45 misdemeanor arrests, according to his NYPD record.

“It’s a sad day for not only our members, but for the #NYPD and #NYC,” the NYPD Muslim Officer’s Society said on Facebook. “We lost one of the finest today to a senseless act of violence.”

Mayor Adams called Islam a “true blue New Yorker.”

On Tuesday, Adams ordered all the flags on city buildings to be lowered to half mast in the officer’s honor.

Islam was Tamura’s first target, Tisch said. He died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell.

“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.”

Assemblyman and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said Islam lived in the Parkchester section of the Bronx with his wife, children and elderly parents.

“When he joined the police department, his mother asked him why he would pursue such a dangerous job. He told her it was to leave behind a legacy that his family could be proud of,” Mamdani said. “He has done that, and more. I pray for him, his family, and honor the legacy of service and sacrifice he leaves behind.”

Islam’s friend Marjanul Karim, 31, told The News, that he’d worked as a peace officer at middle schools but wanted to join the NYPD.

“He wanted to support his family and he fell in love with law enforcement. He was a selfless individual,” Karim said.

“This house he bought while providing for his elderly parents” in Bangladesh, Karim said. “He was a stand up guy. It only made sense for someone like him to join the police force.”

“He told my mom, ‘You have to die one way or another,'” Karim added. “He died a hero.”

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