Officer killed in Manhattan shooting honored at funeral
Politicians, relatives and members of the New York City Police Department are gathered at the funeral for the officer who was one of four people killed in the Midtown Manhattan mass shooting.
Didarul Islam, a 36-year-old NYPD officer, was off duty and working a security job when he was fatally shot by a gunman who opened fire at the 345 Park Avenue office building on Monday.
Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant who joined the NYPD four years ago, is survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and two young sons. Islam was assigned to a precinct in the Bronx and previously worked as a school safety officer.
A statement read on behalf of Islam’s wife said, "My husband was a man of faith, integrity and service."
"He was a devoted son, a beloved brother and the most loving father. To our family he was our world," she said.
"Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice may have saved others in that lobby -- people who were able to go home to their families that day," she said.
"The pain is searing," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at Thursday's funeral at Parkchester Jame Masjid, a mosque in the Bronx.
"There’s a family that expected to see their beloved, son, husband, father for many more dinners, birthdays and life celebrations," she said. "But because of a madman, who traveled a thousand miles with such evil in his heart, to come and destroy all that is good about New York and New York City, with intent to cause unspeakable pain in a savage way -- we are here."
"The Quran says, 'Whoever saves a life, is it as if they saved all of humanity,'" she said. "This officer saved lives. He was out front. Others may be alive today because he was the barrier."
"Three days ago, time was moving fast for Didarul Islam," New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in powerful remarks at the funeral. "His two young boys were growing quickly, getting bigger and more independent every day. And in just a few weeks, another blessing was on the way -- his sons were eager to meet their new baby brother."
"In one shattering, incomprehensible instant, time stopped,” she said. "A killer on a self-centered, senseless crusade of violence took the lives of four innocent New Yorkers. ... In that moment, he ripped the world away from everyone who knew and loved NYPD police officer Didarul Islam."
Islam moved to New York from Bangladesh at the age of 20 to build a better life, and he believed in the American dream "as something built with your own hands," she said.
"He may not be here to see that dream fulfilled, but his sons will surely grow up with its foundation beneath their feet because 'Baba' laid it: through the hours he worked, through the life that he built, through the path that he paved," Tisch said. "That journey is now stitched into the fabric of this city: the hope of an immigrant, the strength of a family, the resolve to serve the place that had taken him in and made him its own."
To the Islam family, Tisch said the entire police department stands with them.
"They carry on his purpose and are sworn to finish the work that he started, and they will be there for you always," she said.
Tisch also announced she was posthumously promoting Islam to detective first-grade, prompting applause from the mourners.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who met with Islam's family on Wednesday, said at the funeral, "I’m angry that a dad has lost his son, that a mother has lost her child. I’m angry that two boys are not going to grow up and be with their father."
But he added, "I’m filled with hope and optimism today because of the life of officer Islam. And I commend the mother and father of our officer -- they instilled something special in him."
"Our hearts lift him up in prayer," he said. "Our city is with you. As one parent to another, I will continue to pray for you and your family."
The other three victims killed on Monday were: Aland Etienne, a security guard for the building; Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone executive who was a wife and mom; and Julia Hyman, a young employee at Rudin Management.
The gunman died by suicide in the building.
