NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, victim of Park Avenue mass shooting, was a 'hard-working family man'

Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News on Jul 29, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Didarul Islam, the NYPD officer killed by a rampaging gunman in a mass shooting in a Park Avenue 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 Street 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 Eric Adams called Islam a “true blue New Yorker.”

On Tuesday, Adams ordered all the flags on city buildings to be lowered to half-staff 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.”

_________