An NYPD officer was tragically shot dead while defending an office building, and it has now been revealed his father suffered a stroke when he heard the news.
Among the four people killed in the attack at 345 Park Avenue was off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam - a husband, father of two, and soon-to-be dad of a third.
The loss of Islam, 36, has left his family and community in anguish. His cousin, Muhammad Mainul Islam, who is also an Imam, revealed the full emotional toll during an interview with reporters.
According to Mainul Islam, Didarul's father suffered a stroke after hearing the news of his son’s death, as reported by PEOPLE.
“They are very sad, upset,” he said the day after the shooting. “When he heard the message… he had a stroke.”
Mainul Islam also shared that Islam’s wife, now eight months pregnant, has been inconsolable. “Always crying,” he said.
Islam’s two sons are just eight and four years old, and their baby sibling is due next month. “Good guy, always. His behavior is very good,” Mainul said tearfully. “Forgive me, I miss him.”
The emotional fallout comes after a tragic event that began Monday evening at around 6:30PM, when 27-year-old Shane Devon Tamura of Las Vegas entered the high-rise office building where Blackstone and the NFL have headquarters.
Armed and wearing dark clothing and sunglasses, Tamura opened fire, killing four and injuring one before dying by suicide on the 33rd floor.
Police believe Tamura was battling severe mental health issues. “He, from our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
Law enforcement officials later confirmed Tamura had a suicide note with him, in which he claimed to suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative condition often linked to football-related head trauma. He also named the NFL in the letter.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed Tamura had a documented history of mental illness. NBC News reported that authorities recovered a firearm, ammunition, a phone, and a suicide note from the scene.
The loss of Officer Islam is being felt across New York, per CNN.
Mayor Adams called him a hero: “He was doing what he does best, and all members of the police department carry out, he was saving lives.
"He was protecting New Yorkers. He’s an immigrant from Bangladesh, and he loved this city, and everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith and a person who believed in God and believed in living out the life of a godly person.”
Tisch, visibly emotional at a press conference, said: “He was doing the job that we asked him to do. 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 the city, he died as he lived: a hero.
“I want to extend my profound sympathies to all of the victims and their families and to the brave NYPD cops who today lost a brother,” she added.