A POLICE officer who was getting ready to welcome his third child has been named as one of the four victims killed by the deranged New York City gunman.
Didarul Islam, 36, was working his second job as a security guard when Shane Tamura, 27, burst through the front door and opened fire.
Tamura drove from his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Midtown Manhattan and barged into a skyscraper where elite businesses like Blackstone and the NFL are located on Monday evening.
He entered the lobby at around 6:28 pm and first shot Islam – a Bangladesh native who was living in the Bronx with his family, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The heartless shooter then made his dark journey to the 33rd floor, taking aim at innocents in the office along the way, before ultimately shooting himself in the chest.
Few details have been confirmed about the crime, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that authorities are investigating whether he was targeting the NFL.
Adams said that Tamura had a note on his person that mentioned the league.
Blackstone confirmed on Tuesday that one of the victims was Wesley LePatner, who was an executive for the investment management company.
LePatner was working as the global head of core+ real estate and the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust when she was killed.
“Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” a representative for the company said.
Islam had been with the New York City Police Department for three and a half years when he was murdered.
According to Tisch, he was working at the building on his off hours to make some extra cash.
“He was saving lives. He was protecting New Yorkers,” said Adams.
“He embodies what this city is all about. He’s a true blue New Yorker, not only in a uniform he wore.”
Friends and leaders in the tight-knit Muslim community that Islam was a part of gathered at his two-story home that he had purchased for his family on Monday night.
A stream of people filed in throughout the night to drop off food and baked dishes for the mourning family, according to the New York Times.
The imam at the local mosque came to console Islam’s pregnant wife and their two children.
One close family friend, Marjanul Karim, 31, said that Islam was a community leader who helped to mentor young Bangladeshi men.
He said Islam started work as a school security guard before moving up to the police force.
“He wanted to support his family and be in a better position, and he fell in love with law enforcement while working security,” Karim said.
“At the time, my mother told him, ‘You left a safe job working for a school in security, and being a cop is dangerous. Why did you do that?’
“He told her he wanted to leave behind a legacy for his family, something they could be proud of.”
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