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New York City police officers lined city streets on Thursday morning to honor their colleague who was killed when a gunman entered a Midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire earlier this week.
Officer Didarul Islam was one of four people killed inside the building on Monday evening. Islam, a 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, was a father of two whose wife is pregnant with their third child.
On Thursday, services for Islam began with a viewing at Parkchester Jame Masjid, a mosque in the Bronx.
Officers in dress uniform lined up four rows deep in front of the mosque before viewings began.
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“I am so heartbroken for you and for your family. And as we scan that sea of blue, you will notice that they look a whole lot like Dada,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at the ceremony, referring to Islam. “They wear his uniform, his shield, his collar, brass. They carry on his purpose and are sworn to finish the work that he started and they will be there for you always.”
The viewings on Thursday will be followed by a prayer service. Islam will then be buried at a cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey.
Islam was off duty, working security for the building when he was killed. The office building housed both Blackstone, an investment firm, and the NFL headquarters, among other companies.
Islam served as a school safety agent before becoming a patrol officer less than four years ago. He was assigned to a precinct in the Bronx, where he lived with his wife and two sons.
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“He was doing the job that we asked him to do,” Tisch said in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. “He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice. He died as he lived. A hero.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer, met with Islam’s family and attended the dignified transfer of the slain officer. Adams said that Islam “embodies what this city is all about. He’s a true blue New Yorker, not only in the uniform he wore.”
Police have identified the gunman as 27-year-old Shane Tamura. Tamura, a Las Vegas resident with a history of mental health issues, began shooting in the lobby before moving to another floor and later turning the gun on himself.
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
