Bangladeshi immigrant NYPD officer Didarul Islam killed in Manhattan mass shooting
Despite Shooter Shane Tamura being a U.S.-born non-Muslim, Islamophobes blame immigrants, Muslims
New York City: In one of the deadliest mass shootings in New York City in nearly 25 years, four people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a Manhattan office building Monday evening. Among the victims was 36-year-old NYPD officer Didarul Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant and father of two, who is now being remembered as a hero by city officials and his community.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the suspect, identified as Shane Devon Tamura, a 27-year-old Nevada resident with a documented mental health history, entered the lobby of 345 Park Avenue just after business hours and began shooting with an M4-style rifle. After killing Officer Islam and others on multiple floors of the building, Tamura ultimately died by suicide.
Police recovered a note from the scene in which Tamura expressed anger over his mental health struggles, suggesting a possible link to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from his time playing football. Authorities believe this may explain why Tamura appeared to target the building, which houses the NFL’s headquarters among other major firms.
Officer Islam, who was working an off-duty security job at the time, was the first person shot. Eyewitnesses say he tried to respond to the threat before being fatally struck. He leaves behind a pregnant wife, two sons, and elderly parents. According to reports, his father suffered a stroke upon hearing the tragic news.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD colleagues have publicly praised Officer Islam’s bravery. “He died doing what he believed in — serving his community,” said a senior police official. Officer Islam had joined the force three and a half years ago after leaving a job as a school security guard. Friends and family recall that he took great pride in wearing the NYPD badge as a symbol of dedication and sacrifice.
Community leaders and civil rights advocates have pointed out that while Islam’s heroism was clear, right-wing figures quickly resorted to Islamophobic rhetoric in the immediate aftermath of the attack, despite the fact that the shooter was a U.S.-born non-Muslim man. Commentator Wajahat Ali, writing in Zeteo, condemned far-right influencers like Laura Loomer and Charlie Kirk for using the tragedy to spread hate against immigrants and Muslims.
“Even facts can’t deter Loomer’s relentless crusade to demonize and annihilate Muslims,” Ali wrote. “Officer Islam died protecting his neighbors. That’s his legacy. Not even their hate can erase that.”
Ali also drew parallels to Mohammad Salman Hamdani, a 23-year-old Muslim NYPD cadet who was vilified in the media after 9/11, only to be later recognized as a hero who died trying to save lives during the terror attack.
The shooting has reignited debates around mental health, gun violence, and racialized narratives in media and politics. Yet amid the noise, Officer Islam’s story stands out, a Muslim immigrant who gave his life in service of a city that too often overlooks the sacrifices of its most marginalized residents.
As New York mourns, tributes continue to pour in for Officer Islam from across the country. From local mosques to fellow officers, one message is clear: he died a hero, and his legacy will not be forgotten.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
