NYPD Det. Didarul Islam remembered at memorial one year after deadly Midtown office shooting
New York City officials and family members, loved ones and colleagues gathered together Tuesday to remember Det. Didarul Islam, a fallen hero.
The service was a clear reminder of how deeply the loss is still felt by his family, fellow officers and the community he served.
Islam, 36, was killed during the mass shooting at 345 Park Avenue on July 28, 2026. Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant and father of three, was a member of the NYPD for almost four years. He was working a private security detail when a gunman entered the building with a high-powered rifle and killed Islam and three others. The gunman later took his own life.
“Det. Islam died as he lived”
Tuesday’s emotional tribute took place outside Islam’s former command, the 47th police precinct. The memorial brought together city leaders, members of the NYPD and Islam’s family to mark one year since his end of watch. The tribute remembered Islam not only for how he died, but for how he lived.
“When I think about Didar, I think about a man who greeted people with a smile,” Dep. Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, the commanding officer of the 47th precinct, said. “What stood out most was not the way he died, but the way he lived, with compassion, purpose, and service to others.”
Islam was an officer at the time of the shooting and was posthumously promoted to detective.
“Det. Islam died as he lived, in the service and protection of others, in the midst of a horrific mass shooting, the worst our city had seen in 25 years,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “For Detective Islam, taking on extra work to protect his fellow New Yorkers was not a burden. It was a way of life. He regularly volunteered to work special details, overtime, an off-duty gig so that he could provide not only for his family here in Parkchester, but his relatives in Bangladesh. That was the kind of man Detective Islam was.”
“We miss him every single day,” Islam’s brother-in-law, Police Officer Kamrul Hasan, said. “Wish I could go back just once to say goodbye to my brother, but we all know it’s not going to happen.”
Islam’s legacy lives on through his family. His wife was pregnant when he was killed, and months later gave birth to their youngest son, who never had a chance to meet his father.
“Our hearts hurting that he will never know his father,” Hasan said.
“Ahyan and Azhan continue to grow with the memories of their father, while Arham’s first year has unfolded in the care of a family that is determined to make Didar’s love part of the life that he inherits,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Speakers remembered Islam’s dedication to the job, his family, and the sacrifice he made while protecting others.
“Those memories are now a part of the history of this command where future officers will learn the name of Detective First Grade Didarul Islam and understand the service behind that name,” Tisch said.
Deadly shooting led to new law
Just two weeks ago, the road he lived on with his family in the Bronx was renamed in his honor.
“Hopefully everybody from the community and New York City remembers him the way we remember him as a person that was helpful, cheerful,” brother-in-law Zamilur Rahman said.
Rahman said the tragedy has been especially devastating for Islam’s children.
“His kids, they’re still wondering. The youngest one is wondering when his dad is coming,” he said. “We just miss you. It’s just so surreal even to imagine what we went through a year ago.”
The other victims were identified as Blackstone employee Wesley LePatner, security officer Aland Etienne and Rudin Management employee Julia Hyman.
“HIs locker was close to mine, and we talked every day about our family,” Etienne’s colleague Brian Telfair said. “Everyone misses him in all kinds of ways.”
Tuesday also marks when a law in honor of Etienne goes into effect. The legislation increases the minimum wage for city security officers up to $22.20 in January and requires employers to provide health and welfare benefits and mandate paid vacation and holidays.
It’s the first private sector minimum wage law for New York City since 1964.
“I’ve got his picture in my house. I look at him every day,” Telfair said.