Gunman kills NYPD cop of Bangladeshi origin, 3 others

A gunman killed four people, including a policeman of Bangladeshi origin, after storming a skyscraper in central Manhattan of New York yesterday.

Didarul Islam, 36, from Moulvi-bazar in Bangladesh, was shot dead while providing security for the site on Park Avenue.

Officials said he had migrated to the US from Bangladesh, had two children and his wife was expecting a third. He died "a hero", they said.

Police identified the shooter as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident with a history of mental illness struggles, who ended the Monday evening (US time) massacre by shooting himself in the chest on the 33rd floor of a Park Avenue office tower.

Tamura is believed to have shot Didarul dead first as he entered the skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue.

He went on to attack others, ascending to the building's 33rd floor before turning his gun on himself.

Photo: New York mayor's official Facebook page

Didarul came from Bangladesh and had been on the force three years, said New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Paying tribute to the late officer, Adams said he was "doing what he does best... saving lives. He was protecting New Yorkers."

At a press conference, Adams said the late officer was "a true-blue New Yorker, not only in a uniform he wore but in his spirit and energy of loving this city".

The mayor said he had met Didarul's family after the attack, and had expressed his admiration for the late officer.

"This was his dad's only son," the mayor reflected.

A post on the New York Police Department (NYPD) account on X said Didarul "represented the very best of our department", and said "he was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today".

At a press conference on Monday, the city's Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the late officer served in the NYPD's 47th District, in the Bronx.

She said: "He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm's way. He made the ultimate sacrifice." Tisch continued: "He died as he lived - a hero."

Members of Islam's Bangladeshi community in the Bronx spent Monday evening visiting the late officer's home, which he shared with his family and parents, the New York Times reported.

They described to the newspaper how Didarul had migrated to the US and provided security for a school before becoming a policeman. They said their friend had been an active member of his mosque who had mentored young men in the area.

In Moulvibazar's Kulaura upazila in Bangladesh, relatives gathered to mourn his loss at his family home in the Magura residential area.

Photo: New York mayor's official Facebook page