New York lost a police officer. A Bangladeshi community is mourning a local hero

Grief swept through New York City Monday night, reaching from Midtown Manhattan to a quiet Bronx neighborhood. Didarul Islam, a 36-year-old NYPD officer, died during a mass shooting at a skyscraper on Park Avenue.

Islam left behind a pregnant wife and two young sons. His youngest child is too young to understand. His eldest walks around holding his father’s police book.

That night, officers delivered the devastating news to Islam’s home in Parkchester. A neighbor walking his dog heard the family’s cries from the street. “There’s just too much,” he said. “A lot of grieving inside that house.”

Outside NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, dozens stood in silence. Officers, Mayor Eric Adams, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch saluted as Islam’s body was transferred. An NYPD flag with green and white stripes covered the fallen officer.

“He embodied what this city is all about,” said Mayor Adams. “He’s a true-blue New Yorker.” Islam is the first Bangladeshi-born officer in NYPD history to die in the line of duty.

Islam served at the 47th Precinct in the Bronx. He was off duty, working a security shift at 345 Park Avenue, when the violence broke out. Tisch said Islam “was doing the job that we asked him to do.”

Outside his precinct Tuesday morning, firefighters hung black-and-blue bunting. A police helicopter circled over Parkchester Jame Masjid Mosque as officers prepared to welcome Islam’s return to the community.

Parkchester, known as Bangla Bazaar, is home to a tight-knit Bangladeshi-American community. Though New York has the largest Bangladeshi population in the country, this neighborhood still feels small. And personal.

“Our community is very small,” said Foysol Ahmed, a taxi driver and community leader. Over tea, he pointed out where Islam lived and where he often saw him—on Starling Avenue, near Bengali shops and restaurants. “He was a very good officer,” Ahmed said. “He served very honestly.”

Ahmed posted a prayer and Islam’s photo online. “He was a very good person in our community,” he added. “We feel proud” that someone from their culture served in the NYPD.

That pride echoed through the voices of others who knew Islam. Rakib Hasan, a Bangladeshi officer who worked with him, said Islam was “humble, down to earth, very friendly.” He called Islam “a hard-working man, just an officer, father of two.”

“If you look back 10, 15 years ago, the representation from this community was almost nothing,” Hasan said. “The transition is amazing.”

Islam regularly attended Friday prayer with his family. Mohammed Ahia, vice president of the mosque, described him as “very nice” and “very gentle.” Imam Muhammad Mainul Islam called the Bangladeshi community one of “friendship and love.”

On Tuesday morning, people came and went from Islam’s home. At one point, several people carried in a case of bottled water. The family is still processing the loss. Islam’s father suffered a medical episode after hearing the news and remains hospitalized.

“He was his parents’ only son,” a younger cousin said. “He was about to welcome a third child.”

Mayor Adams ordered flags flown at half-staff across the city. Governor Kathy Hochul gave a similar order for state buildings. “He believed in God and lived a godly life,” Adams said at a news conference.

On Tuesday evening, officers transferred Islam’s body from the medical examiner’s office in Kips Bay to the mosque in Parkchester. Some 20 officers on motorcycles led the escort.

As the ambulance arrived on Virginia Avenue, police stood at salute. The NYPD flag still draped over Islam’s body.

“We show up as a brother, as a colleague, as a community member,” Hasan said. “And the whole community is here.”

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