Off-duty NYPD officer, father of 2 killed in deranged gunman's Manhattan rampage
Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was one of four people killed when 27-year-old Shane Tamura opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan office building on Monday evening. 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.
The office building housed both Blackstone, an investment firm, and the NFL headquarters, among other companies. Islam was working security for the building when he was killed.
President Donald Trump called the shooting "tragic" and said that he trusted law enforcement "to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence." He also expressed his sympathies to the loved ones of the victims and concluded, "God bless the New York Police Department, and God Bless New York."
"Police Officer Didarul Islam represented the very best of our department. He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today," the NYPD wrote on X.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch mourned Islam in a post, saying, "May Police Officer Didarul Islam's memory be a blessing."
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."
Adams ordered all flags on city buildings and stationary flagstaffs to be lowered to half-staff "until further notice" in honor of Islam.
"Officer Didarul Islam died as he lived, a hero and protector of New York City. We will never forget you," Adams wrote in a post on X along with photos from the dignified transfer.
Adams told Fox 5 New York on Tuesday that it appeared "as though he was going after the employees at the NFL," but took the wrong elevator bank, which is how he ended up on Rudin Management's floor.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expressed a similar sentiment, saying he "represented the very best of New York."
"An immigrant from Bangladesh, he joined the NYPD to protect his city — and gave his life doing so," Hochul wrote. "He leaves behind a wife, two young sons and a third child on the way. We hold his family in our prayers tonight."
Hochul also ordered flags half-staff in honor of Islam and the other victims of Monday's shooting.
In the wake of the tragedy, Hochul called for a "national assault weapons ban."
"The time to act is now. The American people are tired of thoughts and prayers," she said. "They deserve action. Congress must summon the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and finally pass a national assault weapons ban before more innocent lives are stolen."
Controversial Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of the NYPD who has called to defund the police, also mourned Islam online.
"A Bangladeshi immigrant who joined the NYPD four years ago, he lived in Parkchester with his pregnant wife, their two young children, and his elderly parents," Mamdani wrote. "When he joined the police department, his mother asked him why he would pursue such a dangerous job. He told her it was to leave behind a legacy that his family could be proud of. He has done that, and more."
Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner was killed in the shooting, according to the firm. The names of the other two victims have not yet been released to the public.
The NFL confirmed that one employee was "seriously injured," according to a memo written by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell obtained by Fox News. The league did not identify the employee.
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Hamilton Spectator
a few seconds ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Officials work to unravel how and why gunman carried out deadly attack on NYC office building
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are piecing together more details about how a former high school football player who blamed the game for his mental health problems carried out a deadly attack on an office building that is home to the NFL. Shane Tamura killed four people on Monday before killing himself, spraying the skyscraper's lobby with bullets and then continuing his rampage on the 33rd floor, authorities said. Inside his wallet, a handwritten note claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy , known at CTE, and accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports, investigators said. Detectives were still working to unravel more details about the 27-year-old's background and motivations. They planned to question a man who supplied gun parts for the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack, including the weapon's lower receiver, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a video statement. Among the dead were a police officer, a security guard and two people who worked at companies in the building. An NFL employee was badly wounded but survived. Tamura, a Las Vegas casino security worker, had intended to target the NFL's headquarters in the building but took the wrong elevator, officials said. It's unclear whether he showed symptoms of CTE, which can be diagnosed only by examining a brain after death. Tamura, who played high school football in California a decade ago but never played in the NFL, had a history of mental illness, police said without giving details. In the three-page note found on his body, he accused the NFL of concealing the dangers to players' brains for profit. The degenerative brain disease has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports such as football. At a Tuesday night vigil for those killed in the shooting, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and other faith leaders delivered prayers at a park about a dozen blocks from where the shooting took place. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke of the need for stronger gun laws. 'We cannot respond to senseless gun laws through vigils,' Adams said. NFL boss calls shooting 'unspeakable' Tamura's note repeatedly said he was sorry and asked that his brain be studied for CTE. The NFL long denied the link between football and CTE, but it acknowledged the connection in 2016 testimony before Congress and has paid more than $1.4 billion to retired players to settle concussion-related claims. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell , who works out of the offices, called the shooting 'an unspeakable act of violence.' The shooting happened at a skyscraper on Park Avenue, one of the nation's most recognized streets, just blocks from Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center. It is less than a 15-minute walk from where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed last December by a man who prosecutors say was angry over what he saw as corporate greed. Video shows the gunman stroll into the building Tamura drove across the country in the days before the attack and into New York City, Tisch said. Surveillance video showed him exit his BMW outside the building at about 6:30 p.m. Monday wearing a button-down shirt and jacket with the rifle at his side. Once inside the lobby, he opened fire and killed Islam and Wesley LePatner, a real estate executive at the investment firm Blackstone, which occupies much of the building. Tamura then made his way toward the elevator bank, shooting the NFL employee and an unarmed security guard, Aland Etienne, who helped control access to the upper floors. Tamura waited for the next elevator to arrive in the lobby, let a woman walk safely out of the elevator, then rode it up to the 33rd-floor offices of the company that owns the building, Rudin Management. He killed a worker for that company before killing himself, officials said. Friends and family mourn killed officer Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was guarding the building on a paid security job when he was killed, had served as a police officer in New York City for over three years. He was an immigrant from Bangladesh and was working a department-approved building security job when he was shot. Islam leaves a pregnant wife and two children. Friends and family stopped by their Bronx home on Tuesday to drop off food and pay their respects. 'He was a very friendly guy and a hardworking guy,' said Tanjim Talukdar, who knew him best from Friday prayers. 'Whenever I see him or he sees me, he says, 'How are you, my brother?'' ___ Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Michael Balsamo, Philip Marcelo and Julie Walker in New York; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia, Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CNN
a minute ago
- CNN
Analysis: Trump bludgeoned the EU on trade. Good luck doing the same to China
President Donald Trump isn't going to bulldoze China on trade like he did Europe. Two days after the EU agreed to a framework trade deal with the White House that some of the bloc's national leaders regard as a capitulation, Trump's negotiators left talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping's team in Sweden with no breakthrough. Following a flurry of trade deal announcements celebrated by the administration, China and the US are expected to carry on talking. But the lack of significant progress was a blunt reminder of China's power, the stakes it sees in standing up to Trump and how efforts to remake global trade will be incomplete without a deal with Beijing. Instead of another win, Trump's negotiators on Wednesday will present him with a proposal to extend a pause on historic mutual tariff hikes, which would otherwise hit on August 12. The president has a choice: either approve more time for more talks, which would suit Beijing, or revive a disastrous superpower trade war. It's hardly a choice at all. 'We're just going to give him the facts, and then he will decide,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who along with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer led the US delegation in Stockholm, told CNBC Tuesday. No one is denying Trump's on a roll with trade. He can justifiably claim significant political victories with a series of framework deals with the EU, the UK, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines that favor the United States by imposing one-sided tariffs. Trump's bet that other nations and trading blocs would have no option but to, in his words, pay more for access to the mighty American market has paid off. And, in his trade deals, he successfully opened up some previously closed markets to American manufacturers. Trump has long regarded Europeans as freeloading off American power. He's made good on his promise to substantially reinvent the transatlantic relationship, securing a 15% tariff on the EU's exports while forcing NATO members to agree to steep increases in defense spending by 2035. His hunch that allies are so beholden to the US on security that they'd fold on trade was spot-on. Trump is also flouting the conventional wisdom of most economic experts, and he's fractured the global free trade and low tariff system in imposing some of the highest duties since the 1930s. And so far, the global economic disaster that many predicted has not materialized. Most remarkably, he's acted to impose a personal obsession he's nursed since the 1980s — tariffs. But it may only be halftime. Many of the expected consequences of this new radical US trade policy are yet to kick in, including higher prices for American consumers that could quickly sour voters on the president's approach. Goldman Sachs estimates that it could take up to eight months for price hikes to show up. Other consequences of Trump's trade romp will also take time to become obvious. That's not stopping the administration's triumphalism. 'No one's moved as fast as the world has moved with respect to Donald Trump. He has moved the world in a way that no one can imagine,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBNC. 'He's done this in six months; this is amazing.' But China is looming in the path of Trump's victory lap. And the president may have met his match in Xi. He faces none of the constraints that spiked the trade guns of Europe — which was wary of antagonizing Trump and risking its military umbrella and its need for US support on Ukraine. And China's resistance is grounded in economics, sovereignty and politics that are existential for its Communist Party regime. No Chinese leader — especially one like Xi, who built his power on nationalism and restoring what Beijing sees as its rightful dignity and respect — can capitulate to an American president in a trade negotiation. China's centralized political structure, unlike the often-fractious 27-nation EU, also gives it stability. It also has cards to play that can hold the US economy hostage — including its dominance of the production of rare earth elements used in the manufacture of smartphones, smart weapons, satellites and aviation engines. China reacted to Trump's initial declaration of a trade war by blocking the export of the vital elements. It has since reopened the market, but the Trump administration is still complaining that Beijing is taking too long to approve all rare earth applications for US companies. But the fact that rare earths are a Trump card for Xi is not lost on anyone. Decades ago, China's isolated leaders didn't understand US politics. That's no longer the case. And it would not be surprising if they've already concluded that if they stand up to Trump, he'll back down. Calling China's bluff in these circumstances would be a massive gamble. It's not that China wants a trade war or would not be hurt by one. Its economy is plagued by problems. But its authoritarian system means Xi can impose more pain on his people than Trump might risk inflicting on Americans. It was almost alone among global trading powers in ignoring Bessent's admonition not to retaliate after Trump's tariff outburst in April. Bruce Stokes, a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, argued that Trump's desire to visit Beijing later this year for a summit with Xi could also be crucial. 'This is not just about economics. (Trump) wants to be tough on China, I think that's indisputable,' said Stokes. 'But I think he wants even more so to have the opportunity to go mano a mano in Beijing, both for the optics of it and he believes he's a dealmaker who can strike a deal.' 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The Treasury chief insisted that the talks had made 'good progress' toward the US position on a 'clunky' Chinese system of controls on rare earth exports. Vice Premier He said that the talks were constructive and that the two sides would continue to push for a 90-day extension of the pause on reciprocal tariffs. But Bessent cautioned that China had jumped the gun on the pause before Trump weighs in. Of course, presidents make the ultimate decision in foreign policy. But this may be mostly optics. Trump needs to be seen as the big guy. But it's also a measure of his chaotic volatility that nothing is for certain unless he signs off. China's imperviousness to Trump's box of trade tricks is not the only reason why administration gloating is premature. Trade agreements are usually complex, running to thousands of pages after exhaustive negotiations between trade lawyers. The superficial framework agreements released by the White House, by contrast, show that nettlesome disputes in deals with EU and other trade competitors are unresolved. Such skimpy agreements could easily fall apart. Trump might also react to foot-dragging on details by lashing out with tariffs. And recriminations boiling within Europe mean it's not certain that the agreement reached on Sunday in Scotland will survive. Trump's business, personal and political life has always existed in a perpetual cycle of postponing reckonings. It's therefore typical that while he's touting his winning streak on trade now, he has no idea what lies ahead. It will take time to judge how the almost-certain rises in consumer prices will impact the economy. And the shock of tariffs will take months to work through supply chains and procurement schedules drawn up years in advance. This explains why Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is loath to slash interest rates despite Trump's fury. Tariffs may not kill economic growth and cause a recession, and businesses may adapt to the new certainty of duties between 15% and 20%. Higher costs could be shared by consumers, companies and suppliers in a way that eases some of the impact on voters ahead of next year's midterm elections. But while historically high, the tariffs probably aren't sufficiently punitive to force companies to undertake the massively expensive process of relocating production to the United States — an ostensible justification for Trump's trade wars. And Trump won't be in the Oval Office forever. CEOs may reason that his successor will likely temper protectionism, especially if the economy slows. Other difficulties also loom. Canada, unlike the EU, seems in no mood to sue for peace after Prime Minister Mark Carney won power on visceral anti-Americanism in the electorate. A prolonged trade conflict would hurt Canadians more than Americans, owing to the relative size of the neighbors' economies. But Carney can make things difficult for Trump. A sudden spurt of inflation early next year, perhaps triggered by the Federal Reserve chief Trump will appoint when Powell's term ends, could also undermine the fragile foundation on which the president's trade wins rest. This all explains why a real deal with China is so important. And Beijing knows it, so it's unlikely to fold.
Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
Officials work to unravel how and why gunman carried out deadly attack on NYC office building
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are piecing together more details about how a former high school football player who blamed the game for his mental health problems carried out a deadly attack on an office building that is home to the NFL. Shane Tamura killed four people on Monday before killing himself, spraying the skyscraper's lobby with bullets and then continuing his rampage on the 33rd floor, authorities said. Inside his wallet, a handwritten note claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known at CTE, and accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports, investigators said. Detectives were still working to unravel more details about the 27-year-old's background and motivations. They planned to question a man who supplied gun parts for the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack, including the weapon's lower receiver, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a video statement. Among the dead were a police officer, a security guard and two people who worked at companies in the building. An NFL employee was badly wounded but survived. Tamura, a Las Vegas casino security worker, had intended to target the NFL's headquarters in the building but took the wrong elevator, officials said. It's unclear whether he showed symptoms of CTE, which can be diagnosed only by examining a brain after death. Tamura, who played high school football in California a decade ago but never played in the NFL, had a history of mental illness, police said without giving details. In the three-page note found on his body, he accused the NFL of concealing the dangers to players' brains for profit. The degenerative brain disease has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports such as football. At a Tuesday night vigil for those killed in the shooting, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and other faith leaders delivered prayers at a park about a dozen blocks from where the shooting took place. Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke of the need for stronger gun laws. 'We cannot respond to senseless gun laws through vigils,' Adams said. NFL boss calls shooting 'unspeakable' Tamura's note repeatedly said he was sorry and asked that his brain be studied for CTE. The NFL long denied the link between football and CTE, but it acknowledged the connection in 2016 testimony before Congress and has paid more than $1.4 billion to retired players to settle concussion-related claims. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who works out of the offices, called the shooting 'an unspeakable act of violence.' The shooting happened at a skyscraper on Park Avenue, one of the nation's most recognized streets, just blocks from Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center. It is less than a 15-minute walk from where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed last December by a man who prosecutors say was angry over what he saw as corporate greed. Video shows the gunman stroll into the building Tamura drove across the country in the days before the attack and into New York City, Tisch said. Surveillance video showed him exit his BMW outside the building at about 6:30 p.m. Monday wearing a button-down shirt and jacket with the rifle at his side. Once inside the lobby, he opened fire and killed Islam and Wesley LePatner, a real estate executive at the investment firm Blackstone, which occupies much of the building. Tamura then made his way toward the elevator bank, shooting the NFL employee and an unarmed security guard, Aland Etienne, who helped control access to the upper floors. Tamura waited for the next elevator to arrive in the lobby, let a woman walk safely out of the elevator, then rode it up to the 33rd-floor offices of the company that owns the building, Rudin Management. He killed a worker for that company before killing himself, officials said. Friends and family mourn killed officer Officer Didarul Islam, 36, who was guarding the building on a paid security job when he was killed, had served as a police officer in New York City for over three years. He was an immigrant from Bangladesh and was working a department-approved building security job when he was shot. Islam leaves a pregnant wife and two children. Friends and family stopped by their Bronx home on Tuesday to drop off food and pay their respects. 'He was a very friendly guy and a hardworking guy,' said Tanjim Talukdar, who knew him best from Friday prayers. 'Whenever I see him or he sees me, he says, 'How are you, my brother?'' ___ Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Michael Balsamo, Philip Marcelo and Julie Walker in New York; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia, Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
