The New York Police Department honored Detective Didarul Islam a year after the officer and three other people were killed in a mass shooting at Manhattan high-rise alongside.
Outside of the Bronx's 47th Precinct where he worked, Islam was honored by his family, fellow officers and high-ranking officials including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. At the time of the shooting, Islam, 36, had been off-duty, working extra hours as a security guard at the building on Park Avenue in Midtown.
"In the midst of a horrific mass shooting, the worst our city had seen in 25 years, he placed himself in front of an assault rifle so that his fellow New Yorkers could escape to safety," Mamdani told the crowd filled with police in uniform.
His family, including Islam's children, sat in the front row. Islam's wife had been pregnant at the time of his death.
"It is an act of courage, unfathomable to most."
Islam, originally from Bangladesh, was promoted to detective after his death. A few weeks ago, a street near his Bronx home was named Detective First Grade Didarul Islam Way.
"We gather this morning at the command he served to remember the man he was and the devotion he brought to his family and department," Tisch said at the ceremony Tuesday.
"One year later, Didarul remains deeply missed by the family who treasured him, and by the officers who were proud to serve beside him."
The three other victims of last year's shooting were Blackstone employee Wesley LePatner, security officer Aland Etienne and Rudin Management employee Julia Hyman. It is believed that the gunman was targeting the National Football League office.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYPD officer honored one year after death in Manhattan mass shooting
