The wife of slain New York Police Officer Didarul Islam, one of five people fatally shot at a midtown Manhattan high-rise last month, has given birth to a son, police announced Monday.
Arham became the third child of Didarul and Jamila Islam, and they’re all boys, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement Monday afternoon.
“Out of tragedy, a new life has entered this world,” she said. “Arham joins his two big brothers, Ahyan and Azhaan. Together, they will carry forward their father’s legacy of service and courage.”
Mayor Eric Adams said he was with members of Islam’s family at the hospital when Jamila was in labor Sunday.
“I know how special Arham’s birth is for this family that is still dealing with heartbreak after losing their hero,” he said on X. “Our entire city stands with them and is here to support them.”
Islam, 36, was working in the lobby of the 44-story building on Park Avenue in New York City on July 28 when, police say, 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas walked in and immediately opened fire using a semiautomatic rifle.
Tisch said afterward that Islam was working in the lobby of the building with the department’s permission under a program that allows officers to provide security off-duty but in uniform.
On Monday she noted his formal title: Detective First Grade Didarul Islam. Adams said on MSNBC last month that Islam was the first Bangladesh-born NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty.
After the attack Adams said that those who knew the officer said he “believed in living out the life of a godly person.”
Tamura also shot a security guard and two civilians in the building before fatally shooting himself, authorities said.
Adams said Tamura, who completed a cross-country drive just prior to the attack, was trying to target the headquarters of the NFL, which has offices in the Park Avenue building, but entered the wrong set of elevator banks and never made it to the league’s offices.
Two officials familiar with the matter told NBC News that the shooter, who played football in high school in Southern California, left a note at the scene that said he wanted his brain studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
The neurodegenerative disorder associated with head injuries can cause changes in behavior and cognition and has been diagnosed in hundreds of NFL players after their deaths. Tamura, who never made it to the NFL, had a “documented mental health history,” Las Vegas police said.
Muhammad Mainul Islam, who identified himself as Didarul Islam’s cousin, told NBC New York the officer was dedicated to providing for his family and raising his children.
“When he had time, and especially his off days, he went to the mosque with his two kids,” he said.
Islam was assigned to the 47th Precinct in the Bronx.
Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said after the attack: “He went out every single day to provide for his family, whether it was overtime or whatever he had to do.”
Tisch said in her statement Monday that the newborn, his mother and his brothers are part of the NYPD fabric.
“Jamila, Ahyan, Azhaan, and now, Arham will forever be part of the NYPD family,” she said.
Brittany Kubicko contributed.
