Fellow officers, colleagues, share emotional stories at vigil for NYPD Detective Didarul Islam
PARKCHESTER, The Bronx (WABC) -- The day after NYPD Detective Didarul Islam was laid to rest, officers came together at the precinct where he worked in the Bronx to honor and remember him.
Detective Islam's colleagues shared stories about him at the vigil outside their stationhouse at the 47th Precinct.
"Everyone who knows me knows I cherish my cops as if they were my babies," Lt. Paloma Pena said.
Under the gray skies of Parkchester, a sea of brothers and sisters and blue as far as the eye could see.
It was a crowded farewell for Islam. The 36-year-old father of two with another baby on the way had served three years with the department.
He was working overtime on Park Avenue on Monday when chaos descended.
"Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice may have saved others in that lobby people who are able to go home to their families that day," his wife said.
Islam was promoted at his funeral to detective first grade. He started as a traffic cop then a school safety officer before becoming an officer at the 47th Precinct.
"There's no way to fill the emptiness we feel right now. He was truly our family's guardian angel," his cousin Ash said.
As the city continues to reel from the tragedy in Midtown, new information was revealed about the M4 rifle that Shane Tamura used inside the skyscraper.
The attorney for the man who sold the rifle to the gunman said it was sold legally with Nevada laws, and doesn't expect his client to be charged.
Meantime, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke out publicly for the first time since the attack.
He shared information about his visit with the NFL employee who was injured, saying he spent an hour with him in the hospital Thursday. He said he's stable and improving.
Police say the shooter was targeting the NFL headquarters when he entered 345 Park Avenue, but ended up on the wrong floor.
The commissioner was not at Thursday night's game to attend the funeral of Detective Islam.
Also killed in the attack were Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, 43, security officer Aland Etienne, 46, and Rudin Management employee Julia Hyman, 27.
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