The widow of an NYPD officer who was tragically killed in the mass shooting on Park Avenue has given birth to their third son, as announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Monday morning.
Jamila Akhter, the wife of the late officer Didarul Islam, went into labor on Sunday evening and welcomed a “beautiful boy” at Mount Sinai Hospital, as mentioned by Adams during a separate press conference.
“In a happy note, I learned that the wife of an Islamic officer gave birth to a lovely little boy,” Adams told reporters at another mass shooting briefing in Brooklyn.
“I visited the hospital lobby yesterday to speak with my family. My mother was in labor, so I’m truly excited for her,” he added.
The couple had two other young boys, 7-year-old Ahyan and 5-year-old Azhaan, who both looked up to their father.
“We want them to know that God works in mysterious ways,” Adams remarked regarding the family. “As mayor, I want to assure Detective Islam’s family that we will always be here for them.”
He emphasized that they are part of the larger New York family.
Islam, who was 36, was working off-duty security on the night of July 28 when gunman Shane Tamura entered the lobby of an NFL building on East 51st Street and Park Avenue with an AR-15, tragically taking the lives of Islam and three others.
Tamura, just 27, had no actual ties to the NFL but had expressed disdain for the league and its handling of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE. It remains uncertain if he had contracted the disease.
Islam’s sons, beaming with pride in their father’s service, embody his legacy. Little Ahyan, who wears a police uniform to his kindergarten in the Bronx, proudly recounted how he told his teacher, “I wear a police uniform just like my dad,” as shared by teacher Tijiwatti Singh.
Commissioner Jessica Tish of the NYPD remembered Islam during his posthumous promotion, noting he served with “stability, heart, and conviction.”
