The two young sons of Detective Didarul Islam, who was murdered while off-duty during the Midtown mass shooting on July 28, were honored Tuesday night in the Bronx with full scholarships.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Folds of Honor Founder Lt. Colonel Dan Rooney met with the Islam family inside the 47th Precinct and presented 7-year-old Ahyan Islam and 5-year-old Azhaan Islam with fully paid scholarships for their academic lives. According to Goodell, the scholarship was a token of appreciation for their father’s service and ultimate sacrifice.
Islam was working a paid security detail shift inside of 345 Park Ave., where the NFL offices are housed, when 27-year-old Shane Tamura entered the building with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire, killing Islam and three others.
“Detective Islam was a hero to us. He was at 345 Park [Ave.] every day. He was somebody that we all knew as a friend, as a neighbor. It’s an honor to be here with his family,” Goodell said. “I hope that Detective Islam will be proud of the work that we’re all doing together today to take care of his family, and know that we’re proud of him and proud of the work that he did.”
Islam’s brother-in-law and fellow Police Officer Kamrul Hasan thanked the NFL and Folds of Honor for the dedication to his family, sharing that in the months since the shooting his loved ones are struggling to cope with the loss.
Folds of Honor is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to family members of slain service members and first responders.
While Hasan says his older nephew understands the sad fate that befell his father, the younger boy still struggles to comprehend that his dad will not be coming home.
“He said: ‘I’m not gonna sleep because I saw my father. Somebody hurt his stomach. He’s bleeding. I can’t sleep,” Hasan said. “A few minutes ago he saw an ambulance and he asked me ‘is it bringing my father back today?’ These are the things the Islam family is going through.”
Ahyan, Islam’s oldest son, said he greatly misses his father and recalled the work routine they shared together.
“Before I woke up, like he used to wake up everyday at 5 a.m. and eat, brush his teeth, and after that he gets ready, like goes to work, whenever he goes to work, he goes outside, and I go to the window, and when I see him going to the car, I just look and when he’s driving,” Ahyan said.
Despite the unimaginable loss, Ahyan said he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a police officer.
“I love him 100%,” he added.
