A pair of fundraisers to help the family of NYPD cop Didarul Islam, who was shot dead in a mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan this week, have topped more than $250,000.
One account set up by FundtheFirst.com for the 36-year-old father of two has raised $195,561 as of 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday — with a goal of $500,000.
“Didarul Islam was more than a police officer — he was a devoted father to two young boys, a beloved son, a caring husband, and a big brother not only to his sisters but to countless cousins, both here and in Bangladesh,” the organizers wrote on the site.
“We lost not just a brother, but a piece of our hearts.”
A second fundraising effort established by Tom Grech of the Queens Chamber of Commerce on GoFundMe reached $56,641 by the same time, with the money to go to the tragic cop’s family.
Islam, whose wife is due to give birth to the couple’s third child next month, was working a security detail at 345 Park Ave. around 6:30 p.m. Monday when Shane Tamura, a disgruntled Las Vegas security guard with a grudge against the NFL, stormed into the skyscraper that houses its headquarters with an AR-15-style assault rifle.
Police said Tamura shot and killed the four-year NYPD veteran, security guard Aland Etienne and Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner in the lobby before getting in an elevator.
He arrived on the 33rd floor, where he shot and killed Rudin Management associate Julia Hyman, who was mourned at a funeral on Wednesday, before turning the gun on himself.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a friend of LePatner’s, said Tamura blamed the NFL for a brain injury he claimed he suffered while playing high school football.
But he went to the wrong elevator bank and never made it to the NFL offices in the building.
“PO Didarul Islam was a hero from the moment he put on our uniform,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said of the fallen cop this week.
“When pure evil showed up on his post last night, he stood between that evil and innocent people,” Hendry said.
“Police officers are mourning him as a friend and co-worker, but we ask all New Yorkers to honor him as the hero he was.”
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