The police officer killed on Monday night in a mass shooting at a New York City office building has been identified as a 36-year-old immigrant with two children and a pregnant wife. 

The officer, Didarul Islam, and three others were fatally shot when a gunman opened fire at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Another man was seriously injured. Islam was an immigrant from Bangladesh and had been with the NYPD for more than three years. 

“He was doing what he does best, and all members of the police department carry out, he was saving lives, he was protecting New Yorkers. He’s an immigrant from Bangladesh and he loved this city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “He embodies what this city is all about, he’s a true blue New Yorker not only in the uniform he wore but in the spirit and energy of loving this city.” 

Police Officer Didarul Islam represented the very best of our department.

He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short today.

We join in prayer during this time of incomprehensible pain. We will forever honor his legacy.#FidelisAdMortem pic.twitter.com/vkBZetsz2N

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 29, 2025

The shooter, identified as a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas, was found dead on the 33rd floor of the building from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Daily Wire is not publishing his name due to a company policy against contributing to the unintentional glorification of mass shooters.

Wesley LePatner, the CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, was also identified as one of the deceased, the company confirmed. Blackstone is an investment management company with several offices in the building. 

“Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” the company said in a statement. “She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond. She embodied the best of Blackstone. Our prayers are with her husband, children and family. We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.”

An employee of the NFL, which was also headquartered in the building, was seriously injured in the attack. 

“One of our employees was seriously injured in this attack. He is currently in the hospital and in stable condition,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a memo obtained by ESPN. “NFL staff are at the hospital and we are supporting his family. We believe that all of our employees are otherwise safe and accounted for, and the building has nearly been cleared.”

Multiple reports indicate that the gunman left a note expressing grievances against the NFL, citing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease often associated with repeated head injuries. Adams said in an interview on Tuesday morning that the shooter, who played football in high school, had intended to target the NFL offices, but mistakenly went to the wrong floor, which Rudin Management occupied. 

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the shooter arrived in Manhattan on Monday after spending multiple days driving across the country from Nevada. He then entered the office building armed with a rifle and opened fire on Officer Islam before shooting a woman hiding behind a pillar in the lobby. He then went to the elevator bank and shot a security guard before spraying gunfire throughout the entire lobby. He went to the elevators and allowed one woman to go past him before he went up to the 33rd floor, where he shot one other person before killing himself. 

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Monday that the FBI was aiding in the investigation.

President Trump shortens the deadline for Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine and breaks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. A viral video of a brutal street brawl in Cincinnati sparks a national conversation about media silence and racial dynamics in violent crime. President Trump signs an executive order to “save college sports,” aiming to regulate NIL payments and protect non-revenue sports.

It’s Tuesday, July 29, 2025, and this is news you need to know to start your day.

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Trump Gives Putin Ultimatum, Breaks With Netanyahu On Gaza

Topline: President Trump announced on Monday that he is shortening the deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, while also taking the rare step of publicly disagreeing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

After a string of successfully brokered ceasefires around the globe, President Trump’s patience with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine appears to be waning. On Monday, Trump announced he was shortening his previous 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal.

“I’m gonna make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said. “There’s no reason in waiting.” He also took direct shots at the Russian leader, saying, “I’m not so interested in talking anymore. We have such nice conversations … and then people die the following night with a missile going into a town.”

If Putin fails to meet the new deadline, the U.S. could increase military aid to NATO or impose crippling 100% tariffs on Russia and secondary tariffs on any country that trades with them.

In another major foreign policy development, the president broke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the issue of starvation in Gaza. When asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s claim that there is “no starvation” in Gaza, Trump responded, “I don’t know. Based on television, not particularly. Those children look very hungry…” He added that the U.S. would work with European allies to set up food distribution centers in the region.

These moves come as a new poll from The Wall Street Journal found that voters trust the GOP over Democrats on foreign policy by an 8-point margin.

Viral Cincinnati Brawl Ignites National Debate

Topline: A graphic video of a brutal street beating in downtown Cincinnati has gone viral, sparking widespread outrage and a national conversation about media bias and the reality of violent crime in America.

The video, captured Saturday during the Cincinnati Music Festival, shows a man being thrown to the ground and beaten by a group of what appear to be mostly black men. A woman who steps in to protect the man is then sucker-punched in the face, falls to the concrete, and appears to lose consciousness. No police were visible during the two-and-a-half-minute clip, a fact the local Fraternal Order of Police president highlighted while condemning witnesses for recording instead of calling 911.

The video drew immediate condemnation from prominent conservatives. Vice President JD Vance said, “We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children.” The lack of coverage from most national media outlets on Sunday was noted by Elon Musk and others.

Author Heather Mac Donald told Morning Wire that the media’s relative silence is due to racial dynamics. “The only black lives they care about are those extremely rare instances where a white police officer has taken the life of a black person,” she said. Mac Donald argued that the media’s narrative ignores the reality of violent crime, citing a National Academy of Sciences report showing that “blacks commit violent crime against whites at 35 times the rate at which whites commit violent crime against blacks.” The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, headed by Harmeet Dhillon, stated that “where race is a motivation, federal law may apply.”

Trump Signs Order To ‘Save College Sports’

Topline: President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at creating federal guardrails for the new landscape of college athletics, particularly regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments to athletes.

In recent years, court rulings and the House v. NCAA settlement have allowed student-athletes to profit from NIL deals and revenue sharing, creating what many call an unsustainable “wild, wild west” in college sports. President Trump’s executive order attempts to bring order by prohibiting “third-party, pay-for-play payments,” a reference to donor-funded “collectives” that have sprung up to pay athletes. The order allows for “legitimate, fair-market-value compensation” for endorsements, but as Crain & Company’s David Cone told Morning Wire, defining and enforcing “fair-market-value” remains a subjective and significant challenge.

Critics of the order, including an attorney for the plaintiffs in the NCAA settlement, accuse Trump of “aiding the NCAA at the expense of athletes.” The order also seeks to protect women’s and non-revenue sports. With athletic departments now facing the high cost of paying football and basketball players, these other programs are at risk of being cut. The executive order states these sports are vital for “developing world-class athletes” and serving as a pipeline to the Olympics.