[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 29, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         New York City Shooting

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I come to the floor this morning not as 
Democratic leader, not even as the senior Senator from New York, but 
simply as a New Yorker, as a kid from Brooklyn, as someone who has 
walked that stretch of Park Avenue a thousand times.
  Yesterday, my city--the greatest city on Earth--was shattered when a 
gunman took the lives of four innocent New Yorkers in cold blood just 
four blocks from my office in Midtown Manhattan. I actually worked in 
the building where the shooting took place for one summer as a summer 
associate at a law firm.
  One of the victims, Officer Islam, was a husband and a father of two, 
with a third baby on the way. He was the best of who we are--a proud 
Bangladeshi American, a proud cop from the 47th Precinct, and a proud 
New Yorker. He died doing what NYPD officers do every day--running 
toward danger, protecting others, putting his own life on the line. 
That is what he did, and he paid--he paid the ultimate price.
  When an NYPD officer is killed doing his duty, it is not just a 
tragedy; it is a rupture in the soul of our city, our beloved city, and 
it requires that we mourn and honor all those we lost.
  I have lived in New York my whole life. I know this city, I know the 
people, and I know how we carry pain like this, how it lingers--I still 
remember the officers who had been shot in the line of duty months, 
even years and decades ago--because that is what happens when innocent 
lives are taken in the heart of your home.
  This happened just four blocks from my office, in broad daylight, in 
one of the busiest, safest, most iconic parts of Manhattan, right 
across from where New Yorkers pour in and out of work, pick up lunch or 
stop to say a prayer at St. Bart's or St. Pat's or Central Synagogue or 
at the Muslim Community Network mosque, all of which are in Midtown 
Manhattan, very close to the location where the shooting occurred.
  We also grieve for another victim--Wesley LePatner, killed in the 
building. She was a brilliant executive from Blackstone, a beloved wife 
and mother of two.
  We know there are two other victims as well whose names have not yet 
been made public, and we mourn them as well.
  When something like this happens, every single New Yorker feels it. 
It is felt in every precinct, every kitchen table, and it is etched in 
the hearts of the families left behind, who will always have a hole in 
their hearts for the rest of their lives.
  I want those families--especially Officer Islam's wife and kids and 
the families of Wesley LePatner from Blackstone and the other victims 
not yet named due to family notifications--to know this: You are not 
alone. All of New York grieves with you. We ache for you.
  We will always remember the sacrifice Officer Islam--a husband, a 
son, and a father--made for all of us.
  To the other victims--people just trying to make a living, do their 
jobs--our hearts are broken, and we, too, grieve with your families.
  The city will carry their memories forward. We will continue to pray 
for those still recovering and in critical condition.
  I want to thank the first responders who ran toward the gunfire--all 
the cops, EMTs, and firefighters that got there fast and prevented even 
more bloodshed. They are heroes, every one of them. That is New York--
courage under fire, grace in the face of horror. It is who we are.
  As we mourn this awful day in New York, we must remember that we 
cannot keep meeting these moments with thoughts and prayers alone. We 
owe these families more than silence; we owe them action. For now, we 
mourn, but we mourn as New Yorkers--together. We will carry on, yes. 
That is who we are. But we will never, never be the same.