Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Tragic Midtown Manhattan Shooting & Remembering And Honoring The Victims
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor following the tragic Midtown Manhattan shooting to grieve the four lives lost in this senseless act of violence and to stand, as a fellow New Yorker, in mourning and solidarity. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
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’s 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, 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; 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. And that’s what he did. And he paid the ultimate price.
When an NYPD officer is killed doing his duty, it’s not just a tragedy. It’s a rupture in the soul of the city, our beloved city. And it requires that we mourn and honor all those we lost.
I’ve 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 have been shot in the line of duty months and even years and decades ago. Because that’s what happens when innocent lives are taken in the heart of your home.
And this just happened four blocks from my office, in broad daylight, in one of the busiest, safest, most iconic parts of Manhattan.
It happened 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 and 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 and a beloved wife and mother of two. We know there are two other victims as well whose names have not been made public, and we mourn them, too.
When something like this happens, every single New Yorkers feels it. It’s felt in every precinct, every kitchen table, and it's 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 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, son, and 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. And the city will carry their memories forward. And 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 of the cops, EMTs, firefighters who got there fast and prevented even more bloodshed. They are heroes, every one of them.
That’s New York. Courage under fire. Grace in the face of horror. It’s 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’ll carry on, yes. That’s who we are. But we will never, never be the same.
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