The safety guard who was slain within the mass taking pictures in a Midtown workplace constructing on Monday was remembered by his brother as a hard-working man, hero, devoted father and aspiring filmmaker who was proud to play his half “in making the city of New York a little safer every day.”
Aland Etienne, 46, is among the many 4 victims of Monday’s lethal assault at 345 Park Avenue, a distinguished workplace tower that homes the headquarters of the Nationwide Soccer League and a number of other giant funding companies together with Blackstone.
“I am the younger brother of my hero,” mentioned sibling Smith Etienne.
“Aland was a brother, son, a loving father — fantastic father,” he continued. “He was a smart dude and as the oldest brother I looked up to him in everything I do.”
The youthful Etienne spoke on the headquarters of the union 32BJ SEIU, of which Aland was a member, honoring each him and slain NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, 36, on Wednesday. He was flanked by Etienne’s widow, Rachelle Paoli; union president Manny Pastreich; and Democratic mayoral candidate Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.
Their deaths, mentioned Pastreich, underscore the risks and sacrifices safety personnel face on the road of responsibility. He invoked the same assault in 2015 that resulted within the demise of a 32BJ member, safety officer Idrissa Camara, who was fatally shot by a gunman who stormed a federal constructing on Varick Road, then killed himself.
“Security officers in this city know that they put their life on the line when they put on their uniforms, they’re there to do their jobs as a first line of defense in each of these buildings, and they know that they’re often in harm’s way,” mentioned Pastreich. “These essential workers are often overlooked and unseen until moments like this, that reveal the true value of their work and their contributions.”
A member of 32BJ SEIU’s safety division since 2017, Etienne labored at 345 Park Ave. for greater than six years below the safety agency McLane Safety. He was unarmed on the time of the taking pictures, a union spokesperson mentioned. Representatives for McLane Safety didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Etienne, a Haitian immigrant who lived in Brooklyn, is survived by Paoli and his two kids, mother and father, and 5 siblings. He cherished making residence motion pictures in Haiti and had aspirations to develop into a filmmaker, however he devoted himself to his household as an alternative, and nurtured his love of movies in his brother, now a filmmaker primarily based in Florida.
“He poured into me and supported my career in film as an extension of himself,” Smith mentioned. “It’s an example of the kind of person he is.”
“He was more than a brother — he was a father, a son, and a light in our lives,” one other brother, Gathmand Etienne, wrote on Fb. “Our hearts are shattered, and we’re asking for your prayers and strength as we navigate this painful time.”
The others killed have been Blackstone government Wesley LePatner, 44; and 27-year-old Julia Hyman, who labored for actual property agency Rudin Administration.
Safety digicam photos launched by the NYPD confirmed Shane Tamura strolling into the constructing shortly after 6 p.m. Monday holding a rifle, which officers later recognized as an M4. Tamura shot three folks together with Islam and Etienne within the foyer earlier than getting on an elevator and going to the thirty third flooring the place he fired on Hyman earlier than taking his personal life, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch mentioned at a press convention Monday night time.
Adams mentioned throughout a televised interview on CBS Mornings on Tuesday that investigators discovered a word on Tamura that implied he had continual traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a mind illness attributable to repeated concussions, and appeared guilty the NFL for his accidents.
“He, from our preliminary investigation, he took the wrong elevator bank up to the NFL headquarters,” mentioned Adams.
Islam was additionally remembered as a “hero” by Shamsul Haque, a retired police officer and founding father of the Bangladeshi American Police Affiliation, of which Islam was a member, on the identical 32BJ occasion on Wednesday.
“He is one of us, and losing him feels like losing a brother,” mentioned Haque.
Islam, from The Bronx’s forty seventh Precinct, was working off-duty as a safety guard on the Park Avenue tower on the time of the assault. An immigrant from Bangladesh, he’s survived by his spouse and their two kids; she is pregnant with their third little one.
Safety guard Aland Etienne was killed within the Midtown workplace taking pictures. Credit score: Etienne Household
Mamdani, contemporary off a visit to his native Uganda to rejoice his latest marriage, mentioned he met with Islam’s household in The Bronx Wednesday morning for about an hour; he mentioned he accepted the household’s invitation to the funeral on Thursday.
He mourned the lives lower quick and referred to as for strengthening the nation’s gun legal guidelines. Although New York has among the strictest gun legal guidelines within the nation, he famous that Tamura purchased his weapon in Nevada.
“We are only as safe as the weakest gun laws in this nation,” he mentioned.
Mamdani mentioned he has not talked to Mayor Eric Adams in regards to the taking pictures, however he did have a dialog with Tisch.
On the occasion, Mamdani additionally expressed remorse over resurfaced social media posts he made earlier than elected workplace that critics have mentioned are insensitive to cops, and that his opponents have seized on all through his mayoral marketing campaign.
He responded particularly to questions on a 2020 social media put up through which he replied “nature is healing” to a consumer who described seeing a police officer crying in his automotive.
“The tweet that you referred to is a tweet that is clearly out of step with the way in which I not only view police officers, the immense work that they do, but also the seriousness with which we need to treat that work, and the difficulties that come with that work,” mentioned Mamdani.
“I am not a candidate that is fixed in time. I am one who learns and one that leads. As I’ve grown, part of that means focusing on the people who deserve to be spoken about.”
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