Gov. Kathy Hochul reflects on tragic Midtown shooting, conversations with victims' families
Watch the governor's full one-on-one Up Close interview with Bill Ritter below
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- In the wake of the deadly mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan, Governor Kathy Hochul sat down with Eyewitness News anchor Bill Ritter after speaking with fallen NYPD Officer Didarul Islam's wife.
"You have a police officer, a Bangladeshi refugee immigrant whose father was so proud of him," Hochul said. "For someone to come here with very little, to rise up and become an NYPD officer... that's extraordinary for these families.
Hochul said the widow of Officer Islam asked the governor to pray for her family.
"She's eight months pregnant, with two little ones," she said.
Hochul, like most people, is heartbroken by this latest gun insanity, and mass murder, and how the victims come from a wide variety of New York's melting pot, and how it could have been anyone caught in the line of fire.
"I just speak to all of them as if I was in their shoes and try to say that I can't imagine what it's like to go home and not have your most beloved person in the world in bed with you tonight," Hochul said. "So, it's hard, but we have to rise up because the city needs people who have a steady hand that will convey the confidence that will get us through this, because we're New Yorkers, we always endure and survive."
The governor also talked about how New Yorkers have been approaching police officers on the beat and thanking them for their service and what they are doing to protect people who live in the city, and those who work here.
In addition, she also discussed how New York has outlawed people walking around with guns, and it's time for Washington to finally outlaw the carrying of semi-automatic rifles.
You can watch Bill Ritter's entire interview with the governor in the media player above, and on Up Close, Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
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