Mayor Adams was a NYPD police officer.
NYPD refused to use AR-15 rifles for years, equipping their Emergency Services Unit and other specialized units with the traditionally stocked Ruger Mini-14 rifles. Supposedly this Mini-14 issuance was due to looking less scary than the AR-15 profile. supposedly.
After 9/11, the NYPD Homeland Security units converted en masse to the Colt M4 rifle or a few related variants. My limited work with ESU or Homeland Security units saw them always called "M4s" as a generic term.
Mayor Adams's comments were technically incorrect, but consistent with NYPD type vocabulary. As has been noted, it was a bargain basement Palmetto State Arms rifle. All media reports/leaks indicate it was a standard semiautomatic rifle.
In lieu of celebrating the shooter, let's remember the NYPD officer and security guard who gave their lives.
A native of Bangladesh, Didarul Islam immigrated to the United States before joining the NYPD as an officer 3½ years ago, the department said. Islam was assigned to the 47th Precinct in the Bronx but was moonlighting as uniformed private security at 345 Park Ave. on Monday night. He was married with two young sons, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Monday, adding that Islam's wife is pregnant with the couple's third child.
The security guard killed in Monday's shooting was Aland Etienne.
Police said Etienne was shot while behind his security desk after a gunman burst into the lobby of the Midtown building.