Investigators are examining why the gunman who killed four people before taking his own life at a New York City office tower targeted the National Football League and whether he suffered from a brain disease.

Didarul Islam, a 36-year-old NYPD officer, was off duty and working a security job when he was fatally shot by a gunman who opened fire at the 345 Park Avenue office building on Monday.

The New York police officer killed in a mass shooting in a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday was an immigrant who left behind a pregnant wife, two young sons and distraught parents, while friends and officials in Bangladesh and the United States described him as a hero.