The Syrian Immigrant Hero of New York City

It was supposed to be a typical morning commute on the New York City Subway for many people; Brooklynites were on the northbound N train to commute to work or school, to meet their friends or family, or just to move quickly between neighborhoods and boroughs. However, as the train approached the 36th Street station, the sense of normalcy was shattered when popping noises were suddenly heard in subway cars. Thick smoke from two grenades then held the air hostage, pierced by a horrific fusillade of bullets that severely wounded passengers as they tried to escape. Deafening screams and blinding smoke poured into the 36th Street station. Witnesses at the station, who tended to wounded passengers and filmed the evacuation, described the gruesome situation as a nightmarish calamity. When the same train reached the 25th Street station, more passengers disembarked and hurtled for the station exits in fear.

Footage of the catastrophe spread like wildfire on social media and quickly reached news stations. At the time, the attacker was still at large, adding to fear among New York City residents. Every New Yorker with an electronic device was sent a message with the attacker’s photo and information, but the attacker was not caught until 28 hours later. Zack Tahhan was one of the multiple people who helped apprehend the attacker. Tahhan, a 21-year-old immigrant from Syria, and his cousin and colleague Mohamad Cheikh were told by store manager Francisco Puebla that a person looking like the suspect was seen on the East Village store’s live security cameras; Tahhan and Cheikh reviewed the security footage and confirmed it was the attacker, then Tahhan immediately warned passersby and notified the police. The attacker was then arrested at a nearby corner.

A security camera specialist by profession who immigrated to the United States 5 years ago, Tahhan was soon interviewed in East Village by many news reporters. While cameras zoomed in on him and microphones amplified his voice, he answered many questions and recounted his heroic tale. Tahhan has since become a social media star in the United States, with viral videos of him receiving tens of thousands of likes on Twitter. In one video, Tahhan spoke of how he is currently fasting and observing Ramadan as a Muslim, which resonated with many American Muslims. A hashtag (#ThankYouZack) and a GoFundMe have been created to honor him. One admirer tweeted that they are “loving that people who were prevented from entering [the United States] a few years ago are recognized for their heroism”. The Attorney General of New York state, Letitia James, also publicly thanked Tahhan on Twitter. A week later, Tahhan, Cheikh, and Puebla (as well as other heroes) were honored at an official ceremony where they all agreed to split the $50,000 reward among themselves. The mayor of New York City and the Metropolitan Transit Authority leader both attended the ceremony.

Tahhan, who speaks 5 languages, currently resides in New Jersey and is the only one in his immediate family living in the United States; however, he has a profound love and compassion for Americans and also for everyone else in the world. Tahhan hopes to move to New York City proper and pursue his dreams of studying there. The courage, heroism, and compassion of a Syrian Muslim immigrant saved lives; this serves as a great example of how AMEMSA-identifying people are definitely not how they are typically portrayed within mainstream media.