Joseph Lemm, NYPD detective, killed in Afghanistan with 5 other U.S. troops

The New York Police Department on Monday mourned the loss of Joseph Lemm, a 15-year veteran of the force who died in Afghanistan earlier in the day as the result of a suicide bombing near Bagram air base.

Lemm, 45, had moved up the ranks of the NYPD over the last decade and-a-half while simultaneously volunteering with the U.S. Air National Guard. He was promoted to the rank of NYPD detective in January 2014 and was in the midst of his third deployment to a foreign war zone on Monday when he was killed along with five other Americans during what’s been called the deadliest attack on U.S. forces all year.

“Detective Joseph Lemm epitomized the selflessness we can only strive for: putting his country and city first,” NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement late Monday. “Tonight, we grieve and we remember this selfless public servant who dedicated his life to protecting others.”

“Police and military families serve right alongside their loved ones in uniform, so tonight, on behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend our gratitude and deepest sympathies to the Lemm family,” added Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This week, as we wrap up the holiday season, I also want us to remember the families in New York City - and across the country - who have an empty chair at the dinner table because one of their loved ones went off to defend our country and never came back. May God bless them all.”

The Pentagon said on Monday that a suicide bomber had targeted Lemm’s patrol around 25 miles north of of the Afghan capital, Kabul, where the U.S. maintains one of its few remaining bases within the country. The Taiban has since taken credit for the attack.

While more than 2,300 U.S. troops have died in the war there since 2001, statistics kept by the Department of Defense suggest there have only been 10 so-called “hostile deaths” of American servicemembers during 2015.

“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season,” Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, a spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support, said in a statement.

Lemm leaves behind a wife and two kids, ages 17 and 4. The five other Americans killed during Monday’s blast have not yet officially been identified.