Zohran Mamdani spent the last hours of his wedding celebration in Uganda huddled remotely with his team after learning of New York’s deadliest mass shooting of the last 25 years.

Back from Uganda, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, sought to reassure voters concerned that his left-leaning policies would endanger the city’s safety.

Mamdani has faced backlash over his past comments critical of the NYPD following the city’s deadliest mass shooting in 25 years, where four people, including an off-duty police officer, were killed in Midtown Manhattan.