THIS IS VERY DISRESPECTFUL! SEE TOURISTS GUIDES TAKE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS FROM EUROPEAN TOURIST TO BRING THEM TO THE BRONX TO SEE WHERE AMADOU DIALLO GOT SHOT 41 TIMES!

An unlikely tourist attraction has joined the ranks of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Ground Zero - the spot where Amadou Diallo was shot to death by cops.
Scores of tour buses stop by 1157 Wheeler Ave. every week, disgorging Europeans who excitedly take pictures against a mural dedicated to Diallo's memory.

"Amadou Diallo is like the Disneyland of the Bronx," said Wilson Varges, a tour guide for See Tourists. "It's so popular no tour would be complete without stopping here."

Diallo, an African immigrant, died in a hail of 41 police bullets on Feb. 4, 1999, while reaching for his wallet. He was unarmed.

His death unleashed cries of police brutality and racial profiling, and the acquittal of the four NYPD cops who shot him sparked massive protests.

Bruce Springsteen paid tribe to Diallo's memory in the song "41 Shots."

Since last year, the spot where he fell dead has been marked by an 18-foot mural dominated by his piercing brown eyes gazing out over the street.

The painting features four cops with guns drawn and wearing white hoods to the left of Diallo, under a skeleton-faced Statue of Liberty. The words "American Dream" tower overhead.

On a recent Saturday, tourists flashed the peace sign or smiled as they posed for pictures.

"It's beautiful," gushed Estaben Lacusa, 52, of Barcelona. "Those KKK cop hoods are quite a sight."

"I had to see the place where the cops shot the unarmed Diallo 41 times," said Rafeal Peces, 38, of Madrid.

Tour guides said the powerful social themes of the Diallo drama and unvarnished realism of the slay site have made the shrine a must-see for visitors from overseas.

"People are sick of the cookie-cutter tours of Manhattan, and they want to see the real New York City. That's why Diallo is so popular," said Fernando Astesiano, a tour guide for Visitour. "It's gritty. It tells a story. And it's real."

Luiz Lima said Diallo's tale resonates with tourists from overseas. "It's the story of an immigrant who was trying to live the American Dream and had it taken from him," he said.

Diallo's mural is part of four-hour $55 tours that zigzag through most of the Bronx and include the graffiti art of rapper Big Pun at 163rd St. and the 42nd Precinct.

Some neighborhood people are unsettled by the clamor.

"The buses come all day, every day. It's very strange," said Angela Hernandez, a stylist at Michelle Unisex since 1991. "A young man was murdered here. It's not a place for all this party."

Diallo's mother, Kadiatou Diallo, welcomes the crowds.

"It's wonderful that so many people from all around the world are going to see the tribute to my son. It's a landmark in our history and it keeps my son's story alive," she said. "The more people that come and look the better."