In a shocking incident, a gunman shot and killed a New York imam and his assistant near their mosque in the borough of Queens in broad daylight during a brazen attack carried on Saturday (August 13).
Police said the imam, identified as 55 year old Maulama Akonjee, and his assistant, 64-year-old Thara Uddin, were shot just before 2:00 pm in the Ozone Park neighborhood.
Both men were prononced dead when they were taken to nearby Jamaica Hospital with gunshot wounds.
The motive is unknown and no arrests have been made, the authorities said.
‘There is nothing in the preliminary investigation to indicate that they were targeted because of their faith,’ police told journalists.
However, Muslim community representatives pointed to growing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment fueled by a series of deadly attacks in the United States and abroad as well as hostile statements by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, including his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.
Security video footage of the brazen attack shows the gunman approach the two men from behind at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 79th Street, a few blocks from the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque.
The victims, dressed in traditional Muslim garb, reportedly left the mosque following Saturday afternoon prayers.
After the attack witnesses saw the gunman flee the scene with a gun, police said, adding that the surveillance video appeared to show a man wearing shorts and a dark polo shirt.
A sketch of the suspect released on Sunday (August 14) showed a dark-haired, bearded man wearing glasses. Police said witnesses described him as having a medium complexion.
Akonjee was carrying more than $1,000, police said, but noted that the attacker did not take the money.
The suspect was still at large Sunday and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
The mayor's office said the New York Police Department was exploring all potential motives, including the possibility of a hate crime.
‘While we do not yet know the motivation for the murders, we do know that our Muslim communities are in the perpetual crosshairs of bigotry’ Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
The working class area, on the border between Queens and Brooklyn, is home to many Muslim families from Bangladesh.
‘Our city was stung by violence that devastated a congregation and unsettled a community. When religious leaders are targeted, we all bear the pain those in Ozone Park feel most personally today,’ said the mayor.
Muslim community representatives condemned what they described as a toxic climate of hatred.
‘Please, read my lips. This is a hate crime, no matter which way you look at it,’ said Kobir Chowdhury, who heads the nearby Masjid Al-Aman mosque in Brooklyn.
Hundreds of local residents rallied near the crime scene under the tracks of an elevated metro line late Saturday, chanting, ‘We want justice!’
During a vigil outside the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque, the faithful prayed, heads bent and palms facing the sky.
‘Imagine your father gunned down for no reason, and then let that feeling, let that motivate you to come out of your silence,’ Afaf Nasher, director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said at a tense news conference in front of the mosque.
US Representative Nydia Velazquez tweeted that she was 'horrified' by the shooting.
‘All NYers must stand united in condemning acts like these,’ she said.
The neighborhood's city council representative Eric Ulrich added, : ‘When a religious leader is killed in broad daylight on the streets of Queens, we must come together as a community and demand justice!’
CAIR announced plans to give a $10,000 reward to anyone with information on the attacker that could lead to his arrest and help determine a motive.
‘We hope the offer of a reward will lead to the arrest and conviction of the individual who perpetrated this heinous crime,’ said the group's executive director Nihad Awad.
