The two men were both shot in the head about 1:50 p.m.in Ozone Park, a working-class section of Queens with a burgeoning Bangladeshi population. Dozens of Muslim men arrived at the scene soon afterwards, with local opinion reportedly being that the attack was a hate crime.
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Local resident Khairul Islam told the Daily News, “We blame Donald Trump for this…. Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia”.
NYPD officers are investigating the shooting of two men Saturday afternoon in the Ozone Park neighborhood in Queens.
The neighborhood is a mix of residences and businesses, but people of different faiths have long gotten along peacefully, Jag said. “We needs to get to the bottom of this. We need to know if they did this just because of ourreligion”.
Another witness said the gunfire seemingly came from nowhere. The gunman, who has not been apprehended or identified, may have fired as many as five shots before running away.
One of the victims, an imam, succumbed to the gunshot wound, witnesses said.
“He is a very religious, pious person, he doesn’t talk, unless he acts”, Abdin said.
Phillips declined to identify the second man or his relationship with the imam pending notification of his family. “He’s a role model as an imam, as a father, as a community member”. The iman was killed and the second man was wounded, it said on its website. They were rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The shooting took place at Liberty Avenue and 79th Street, sources said.
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Both Akongi and Uddin died as a result of the attack.
