An Imam and his assistant were shot and killed by a lone gunman on Saturday in broad daylight while they were leaving a mosque in the Queens Borough of New York City.
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The shootings occurred close to the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in the Ozone Park neighborhood, where the men had been attending afternoon prayers.
The motive for the shooting was not immediately known and no evidence has been uncovered so far that the two men were targeted due to their faith, said Tiffany Phillips, a spokeswoman for the New York City Police Department.
According to the New York Post, a crowd forming near the site of the shooting yelled “Donald Trump is responsible!” as well as “We want justice today, not tomorrow!”
The men were transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Centre where they died, hospital spokesman Andrew Rubin said.
Two men have died, including an Imam, after a shooting near a mosque in Queens, New York.
Police say 55-year-old Imam Maulama Akonjee and 64-year-old Thara Uddin were fatally shot by someone who approached them from behind.
Police say they don’t know the motive for the shootings and that there’s no indication the men were targeted due to their faith.
Many worshipers from the local Bangladeshi community mosque gathered at the murder scene to denounce the shooting as a hate crime.
Community members gather at the spot where Imam Alala Uddin Akongi was killed in the Queens borough of New York City, August 13, 2016. “I understand the anger”.
Worshipper Millat Uddin said Akonjee had led the mosque for about two years and was a very pious man. She urged the police department to “vigorously” investigate the slayings.
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In June, CAIR issued a statement calling for Muslim community leaders to consider increasing security after the Orlando massacre and incidents that it said had targeted Muslims and Islamic houses of worship. While at home, they said he would water his garden and one next door.
