Police were searching Sunday for the suspect who killed 55-year-old Imam Maulama Akonjee and 64-year-old Thara Uddin.
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He was described by witnesses as a bearded man with glasses and a medium complexion who was wearing a dark colored shirt and dark colored shorts.
The motive for the shooting was not immediately known and no evidence has been uncovered that the two men were targeted due to their faith, but police were not ruling out any possibility, a department spokeswoman said.
It’s hate, everywhere: “it’s hate against humanity, hate against Muslims, hate against innocent people, hate against this community – the greater community, where we live and coexist peacefully”, one community member said.
The shootings come as Muslim advocacy groups warn of heightened Islamophobia in the USA amid continued Daesh attacks around the globe.
A spokesman for NY mayor Bill de Blasio said he was “closely monitoring the NYPD investigation of this tragedy”.
“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 NY chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said at a tense news conference in front of the mosque.
Hundreds of local residents rallied near the crime scene chanting, “We want justice!”
“We have a senior liaison with the Muslim community on-site to ensure mosque congregants and the neighborhood receive all the support and information they need during this hard time”.
“I understand the anger. But it’s very important to mount a thorough investigation”.
The tragic killing prompted a news conference near the scene from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, as well as a statement from the president of CAIR’s board, Zead Ramadan, who called the shooting “a crime against humanity”.
Bernstein called on the New York Police Department to investigate the murder as a possible bias crime. “You would watch him come down the street and watch the peace he brings”.
“I understand the fear because I feel it myself”, said Sarah Sayeed, a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s staff who attended the rally.
Ambassador Bernicat in a separate message said Imam Akonjee was a respected community leader. “Worshipper Shahin Chowdhury said Akonjee was a “‘wonderful person’ with a voice that made his Quran readings especially compelling”.
Witnesses said the imam from the Al-Furqan Masjid mosque had just delivered an afternoon service and was walking home with another member of the mosque when both men were gunned down.
Mr Uddin said Mr Akonjee had led the mosque for about two years.
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“It’s a great misery”.
