New York City police are still searching for the gunman who killed a Muslim cleric and his associate as they left prayers at a mosque in the borough of Queens on Saturday.
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Local members of the Muslim community believe the shooting was a hate crime, but police say there is no evidence so far about whether the attacker targeted the two due to their faith. Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner told the newspaper that “there’s nothing in the preliminary investigation that would indicate they were targeted by their faith”.
Although police said no motive had been established for the killing of Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and 64-year-old Thara Uddin on Saturday afternoon near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque, community members anxious the slayings could be rooted in intolerance, reported The Associated Press.
Friends of the Imam told the media that Akonjee and his assistant were shot just as they left al-Furqan Jame mosque after prayers.
According to the Times, “In the United States, there has been an average of 12.6 suspected anti-Muslim hate crimes a month in recent years, according to an analysis of F.B.I. statistics, but that number appeared to spike late last year”. About 100 protesters gathered Saturday at the scene of the shooting, chanting, “We want justice!” Police said witnesses described the shooter as a man with a medium complexion.
Police released a sketch of a male suspect with dark hair, a beard and glasses.
A respected Muslim imam and an associate were killed outside a Queens mosque Saturday by a lone gunman as they walked home from prayers.
Investigators said they have not established a motive in the attack.
Akhonji was carrying $US1000 with him at the time of the attack but the money was not taken, the New York Times reported.
“The NYPD is looking at all angles of this crime, including the hate crime (angle)”, Sarah Sayeed of the NY mayor’s office said.
But on Sunday, neighbors who gathered on the quiet residential street where the men lived in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens said they just didn’t believe that could be the case.
The search came as New York’s Mayor said Muslims were living “in the crosshairs of bigotry”.
Worshippers outside the Ozone Park mosque hold a police sketch of a suspect wanted over the shooting of two men.
“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, said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it would make a formal announcement Monday about the reward.
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An official with the government in Bangladesh condemned the killings on Twitter. The US ambassador to Dhaka, Marcia Bernicat, said Imam Akonjee “stood for peace”, adding: “We join Bangladeshis to condemn his killing and honour what he stood for”.
