This undated photo provided by Abdul Chowdhury, Imam Maulama Akonjee is shown.
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Imam Maulama Akonjee was gunned down in broad daylight, along with his friend, Thara Uddin.
Imam Maulama Akonjee who was shot dead along with another man Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, as they left the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in the Queens borough of NY after prayers.
A man suspected of killing an imam and his friend as they left a mosque in New York City has been charged with murder.
They recovered a gun and clothing similar to what witnesses said the shooter wore at the time of the killings, according to two law-enforcement officials.
Mohammad Ziauddin also said that Bangladesh government was ready “to offer any possible assistance that might be required in investigating the incident”.
The pair were walking together along a street when the gunman approached them. Police say they haven’t determined the motive behind the shootings.
In surveillance footage captured by cameras, investigators were able to see the assailant get into his auto, a black GMC sport utility vehicle, and drive away, soon blending into traffic, Robert K. Boyce, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, told reporters Monday. He has not been charged in the double slaying.
About 10 minutes later, a auto matching that description struck a cyclist about three miles away in Brooklyn, he said.
Police, who hadn’t named the suspect and have not brought charges against him, found a revolver they believe is the murder weapon in the suspect’s home, sources said. Hundreds gathered near the mosque to hold a mass prayer service for the victims and to demand justice for the murders.
Emotions ran high. Some people shouted for justice as a man spoke at the podium.
One speaker at the pre-funeral conference demanded security cameras be erected outside mosques and for the street where the two men were shot to be renamed in their honour.
Police have arrested a 35-year-old Brooklyn man for allegedly shooting an imam and another man following prayers at a mosque in Queens. Boyce said video pulled from the scene of the hit-and-run showed that the cars were identical.
After investigating, detectives were able to identify a hit-and-run involving the same auto that reportedly took place at the corner of Pine Street and Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn. Around 10 p.m. on Sunday, a man started to get into the vehicle.
A poster showing a police sketch of a man wanted for questioning in the killings hangs outside a mosque as mourners gather to pay their respect to the victims.
Boyce said Morel may have worked in a warehouse in East New York, Brooklyn, but he wouldn’t comment any further on his background or mental state.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier in the day had addressed crowds at a funeral service for the men.
