NY police had over the weekend arrested Oscar Morel, and late Monday said they believed he shot Maulama Akonjee, the 55-year-old imam of the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque, and his 64-year-old associate, Thara Uddin.
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Morel was taken from the 107 Precinct on Monday evening to await arraignment in Queens Criminal Court. According to the Daily Beast, “The report soon came to the attention of an old school first grade detective who was going through all summonses and traffic incidents in the immediate aftermath of the murder in broad daylight of an imam and his assistant”.
No details were given by authorities about a potential motivation for the shooting.
Police say they found the suspected murder weapon behind a section of a wall in Morel’s Brooklyn home that had been cut out and reinstalled with screws.
Oscar Morel was taken into custody at around 11 p.m., sources said, and charged with murder and as hit-and-run.
Authorities don’t know what prompted the brazen daytime shooting of Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee and Thara Uddin.
Police arrested a man who allegedly killed a NY imam and his friend in broad daylight over the weekend.
Robert Boyce didn’t release the man’s name. He was then charged with a hit-and-run accident that occurred about 5km away from the double murder, as well as the assault of a police officer.
Relatives of an imam and his friend who were gunned down near a New York City mosque are meeting with prosecutors.
The motive of the gunman remains unknown, but the ceremony featured several speakers who said they believed the victims were targeted due to their religion.
Morel faces the possibility of life in prison without parole if he is convicted of killing Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who attended a funeral for the two victims at Al-Furquan Jame Masjid mosque in Queens, said at a press conference Monday that the police department was going to pull together to help protect and reassure the city’s Muslim residents who he said might be anxious. The crowd applauded when he said that whoever committed the crime would be brought to justice.
Emotions ran high. Some people shouted for justice as a man spoke at the podium.
Police had said there was no evidence the men were targeted due to their faith but nothing was being ruled out.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect tailing the victims.
A vehicle bearing the same description was tracked down to Brooklyn, leading the police to Morel.
Bangladeshi Community Board Leader Fakrul Islam Delwar told ABC News Tuesday, “We strongly believe it’s a hate crime because this man [Morel] had nothing to do with anything with the community”. Both were shot in the head as they left the Al-Furqan Jame Masj.
In Bangladesh, the imam’s eldest son Fayez Uddin Akonjee, 28, said he was relieved at the charges. “I believe that”, Uddin’s brother, Mashuk, said outside court on Tuesday.
A year ago the New York Times reported that hate crimes against US Muslims and mosques tripled in Paris and San Bernardino in the aftermath of strikes.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations offered a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest or conviction of the perpetrators.
Police earlier said “hate crime” was being investigated as a possible motive.
Thousands of family, friends, community members gathered to pay their respects to the two men.
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The New School confirmed that Morel had worked there since November 2013 and that the college was cooperating with the investigation, but declined further comment.
