A man suspected in the fatal shooting of an imam and his friend as they left a mosque in New York City has been arrested on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
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They said Morel tried to flee but crashed into an NYPD auto and was taken into custody for questioning.
CNN left a message seeking comment at the attorney who represented Morel in court.
Morel, 35, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly hitting a cyclist with his vehicle 10 minutes after the shooting.
Morel was originally arrested Sunday night on charges related to a hit-and-run accident, some five kilometres from the spot of the murders, and the assault of a police officer, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told mediapersons.
Hundreds of mourners have gathered in NY for the outdoor funeral for a murdered Muslim imam.
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.
Authorities did not release a motive for the killings, though Boyce said the possibility that the murders were a hate crime is “certainly on the table”.
Police gave no details about a possible motive for the shooting.
Imam Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin were walking home from a mosque when they were shot in the head on Sunday.
In one incident, a man called him “Osama” as he walked to the mosque with his 3-year-old son.
The New York Daily News reports sources with the police department say the shooting might have resulted over a recent dispute over parking.
A NY man has been charged with the double murder of a Imam and his friend, in a brutal daylight slaying that has shocked Muslim communities across the US. He has not been charged in the double slaying.
Shortly after the shooting, a Trailblazer driver struck a cyclist while making a U-turn in Brooklyn.
The man was arrested on hit-and-run and assault-on-a-police-officer allegations after crashing into the unmarked police vehicle.
With the help of the video and witness statements, police developed a sketch of the suspect, who is described as a tall man with a medium complexion, wearing a dark polo shirt and shorts.
PHOTO: Community members take part in a protest to demand stop hate crime during the funeral service of Imam Maulama Akonjee, and Thara Uddin in the Queens borough of New York City, August 15, 2016. Surveillance footage showed the killer hopping into the SUV after shooting. Immediately after the victims were shot, the same male was seen fleeing from the scene southbound on 79 street.
He’s accused in the Saturday slayings of Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee and Thara Uddin near a mosque in Queens.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier in the day had addressed crowds at a funeral service for the men. Later Monday, he said he believed police were close to bringing justice to the Muslim and Bangladeshi community.
